The Canonical and the Dynamic: A Model for Understanding Artistic Change in the 18th Dynasty

• Jun Yi Wong ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Toronto

     University of Toronto

     Canadá

     
• Localización: Zeitschrift für Ägyptische sprache und altertumskunde, ISSN 0044-216X, Vol. 150, Nº. 2, 2023, págs. 312-326
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen

  • The 18th Dynasty of Egypt saw the introduc-tion of various new artistic elements often described as ‘expressive’ or ‘naturalistic’. This development appears to have occurred within a short time span, and many of its details remain unclear. This article examines this phenom-enon with particular focus on palace decorations from Tell el-Dab’a, Malqata and Amarna. The three sites display many artistic commonalities, despite the changes in temple decoration that occurred within the same period. It is pro-posed that this discrepancy reflects two separate strands of artistic development, namely (i) a canonical style predom-inantly found in religious and funerary contexts; and (ii) a ‘dynamic’ style that is epitomised by the palace decora-tions. Analyses are made regarding the development of the dynamic style, its influence on Amarna art, as well as the mechanism of its transmission.