The principle of frontality in the murals of Egypt’s New Kingdom is more than just an aesthetic representation; it transcends human nature and captures the Egyptians’ desire for eternal life. By emphasizing the essential features of objects, this principle reveals the eternal existence and religious beliefs that Egyptian art strived for.
The murals of the New Kingdom of Egypt are a far cry from Greek art. The figures depicted in Egyptian murals and paintings usually have their heads facing sideways, their upper bodies facing forward, and their feet facing sideways again. Scholars have named this unusual depiction the “principle of frontality”. What does this principle mean? The idea is to depict an object from the side that most clearly shows its features, in order to convey its form as fully as possible. It’s not just a way of artistic expression, it was closely connected to the Egyptians’ worldview at the time.
For example, a human face is best characterized when viewed from the side, a pond is best viewed from above, and a fish is most fully realized when lying down. Egyptian art was meant to combine these different perspectives to express the essence of things. Their paintings weren’t just trying to reproduce reality, they were trying to express what was essential. This is in contrast to the naturalistic approach of Greek art. Whereas Greek art sought to reflect reality as it is, Egyptian art sought to go beyond that.
In this way, it seems that the Egyptians’ interest was not in painting things “as they appear” to the eye, but in painting them in a way that best reveals their essential characteristics. Accidental and transient human movements and postures were of little significance to them, and it was important to present the essential and unchanging character of the figure. What makes Egyptian art even more interesting is that in expressing this essence, it provides profound insight into how they actually perceived things. Their artistic choices were not just aesthetic decisions, but reflections of their philosophical and religious worldview.
In that sense, their art is a form of visual abstraction. The figures in these abstract paintings are represented not as specific human beings, but as human beings in general. An Egyptian mural depicting the birth of Queen Hatshepsut depicts the newborn queen as a boy. This is because gender is not the essence of a monarch. Just as the concept of “dog” doesn’t distinguish between your dog and your neighbor’s dachshund. And just as a particular dog may die, but the “concept” of a dog never dies, so the Egyptian figure never seems to die, but seems to soar toward the eternal world beyond life and death.
Why did the Egyptians choose to depict them this way? Boehringer explains. In a blessed land like Greece, there is a happy pantheistic affinity between humans and nature. People have an “empathic impulse,” and the result is an organic, naturalistic style, like Greek art. However, in a place like Egypt, where the natural environment is harsh, the vastness of the outside world creates a constant inner anxiety. To overcome this anxiety, people develop an “abstract impulse,” resulting in abstract and geometric forms. Along with these environmental factors, the Egyptians chose these forms to express their belief system and religious values. Their art was not simply a reflection of their environment, but a product of their inner turmoil and faith.
The reason the Egyptians developed abstract forms may not necessarily have been due to the dissipation of the environment. They believed in the resurrection of the soul, and in order for the soul to be resurrected, the body it would be housed in would need to be preserved, which is why they sought to preserve the bodies of the dead by mummifying them. For the Egyptians, mummification was about more than just preserving the body. They symbolized the belief that life goes on after death and were considered a resting place for the soul in the afterlife. However, mummies were fragile, so they were replaced by statues and paintings. In order to preserve the body of the dead in sculpture or painting, the principle of frontality was adopted as a way of depicting them. If one arm was not visible against the torso, the person would be forever one-armed.
In the end, the principle of frontality in Egyptian art was not just an aesthetic rule, but the result of deep philosophical thought that reflected the Egyptians’ religious beliefs and outlook on life and death. For them, art was not just for the sake of beauty, but an important tool to ensure the continuation of life and existence forever. In this context, Egyptian art can be understood as an attempt to express eternal truths that transcend life and death, beyond mere sculptural activity.
