Page:An Elementary History of Art.djvu/344

I. Painting in the Classic Period. 1. Egyptian Painting. Although it was in Greece that painting as an inde- pendent fine art must really be said to Lave had its rise, yet we must not pass over without mention the work of the Egyptian painter. Though intimately connected with sculpture, and also entirely subservient to architecture, painting was largely employed by the Egyptians. The commonest form is the colouring of those sculptures which are carved in sand- stone in relief, but sunk beneath the surface. The face of these sculptures was covered with a fine stucco to receive the colours, which are usually flat tints on a white or yellowish ground. The subject is almost always the glorification of the reigning monarch, who is invariably represented much larger than his followers. He is either represented hunting, or driving in war-chariots, or cutting off the heads of his enemies, each head being symbolic of some race which he has conquered (see Fig. 5). Fig. 115 represents the sons of King Rameses II. following their father, who is storming a mountain fortress. Egyptian painting displays an entire absence of per- spective, but the treatment of the subject is systematic. It is, in fact, a combination of ground plan and elevation. The background, whether land or water, is shown as it would appear on a map, but the buildings and figures are