Egypt Art History Essay

The materials used to create these sculptures symbolized the pharaohs timelessness and eternal life, the body of the pharaohs symbolized the power given to them by God, and the formal design qualities showed the apparitional and political qualities in the statues. The statue of Khafre and Akhenaton reflects the political and phantasmal climates of their time through the use of medium which symbolized the pharaohs eternal life and timelessness, and through formal qualities which symbolized the hidden religious meanings inside the sculpture.The seated statue of Khafre reflects the political and religious climates of his time through the statues medium, function, formal qualities of design, and iconography. The statue is made of diorite, an extremely valuable, un-breakable stone, which symbolizes Khafres unwavering power as pharaoh. Khafres body shows that this was how a king was supposed to be portrayed, a perfect divine being that is flawless. The intertwined lotus and papyrus plant s symbolize the unification of Egypt. Horus the sky perfection is shown extending his protective wings to shelter the pharaohs head. The statue plays an important role in the afterlife, it served as a resting place for the pharaohs ka, his life force that accompanied him scour in the afterlife.The Statue of Akhenaton showed the political and religious climate that he ruled in through the use of formal qualities, and iconography. Akhenatons statue was made of sandstone, different than the un-breakable stone that Khafres statue was made of that symbolized his divine power as king. The use of sandstone here shows the abandonment of old kingdom practices. Akhenatons body is extremely different and shows him as an androgynous figure attempting to portray as Aton, the sexless sunlight disk. This statue symbolizes the miscellanea in religion, from a polytheistic based belief, to a monotheistic religion centered on the worship of Aten, or Aton, the sun god.The statues of Khafre enthrone d, and Akhenaton from the temple of Aton, reflect the political and religious climates of their time. The formal qualities of both statues represent their political stand and their religious views. Although they are really different, they are also very similar at the same time. Enthroned Khafre shows him as an idealized being with a perfect body that portrays him as a idol and shows his power as pharaoh. The statue of Akhenaton on the other hand, shows himself as a realistic being with curved hips and female similar figures. Although he does not look like an idealized being like in the old kingdom, he is still portrayed as a deity trying to imitate the sexless sun God Aton. Akhenaton was able to be portrayed as a deity despite his realistic form due to his political power and his ability to change the countrys religion.The statue of Khafre and Akhenaton both reflected their political and religious climates through the statues medium, formal qualities, and iconography. These statu es although very different, are very similar in portraying how a king was portrayed in different times and yet still looked like a deity.