AH2101 Essay

“Discuss the articulation of the human figure in artistic traditions.”

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Introduction

Throughout history, analyses of the treatment of the human figure provide deep insight as to the historical

contexts, values, beliefs and activities of society at each period. The varying purposes of representing the

human form are reflected in the various artistic conventions across Egyptian and Greek art. This essay

serves to discuss the articulation of the human figure through analysing the function of representing the

human form throughout different artistic periods. It will evaluate how the function of the human form has

evolved over different periods and contexts, and how this is reflected in the artistic conventions and

rendering of the human form during that period. This essay will then contrast the different artistic periods

treated the human figure, and reconcile this with their varying contexts which gave way to differing

functions.

The Religious and Hierarchical Functions of Human Form in Egyptian Art

One of the key functions that the representation of the human form in ancient Egypt served was for religious

depictions, reflected in the funerary architecture and portrayal of the royal family in ancient Egyptian art.

Idealized depictions of the human form were deeply steeped in religious beliefs, and kings were viewed as

gods in human form (Stokstad & Cothren, 2011). Ancient Egyptians believed that the human spirit, or the

ka, needed a body to inhabit, and this often took the form of a mummified body or a sculpture. Hence,

ancient Egyptians developed elaborate funerary practices and sculpted statues to ensure that the ka would

move peacefully into the afterlife (Stokstad & Cothren, 2011). As such, ancient Egyptian art focused on the

idea of perpetuating the cult of the dead, marking the continuity of the individual royalty and their dynasty.

As such, human beings were elevated to a divine status, and the human form of the deceased royalty was

depicted as god-like and otherworldly (Jaradi, 2017).

A key case in point we use to analyse this is from Khafre’s funerary complex, where statues portraying

Khafre as the enthroned king sit. Temples such as Khafre’s complex were used as places of worship after the

king’s death, and the images and statues of the king were the focus for worship in these temples (Jaradi,

2017). This portrayal of Khafre is non-naturalistic, with many of the humanlike details and qualities that a

realistic human figure would have being smoothened out. This smoothness of the sculpture further

emphasizes the eternal nature, and its muscular form suggests his power. The compact positioning of his

arms firmly against his body emphasizes his upright posture, and rigid frontality, giving the statue a sense of

permanence, dignity, and calm (Davies et al., 2013). This rigid and upright frontal pose was rendered such

that it gave the sense that he was watching and taking part in rituals that were enacted in his honour, thus

giving him presence. This sort of non- naturalistic depiction of the human form is consistent across

portrayals of royal and elite subjects. The sense of formality and lack of movement was reserved for royal

elites who were elevated to divine or god-like status, and these representations of their human forms were

used as objects of worship. Thus, it is not surprising that ancient Egyptian artistic conventions of treating the

human form relied on idealistic interpretations as opposed to naturalistic observations, as the purpose of

these depictions were to be treated not as human, but as gods to be worshipped and revered.

Another function that depictions of the human form served in ancient Egyptian art was to communicate

status and hierarchy in ancient Egyptian society. Ancient Egyptian artists did not entirely refrain from

naturalistic depictions of the human form, as more realistic renderings of the human figure were reserved for

those of a lower status, contrasting the ‘god-like’ nature of kings and royalty with the naturalistic humanness

of the servile class. Contrasted to the portrayals of the human form of royalty, less prominent people were
rendered as more relaxed, less formal, and engaged in more activity. Statuettes that depicted servants

emphasised movement through poses linked to the labour these figures were expected to perform (Stokstad

& Cothren, 2011). These poses indicate their lower social class by depicting them wholly engaged in

physical labour, contrasted to the upright rigidity and formality of royalty. As such, the treatment of

different human forms according to social standing further emphasized the separation of kings and royalty

from the rest of ancient Egyptian society, juxtaposing the royal class as non-human against the humanistic

likeness of those below them.

Strict guidelines and artistic conventions were developed for Egyptian artists to adhere to, in order to

effectively depict Egyptian rulers so that viewers were able to easily identify them. As such, rendering of the

human form of royalty followed a canon of proportions to guide to determine the proportions of each figure,

and sculptures often showed rulers with a rigid, upright posture, demanding respect and permanence.

Portrayals of rulers also included elaborate headdresses, false beards and garments that would make their

position easily identifiable. The sculptural portrait of Menkaure and a queen illustrates this, with Menkaure

depicted with the royal kilt and headcloth, standing in a conventional pose, his fists clenched to his side and

his leg taking a step forward. The queen by his side symbolically joins the two figures together in a

supportive embrace, with the rendering of the curves of her form serving as a foil for the muscularity and

strength of the king (Stokstad & Cothren, 2011). This sculpture follows Egyptian conventions of portraiture,

clearly suggesting the ruler’s power and the queen’s supportive role and status by his side (Dickerson,

2013). This development of artistic conventions, guidelines, and a canon of proportions resulted in a

consistent portrayal of the human form, rendering it such that the figures of Egyptian rulers gave off a sense

of distinct permanence that viewers would be able to readily distinguish in sculptures and portraitures.
Another way that Egyptian artists communicated this social order was through the artistic convention of

applying of a hieratic scale to represent human figures of different social classes. The hieratic scale was

applied through the use of different sizes for powerful or holy figures and ordinary people to indicate their

relative importance. The larger a figure was depicted, the greater their importance (Stokstad & Cothren,

2011). One significant work of art portraying this is the Narmer Palette from the Early Dynastic period. The

hieratic scale suggests Narmer’s power and importance by portraying him as significantly larger than the

other human figures surrounding him. The use of hieratic scale thus aids the viewer in identifying Narmer

amidst the scene filled with many individuals (Dickerson, 2013).

In this respect, Egyptian art effectively communicated the role of rulers as “complex intermediaries that

straddled the terrestrial and divine realms” (Calvert, n.d.), through the juxtaposition of conceptual

representations of royalty and naturalistic representations of the lower class, as well as through the

application of artistic conventions, such as the hieratic scale.

Naturalistic Depictions of the Ideal Human Form in Greek Art

Much like the use of the human form in Egyptian art, depictions of the human figure through sculptures in

Greek art during the 6th century BCE were rooted in religious contexts, serving their purposes as part of

funerary or religious architecture, or to function as votive offerings (Cartwright, 2013). These depictions of

the human form drew heavy influence from ancient Egyptian artistic style. Early Greek statues such as

Kouros bear similarities to Egyptian sculptures, such as the rigidity of its posture, with the arms held firmly

at the side, standing with a foot forward (Stokstad & Cothren, 2011), much like the sculpture of Menkaure
and a queen. However, Greek representations of the Kouros had a more life-like quality to it, with the

sculpture bearing the close-lipped Archaic smile, giving the sculptures a greater sense of life and expression

(Dickerson, 2013), relative to the austere sculptures of Menkaure and Khafre. Early Greek sculptors were

more stylized than their Egyptian counterparts, emphasized by the bold arching eyebrows, and in the linear

treatment of the anatomy of the Kouros (Davies et. al). This representation of the human form would

continue to evolve towards becoming increasingly realistic and naturalistic, particularly during the Classical

period in Greek art.

Contrasted to Egyptian preferences for permanence and continuity in artistic conventions, Greek artists

continually sought to evolve and improve artistic trends, resulting in striking stylistic changes over a few

centuries (Stokstad & Cothren, 2011). As Greek philosophy evolved from a reverence of the gods to the

focus on Man as the “measure of all things”, the representation of Greek gods were depicted through

anatomically perfect, and naturalistic human figures. Greek art evolved to serve a more ethical purpose,

drawing from philosophical and literary influences emerging from the Classical era. Greek art and sculptures

no longer merely served a religious or ritualistic purpose, but also served as an expression of human ideals

through aesthetic beauty, balance, and harmony, while exploring and understanding the natural environment

and human form.

The movement from the Archaic period into the Classical period saw an evolution towards anatomical

precision and realism, ‘describing’ the human figure rather than merely conceptualizing it. The rather static

figures portrayed in early Greek sculptures, such as the Kouros, began to evolve to depict more movement

and details, as sculptors began to break away from the rules of Archaic conceptual art, and represent what
was observed in the natural world. The turning point in Greek art can be observed in the Kritios boy from

the late Archaic period that would kick off the style of classical Greek sculptures, moving from the stiff

frontality of the Kouros of the Archaic period to more relaxed, lifelike figures (Stokstad & Cothren, 2011).

It is in the Kritios boy that the early beginnings of the contrapposto is observed – the statue supports its body

on one left leg, while the right one is relaxed and bent, effecting a curve in his spine. This demonstrates the

artist’s understanding of how different body parts interact and act as a system, giving it its realistic, lifelike

quality. The artistic style and conventions of Greek artists reached its apex during the High Classical period

as Greek sculptor sought an ideal for representing the human body and eventually developing a canon for

what human attributes were considered the most desirable and ideal also known as “The Canon of

Polykleitos” (Stokstad & Cothren, 2011). The Roman marble copy of Polykleitos’s Spear Bearer shows a

perfectly balanced male athlete in the contrapposto stance, an evolution from the earlier Kritios boy.

As such, it can be analysed that Greek sculptors and artists used the human form to explore and represent

what the ideal human attributes were, setting the standards of beauty during the period through a canon of

the ideal human figure. Hence, this resulted in anatomically accurate and naturalistic renderings of the

human form, particularly observable in the Classical Greek period.

Conclusion

It is clear across both Egyptian and Greek schools of art that the purpose of depicting the human form in

relation to their respective philosophies and beliefs was key in determining how human figures were

rendered. While there is a tendency for ancient Egyptian art to be compared unflatteringly against more

naturalistic and expressive Greek art, it must be viewed with its intended purposes and functions to be fully
appreciated. Both Egyptian and Greek art used the human form to represent religious figures and gods.

However, the key difference between the two was the philosophies of how they viewed humans in relation

to the divine. Ancient Egyptian art was primarily focused on ideas of the other-world, viewing gods as

distinctly separate from human nature, and thus the human form was rendered to depict as such. On the

other hand, Greek art was centred on the material world, using naturalistic and anatomically perfect human

forms to represent gods and the ideal.

References

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2017, at https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/egypt-art/beginners-guide-

egypt/a/ancient-egypt-an-introduction

Cartwright, M. (2013). Greek Sculpture, Ancient History Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 21 February, 2017, at

http://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Sculpture/

Davies, et. al. (2011). Greek Art. Retrieved on 21 February, 2017, Janson’s History of Art, 8th Edition.

Chapter 5, pp. 103, 127.

Dickerson, M. (2013). Ancient Egyptian Art. Retrieved on 22 February 2017, at The Handy Art History

Answer Book, pp. 35.

Dickerson, M. (2013). Ancient Greek Art. Retrieved on 22 February 2017, at The Handy Art History Answer

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http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tacg/hd_tacg.htm
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Jaradi, P. M. (2017). Lecture 2: Anatomy and Idealization in Egyptian and Greek Art. Retrieved on 21

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