by Jurate Macnoriute

The most mysterious culture of ancient Egypt having age over five thousands years interested researches of all later periods. Built for the yen to overcome time and death pyramids with tombs of pharaohs confound human minds till now. Wall painting of those tombs reached us through millenniums untouched by sun rays, wars, and vandals. That is why I have chosen Egyptian tomb painting for this research.

Egyptian oracles and architects formed canon, and artists had to obey its rules when they created sculptures, inscribed or painted. Besides determination of proportions canon gave instructions for personages' postures. How personage was more highborn, more schematic was one's figure. Artists simultaneously showed schematic images of gods or pharaohs, in less schematics people commonalty, and animals were depicted in highly realistic manner. In Fig.2 side view breast of harpist on the contrary seems wholly realistically. Completely atypical for Egyptian art image of two musicians with faces shown from the front in Fig.3, because musicians belonged to lower class and they were pictured out of canon.

Main feature of Egyptian poses' firstly striking the eye is strange torsions of bodies. Face shown in profile, shoulders and breast from the front, legs and feet in profile again (Fig.1). In this same manner they depicted some flying birds. Such posture we may identify with anatomical position modified a bit.

Fig.1. Goddess Neith. XIX dynasty. Polychrome relief. Valley of the Queens. Deir the-Medina. Thebes Western.

Fig.2. Harpist. XVIII dynasty. Tomb of Nalt Sheikh Abd the-Qurna. Thebes Western.

Fig.3. Musicians. Dynasty. Painting on stucco. Tomb of Nebamún. Dra Abul Naga. British Museum. London. England.

Head's turning fully away to one side also is not applied for images of mummies what can signify being of body torsion a quality of living persons.

Egyptian posture arm cross is met not often and has its specific touches: the cross is not deep, only wrists are crossed; hands hold the symbols of power (Fig.4). It is not a comfortable position for relaxing the arms, it needs of some strain. Therefore it represents aside of a defensive barrier sign of power.

Fig.4. Detail of The deceased doing a tribute to Osiris enthroned. Painting on board stuccowork. Eslienzo of a singer of Amón. Egyptian museum. Cairo.

Display arm show is frequent, but it has nothing in common with sexuality or competition like it describes in contemporary psychology or with vanity. Without any doubts naked arm show related firstly with hot Egyptian climate. That display carries seriousness and represents prayer, blessing, the act of communicating with a deity, or some magic element (Fig.5), or ritual (Fig.6).

Fig.5. Detail of wall painting The pharaoh, in formal dress, is received for Isis. XX Dynasty. Painting on lime. Tomb of Amonher-Khepchef. Valley of the Queens.

Fig.6. Detail of Group of mourners of a procession funeral.

Pose asymmetrical tonic neck reflex was not applied in Egypt though turned heads and some similar movements of arms can be associated with that gesture. In such cases figures represent archers or workers doing some work over their heads like porterage of hard things. They do not represent indication of disagreement, uncertainty, frustration, and anger. In realm of dead souls nothing to speak of emotions.

Egyptian body bend has no signs of disagreement, disliking like in contemporary psychology, but it represents some working, shyness, or prayer.

Egyptian posture bend away (rotation sideward from a disliked person) is applied frequently, but it softened by canonical not bent shoulders. Such figure does not represent negative feelings towards persons behind back. In kingdom of the dead feelings do not exist.

Posture bow is not characteristic for Egyptian art, because the display shoulders from the front makes bow posture too inconvenient. But sometimes when persons from lower classes are represented in feeling of profound love and admiration their shoulders seen not from the front, the effect of bow (Fig.6) appears.

Body movement cut-off (a form of gaze avoidance in which the head is turned fully away to one side) is a typical Egyptian pose, but it does not indicate uncertainty or disagreement with a speaker's remarks as in contemporary psychology, but Egyptian cut-off can correspond to some feeling of fear of embarrassment.

If human figure is seen in profile and if it has no large belly, such figure seems thin and slight enough. Showing shoulders and breast from the front, Egyptians gave for figure magnitude and odd beauty. This is directly the power cue broadside display (the act of enlarging or exaggerating the body's size). With this quality can be related as well poses high stand display, swagger walk (a usually masculine style of upper-body strutting), loom (gestures and messaging features which appear massive, magnified, and powerful--and often dangerous or imminently threatening to the mind). Showing from side bare feet, Egyptian artists strengthened impression of power and gravity. In addition they drew high headdresses for gods, pharaohs, and nobility giving them higher stature and more impressive semblance. Female figures demonstrate masculine features as high stand display, swagger walk, loom as well. Difference in sizes of figures belong to this same kind of signals -- gods and pharaohs have large sizes, simple people small. 

In Egyptian painting posture sit depends on person status again. Gods, pharaohs, nobility sit strictly under the canon (Fig.7-1), commonalty like craftsmen freely Fig.(7-5). Some sit postures allude to yoga's (Fig.7-1, Fig.7-2, Fig.7-3).

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 Fig.7. Various Egyptian sit postures.

Egyptian figures do similar gestures to mime cue (a position or movement of hands used to depict the shape, motion, or location of a person, place or thing), but they depends sooner to realm of prayer or ritual (Fig.6), or work (Fig.8).

Intention cue (a gesture, motion, or posture which is preparatory to a nonverbal action) is not clear noticeable in Egyptian painting, but the scene seen in Fig.8 can be associated with it.

Fig.8. Detail of Anubis maintains the mummy of the deceased that is late lamented by its widow

To status of submission (the act of acknowledging, complying with, or surrendering to the power or will of another) we can ascribe all Egyptian postures and gestures. Even uncomfortable, strained positions of bodies of gods show signs of submission to someone superior.

Touch cue (tactile signal, a sign received through physical contact with a body part) is not frequent, but sometimes we meet it in scenes of courtship, friendship like in Fig.9 between two women or in scenes of meeting of dead pharaoh with goddess (Fig.5). It brings some warmer atmosphere to kingdom of the dead.

Fig.9. Detail of Two young princesses being caressed, About 1350 to.C. XVIII Dynasty. Painting on stucco. Royal palace. Tell the-Amarna. Museum Ashmolean of Oxford. Oxford. England.

Eternity is opposite to a moment. Long period is opposite to short one, and both they spread in scale eternity vs. moment. Waiting is perceived as longer than not waiting. It follows chronemic cue waiting is understandable nearer to eternity than to moment. Because Egyptians tried to represent eternity, their approach can be associated with representation of waiting, as eternity is abstract and unknowable for human being. Postures similar to yoga's also can represent an effortful attempt to attain a longevity and support hope for life everlasting. Thus cue waiting can be considered as main.

It is difficult to arbitrate also about postural cue sudden body-shift or arm swing movement because Egyptian painting has the approaches to eternity as mentioned above.

Hand positions in body movements decision grip (Fig.10-1, Fig.14) and precision grip (Fig.10-2, Fig.14) are met sometimes in scenes of working.

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Fig.10. Details of tomb painting representing decision and precision grips.

If body movement walk takes place on smooth surface, Egyptians drew legs with not bent knees in wide step Fig.11-1. If climbing up to a mountain takes place, one knee drawn bent Fig.11-2.

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Fig.11. Walk samples.

Gestures and postures having no place in Egyptian tomb painting are as follow: hand behind head (touching, scratching, or holding the back of the neck or head with an opened palm), hands on hips, steeple (a position in which the tactile pads of the fingertips of one hand gently touch their counterparts on the other), deception cue (a nonverbal sign of verbal deceit, untruth, or lying), disgust (a sickening feeling of revulsion, loathing, or nausea), fist (a gesture made with the hand closed, the fingers flexed, and the tactile pads held firmly against the palm), head tilt back (lifting the chin and leaning the head backward (dorsally, i.e., toward the shoulder blades or scapula bones), head tilt side (leaning the head over laterally, toward the right or left shoulder), yawn, kiss, lip touch, palm up, point, lip purse, self touch, shoulder shrug, shoulder shrug display, table slop, balance cue, fight and flight, flexion withdrawal, gaze down, facial flashing, tongue show, jaw droop, eyebrow lower, eyebrow raise, lip compression, lip pout, tense mouth, cry, fear, laugh, tickle, pain cue, rest and digest, sadness, invisibility, stranger anxiety, uncertainty, angular distance.

Egyptian corporeal  and facial beauty is similar to contemporary enough. Thin well set-up figure, long legs, large eyes, full lips. In tomb paintings we do not see old persons. All figures represented in younger days, faces of males similar to females' (Fig.12-2). The characteristic feature is face display in profile, eye from the front. Although Egyptians avoid to represent human emotions, we can not speak about blank faces. Lips of personages have signs of smile what corresponds to vision of eternal happiness in kingdom of the dead. Through facial beauty pleasure cue unfolds as well.

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Fig.12. Face examples.

Egyptian eye contact applied when figures stand face to face (Fig.5 and Fig.9), but their gazes are not concentrated and strained, because Egyptian eyes shown in profile when face set from the front.

Isopraxism (imitation of acts of other individual) is mostly implemented and characteristic for Egyptian painting based on rhythmic repeating over and again (Fig.12-2, Fig.11-1,  Fig.7-4, Fig.5).

Relationship rapport (a pleasant feeling of mutual trust, affinity, and friendship established through verbal and nonverbal means) mostly noticed among figures representing humble individuals (Fig.9).

Lineaments of posture body alignment (the degree of orientation between a speaker's torso and that of a listener) are limited by inconvenience, because always torsos canonically aimed in picture's viewers direction with exception of secondary figures of humble individuals. Thus in essence sooner we can speak about alignment of heads, but not torsos (Fig.13).

Fig.13 The deceased and his wife worshipping to Osiris

Love scenes are not especially characteristic for Egyptian tomb painting, but examples of mother love to her children are met. It represents by holding children on knees and touching them (Fig.14). Children's bodies are similar to adults, but in less sizes.

It is difficult to speak about Steinzor effect (group dynamic), because Egyptian painting has flat space, and figures can not be dislocated around "a table". Partial case of Steinzor effect we can detect in Fig.14 where two large leading "colleagues" sitting across a "conference table" communicate between themselves and with small figures representing children.

Fig.14. Intimate scene of the family life of the king Akenatón. XVIII dynasty. Polychrome limestone. Low relief. Egyptian museum. The Cairo. Egypt.

Status signal dominance (the exercise of influence, power, or control over another). In Egyptian tomb painting dominance shows in swagger walk, broadside display what are achieved applying canon for important figures and freely painting of secondary figures of humble people, also difference in sizes.

Fig.15. Goddess Neith. XIX dynasty. Polychrome relief. Valley of the Queens. Deir the-Medina. Thebes Western. (detail)

Wear, body adornment (the act of decorating the human body to accent its grace, strength, beauty, or to mask its less attractive features and traits, it helps to express a personal or social identity). Wide collars decorate shoulders and upper part of breast and a band worn around arm as if close face's area at the bottom what helps to concentrate attention of spectator onto face. On the other hand collar like rays of sun makes head shining (Fig.15). Long closely constrained woman dresses help to accent figure's grace and beauty (Fig.1). Dresses of persons from lower society more modest, without collars and other adornments (Fig.7-2, Fig.7-3, Fig.7-4, Fig.7-5, Fig.8, Fig.11).

 

1. Introduction

2. Some aspects of nonverbal expression in Egyptian tomb painting

3. Some aspects of nonverbal expression in art of India

4. Some aspects of nonverbal expression in Chinese painting

5. Some aspects of nonverbal expression in Japanese prints

6. Some aspects of nonverbal expression in Greek vase painting

7. Some aspects of nonverbal expression in Roman art

8. Some aspects of nonverbal expression in art of the Middle Ages

9. Some aspects of nonverbal expression in art of the Renaissance

10. Some aspects of nonverbal expression in Baroque art

11. Some aspects of nonverbal expression in Neoclassicism

12. Result

My other articles on art theory

 

Copyright © Jurate Macnoriute