Egyptian Drawings

This first full-scale study of ancient Egyptian drawings reveals the significant and varied contributions that drawing made to the world of Egyptian art. Because the Egyptian artist's ideal was the achievement of a timeless reality, not individual artistic expression, preliminary drawings, by their very nature individual and spontaneous, assume a special significance in Egyptian art. Drawing formed the basis upon which the arts of wall painting, temple relief sculpture, and architecture were formed. Often preserved merely by chance on papyrus or wooden boards, tomb walls, or stone or pottery fragments, Egyptian drawings make it possible for us to penetrate beyond the formal aspects of Egyptian art to a more intimate and direct contact with the ancient Egyptian mind. In the first section of this book, William Peck describes the historical development of Egyptian drawing and the tools, theories, and techniques used by the artists themselves. He also provides a detailed examination of the complex interrelationship of Egyptian drawing with painting, sculpture, and hieroglyphic writing. The second section consists of a superb collection of illustrations, many in color, arranged according to the varied subject matter found in Egyptian drawings: Man, Woman, The Royal Image, God and Sky, Music and Dance, Fable and Humor, Hunting and Combat, Animal Life, and Architecture. Each illustration is accompanied by a detailed description and is fully documented with regard to historical period and source.