The creation of the sculpture began with smoothing the surface of the stone block. Large planes served as a place to mark the grid and apply the drawing, According to which fragments of the stone were then forged.
Egyptian sculpture mainly depicted gods and pharaohs. The rulers were shown as young people, mostly walking or sitting on a throne with their hands in their lap, head straight and one leg forward and usually in a crown or nemesis. They were the characters of the highest height. The wife or daughter presented here are people much smaller than it would be necessary to show the natural difference. Officials were introduced more freely, in scenes representing their profession, and the people always on the move, during work. The gods, in turn, were often depicted as animals, like for example. goddess Bastet in the form of a black kitten.
Efforts were made for the face not to express any feelings. This impression of indifference was achieved by looking into space, on a line running perpendicular to the plane of the arms. The most important exception to the rigid rules of geometry are figures with their heads raised, perhaps towards the sun, or lowered, as with the writers looking at the scroll of papyrus placed on their lap. The so-called. pessimistic direction, showing a sad ruler, pensive face, on which his age is also reflected. The first monumental sculpture of Egypt also comes from the Old Kingdom – Sphinx.
The period of the Middle Kingdom is a dynamic period of development of sculptures made of wood and placed in the tombs of dignitaries. They were supposed to replace to a large extent the rich friezes forged in stone, and the dynamic characters presented there showed various genre scenes.
New State – the beginnings of monumentalism
In the New Kingdom, monumental processional avenues with rows of statues of sphinxes lined up on both sides of the temples began to lead to temples.. In addition, in painting and sculpture, a new way of presenting the image of the figure in the so-called. counterposts, when the figure of a man rests with his full weight on one leg, and the whole posture is counterbalanced by slightly bending the torso and arm in the opposite direction.
By departing from the existing canons, a more naturalistic style was created. The most famous examples of works of this period are: a study of the portrait of Queen Nefertiti and the golden Mask of Tutankhamun. The queen's bust was found in a sculpture workshop in Tell el-Amarna, and is currently in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin. The sculpture made of limestone proves the artist's high craftsmanship, perfectly preserved polychrome highlights the features of the queen. Tutankhamun's golden mask was found in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings (now he is in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo). Precisely made, The mask, richly inlaid with glass mass, perfectly reflects the features of the young king, and the images of the head of a cobra and a vulture on the forehead were believed to protect him.
Amenhotep – development of Amarna art
During the reign of Amenhotep IV (Echnatona) people's perceptions were in line with reality, they even showed all the imperfections of the figure. The images of Akhenaten show the king as a person with an elongated face, narrow shoulders and slim hands, narrow waist and wide hips. After Akhenaten's death, Amarna art did not completely disappear, the artists moved to Memphis.
Late era
The first three hundred years after the fall of the New Kingdom are marked by a return in sculpture and painting to patterns from the beginnings of the New Kingdom and the emphasis on the influence of the Amarna school. The sculptures from the end of the transitional period are characterized by an interesting composition, subtlety and elegant proportions. Statuettes showing the kneeling ruler have been found. Leaning, she embraces the sacrificial stele with her outstretched hands (Osorkon II) or a ritual barge (Osorkon III).
The Kushites after coming to power, during his almost 100-year rule (25 dynasty), they tried to revive patterns from the reign of the eighteenth dynasty. During the reign of the XXVI dynasty, canons from the Old Kingdom were also returned to. The sculptures of this period express the conformism of the political position of this dynasty, and so the rulers were portrayed that way, that, depending on their needs, they could be treated as rulers of Egypt or the state of Kush. Their faces had sharp features with clearly marked furrows, slightly flattened noses and characteristic eyebrows. The headgear was composed this way, that they could have passed for an Egyptian war helmet or a Kushite cap.
Ptolemaic period
During this period, numerous statuettes of deities made of bronze were created. They are characterized by attention to detail, beautiful form and perfect workmanship. The sculptures of this period were distinguished by their realism, psychological concept, and the preserved sculptures of priests' heads (green heads) became the model for the portrait art of ancient Rome.