Painters

Egypt's Old Kingdom (Dynasties 3–6, ca. 2649–2150 B.C.) was one of the most dynamic periods in the development of Egyptian art. During this period, artists learned to express their culture's worldview, creating for the first time images and forms that endured for generations. Architects and masons mastered the techniques necessary to build monumental structures in stone. Sculptors created the earliest portraits of individuals and the first lifesize statues in wood, copper, and stone. They perfected the art of carving intricate relief decoration and, through keen observation of the natural world, produced detailed images of animals, plants, and even landscapes, recording the essential elements of their world for eternity in scenes painted and carved on the walls of temples and tombs.

These images and structures had two principal functions: to ensure an ordered existence and to defeat death by preserving life into the next world. To these ends, over a period of time, Egyptian artists adopted a limited repertoire of standard types and established a formal artistic canon that would define Egyptian art for more than 3,000 years, while remaining flexible enough to allow for subtle variation and innovation.

Although much of their artistic effort was centered on preserving life after death, Egyptians also surrounded themselves with beautiful objects to enhance their lives in this world, producing elegant jewelry, finely carved and inlaid furniture, and cosmetic vessels and implements in a wide variety of materials.

Painters had a very important job. They had to paint pictures of people, maybe even a picture for the Pharaoh’s pyramid if they got lucky. The hard part about the painter’s job was that they had to make it so the person had something about them that was instantly recognizable. They always drew in profile because that made it easier to recognize their subject. Men were usually drawn with dark skin working out in the sun. Women were usually shown with fair skin inside of a house. Different things were used to make different colors. Here are most of the colors the Egyptian painters used for their paintings and the materials they used to create the colors:

Color Material Made From;

Black-Charcoal

White-Powdered Limestone

Red-Ochre
Yellow-Iron Oxide

Blue-Copper

Green-Malachite