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1. Egypt was a unified agricultural state that arose along the Nile River. Its power, religion, art and economy all relate directly to the natural bounty that resulted from the annual flooding of the Nile. 2. Egypt's government, religion and social order survived virtually unchanged for nearly three thousand years. As a result, artistic expression saw little change over the same period. 3. Representational art (pictures "of" things) had existed at a high level in the Paleolithic period. During the period following the development of agriculture (the Neolithic period), it practically disappeared. Then, after many thousands of years, representational art reappeared in Egypt. Egyptian art contains some of the naturalism of Paleolithic art and some of the formalism seen in Neolithic decorative design. 4. The Egyptians had a high degree of interest in the "after life." Much of the art that has survived from ancient Egypt was preserved in tombs or monuments dedicated to the Egyptian rulers. Their art consisted primarily of murals, bas reliefs and monumental sculpture. 5. In their depiction of the aristocracy, Egyptian artists were compelled to follow a style which has been referred to as the Egyptian Canon :
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Ancient Egypt Overview
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