The finest tomb paintings of the New Kingdom, which began around 1500 BC, were done in raised relief. Relief is where the surface of the work is carved, almost like a sculpture, to give the painting a more three-dimensional effect. In raised relief, the figures in the art are higher than the background, while in sunken relief, the figures are carved into the background. During the reign of Ramses the Great, in the 13th and 12th centuries BC, much of the relief work on monuments was done in sunken relief because it was faster and easier; so more monuments could be carved. Raised relief is also much easier to damage so carving in sunken relief meant the art would last longer. Some tombs also have wall paintings without any relief at all.
Preparing the Surface for Painting
In the New Kingdom tombs of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, the decorating could not begin until the tombs had been cut into the rock. The rough walls were then smoothed and any remaining cracks and chips were filled in with plaster. The whole wall would be covered with a thin layer of plaster to give an even white surface to work on. The next step was to mark the walls with red grid lines. Draftsmen did this by dipping string in red ochre, a pigment used to colour paint. The string was held taut in the position that a line was to be marked. When the draftsman plucked the string like it was the string of an instrument, it would snap against the wall and leave a perfectly straight red line, just like a modern chalkline. The grid lines would help the draftsmen to be sure they drew the figures the right size and proportion. Different parts of the body had specific sizes in relation to each other in Egyptian art. Using the grid in this way, a draftsman would draw the rough outlines of the painting in red.
Once the tomb painting was roughed in, a master draftsman would make corrections and adds details in black. When that was finished, it was time for the sculptors to carve the whole scene in relief using copper and bronze tools. If the painting was to be flat, this step was skipped. With the reliefs carved, the next step was the painting.
The Process of Tomb Painting
Painters used brushes of different sizes and kinds. The bigger brushes were made of wood – one end would be soaked and frayed into bristles. Smaller brushes were made from stems of rushes frayed on one end. Paint was made from different kinds of minerals ground fine and mixed with egg, glue or gum to make it stick. Black paint could be made from charcoal, soot or lampblack, the mineral azurite was used for blue, malachite for green, yellow ochre for yellow and so on. The colors a painter could use were standardized; hair was always black, clothing was white, women’s skin was yellow and men’s skin was red-brown. More creativity was permitted in the painting of animals. Birds especially were rendered in bright and varied colors; often the drawing is so accurate that the species is recognizable, but the colors are entirely different from those found in nature.
The workers who created tomb paintings worked deep inside the cliffs where the tombs were. They did their tasks by lamplight or candlelight. Often, they used candles that had been specially cut to burn for a limited length of time, so that when the candle burned out, the craftspeople knew they were done for the day. When the paintings were finished, a worker applied a thin coat of colorless varnish to help protect the surface. Scientists today still aren’t sure exactly what the varnish was made from.
Tomb Painting Subjects
The pictures depicted in New Kingdom tomb paintings were scenes of daily life. Looking at these paintings, you would see people farming, fishing, hunting, feasting, performing ceremonies and more. There were even funny scenes and jokes in some tombs. Scenes from the deceased person’s life might also be depicted, or described in the text that was also painted on many tomb walls. Significant and glorious details of the person’s career were especially important. In addition to everyday life, many tombs have scenes from The Book of the Dead, the ancient Egyptian magical and religious text. Passages from this book might also be painted on the walls in hieroglyphs.
For more on the religious functions of Egyptian tomb paintings, see Art for the Afterlife: The Functions of Egyptian Tomb Painting.
Sources
Gore, Rick. “Ramses the Great.” National Geographic 179.4 (April 1991): 2-31.
Gougaud, Henri and Colette Gouvion. Egypt Observed. (1980) New York: Gallery Books, 1986.
James, T.G.H. An Introduction to Ancient Egypt. New York: Harper & Row, 1979.
Mertz, Barbara. Red Land, Black Land: Daily Life in Ancient Egypt. Rev. ed. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co, 1978.
Starr, Chester G. A History of the Ancient World. New York and Oxford: Oxford UP, 1991.
Time-Life Books. What Life Was Like on the Banks of the Nile: Egypt 3050-30 BC. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life, 1997.
Weeks, Kent R. “Valley of the Kings.” National Geographic 194.3 (September 1998): 2-33.
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