Queen Nefertiti’s bust

3:31 PM


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A little bit of history

Date: about 1340 B.C.

Nefertiti was an Egyptian Queen whose husband, the Faraoh Akhenaten, broke with all religious and artistic traditions of the time. The Egyptians had many deities, but Akhenaten started worshiping one god above all the others. This god, called Aten, was represented in the shape of a sun. However, Egypt went back to being polytheistic and adopting the so called Egyptian style when his successor was still alive.

A little bit of technique

The queen wears a colorful necklace and a crown with a ribbon. A serpent, the prerogative of royalty, used to adorn the crown. We can still see two of the serpent’s coils, but the head is gone. (Source: Catalogue of the Egyptian Museum in Berlin (1982) p. 97)

A little bit of enthusiasm

It’s amazing how an ancient bust (3300 years old!) can convey so much beauty. Not only beauty but also power and elegance.

When we look at portraits from older times we sometimes get a little shocked because the clothes are so different and unusual. But not here. Her crown only contributes to elevate her, to show that she belonged to royalty.

Do you like Egyptian art? Does the bust still embody our ideal of beauty?

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4 comments

  1. The history is very magnifique! I found your blog in the group: lost letters - tumblr... So I saw with you is brazilian girl and I thought in make a visit... Your blog is very amazing! I don't knew if talked in english(the mine is bad) or in portuguese same. I'm follow you. ;)

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  2. I'm glad you liked the blog, thanks for following! Are you on the lost letters group too? I didn't see you there!

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  3. A little bit of comment

    I don't like egyptian art for i think it's too much like cubism. Not real. Representing a person with each part of their body from a different perspective is too crazy for me. The statues and the sphinx scare me out. It's not realistic, just freaky. I'm more into academic art, i just comment because i wanted to use the ''a little bit of'' in the comment.:D

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    1. Egyptian art and cubism?! That's rather thought provoking! I see where you're getting at: the common idea of representing things from different perspectives, but wouldn't you say the results are quite different? (I say this in part because I really like Egyptian art and never really liked Cubism).

      Also, aren't their intentions different? Egyptians were aiming at representing body parts from their best viewpoint, while Cubists tried to represent an object simultaneously from different viewpoints.

      I guess that two art manifestations that sprung from such distinct backgrounds can't have that much in common - or can they? I'll get back to you on that and in the meantime really hope you can appreaciate Egyptian art more!

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