What is syncretic art. Syncretism is not just a connection of the incompatible, it is a search for inner unity

Syncretism (art)

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In the broad sense of the word, the indivisibility of various types of cultural creativity, characteristic of the early stages of its development. Most often, however, this term is applied to the field of art, to the facts of the historical development of music, dance, drama and ... ... Literary encyclopedia

ART. The root of the word is trial experience, trial, attempt, trial, recognition; skilful who has come down to skill or knowledge by many experiences. All cognition is based on sensation, which is realized due to irritation, direct excitation ... ... Literary encyclopedia

Art- ART. The root of the word is trial experience, trial, attempt, trial, recognition; skilful who has come down to skill or knowledge by many experiences. At the heart of all cognition is a sensation that is realized thanks to irritation, direct ... ... Dictionary of literary terms

A; m. [from the Greek. synkrētismos association] 1. Book. Fusion, indivisibility, characterizing the initial, undeveloped state of what l. C. primitive art (in which dance, singing and music existed in unity). 2. Philos. ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Syncretism- (Greek synkretismos association) cultural category, meaning: 1) a combination within a certain undivided integrity of elements and properties, which will subsequently begin to stand out into independent subsystems and become ... ... Aesthetics. encyclopedic Dictionary

SYNCRETISM- (from the Greek synkrētismós - connection), in a broad sense - the initial fusion of various types of cultural creativity, characteristic of the early stages of its development; in relation to art means the primary indivisibility of different ... ... Literary encyclopedic dictionary

Hellenistic art is the art of Ancient Greece, the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean, Western Asia, the northwestern regions of the Central and southern regions of Central Asia in the fourth quarter of the IV 1st century. BC NS. Development… … Art encyclopedia

D. as a poetic genus Origin D. Eastern D. Antique D. Medieval D. D. Renaissance From Renaissance to Classicism Elizabethan D. Spanish D. Classical D. Bourgeois D. Ro ... Literary encyclopedia

ANCIENT GREECE- the territory in the south of the Balkan Peninsula (see also the articles Antiquity, Greece). The history of D. G. covers the period from the beginning. II millennium BC to the beginning. 1st millennium A.D. Geography and ethnography Phaistos disc. XVII century BC (Archaeological Museum in Heraklio, ... ... Orthodox encyclopedia

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• Introduction to the history of world culture in 2 volumes. Volume 1. Textbook for universities, Kagan MS .. The presented textbook sets out a new concept of the laws of development of world culture, which is based on their synergetic understanding. The book is presented in two volumes. In the first volume ...

The concept of syncretism

Definition 1

Syncretism is the main quality of culture, which characterizes the process of transition from biological animal existence to socio-cultural forms of existence of a rational person.

Syncretism was also represented as a set of cultural practices, religious views and systems of social and social symbols.

This term appeared in ancient culture, but the study of this phenomenon began only in the $ 19th century. This explains the fact that scientists still have not reached a compromise on its meaning and its characteristics. But when it comes to analyzing the historical basis of culture, art, religious processes and the entire spiritual life of society, they turn to syncretism.

Remark 1

Syncretism acts as the pivot on which the understanding is held that all the activities of primitive people, their social and cultural life is something common for all modern people, uniting them into something in common.

The syncretism of this historical state of culture is considered natural and logical, since at the primary level, systemic integrity manifests itself in an undivided and amorphous form.

Syncretism should be distinguished from synthesis, since synthesis is essentially a fusion of objects that exist by themselves and have independence. Syncretism, on the other hand, is a state that precedes the division of the whole into its elements.

Characteristic features of syncretism

The characteristic features of syncretism are:

• Manifestations of the fusion of man with nature, where primitive man compares himself with animals, plants, natural phenomena. Interconnected with these identifications is the phenomenon of totemism, which is special for ancient culture, which, translated from the Indian language of the Ojibwe tribe, means its kind, is a belief in ancestors, which manifests itself in the form of an animal, bird, plant, tree, etc.
• The primitive phenomenon of animism is also associated with syncretism, which in translation from lat. means - the soul, is the animation of the natural world and natural phenomena that surround the primitive man. All human activity is assumed by him as a product of nature. This enduring worldview is called traditionalist.
• With the development of crafts, it was able to bring a person to a new level of understanding of the world, gave him a significant awareness of himself and nature, the originality of his being and the being of nature.

Syncretism manifests itself in the inseparability of cultural subsystems:

1. material,
2. spiritual,
3. artistic.

The spiritual (ideal) subsystem of primitive culture was represented at 2 levels of the work of human consciousness: mythological and realistic levels.

The mythological subsystem was an unconsciously artistic ability of the work of consciousness.

The realistic subsystem was a spontaneously material consciousness. With the help of this consciousness, primitive people could distinguish the properties of natural objects and phenomena. This is an ordinary, practical type of thinking. This is the state of pre-science.

Artistic activity is a manifestation of primitive syncretism. She was rightfully included in the material and production processes.

Artistic activity turned hunting into a poetically sublime action, and the game of hunting was realized as a bloodthirsty ritual. From this follows the practice of sacrifice. The value of the victim increased from the degree of difficulty and danger of the hunt.

The food became a collective meal and was an image of victory, strength, carrying a festive character. Morphological inseparability also refers to the manifestation of syncretism. This concept includes the indivisibility of the genus, type, genres of art.

Remark 2

Primitive artistic creation was a song-tale-action-dance, as A.N. Veselovsky. The main unit of artistic thinking arose - a metaphor, which represented the unity of all that exists.

The world around us is a kind of integrity. At the same time, the objects of this world are relatively independent systems that have their own structure, functions, development trajectories, ways of interacting with other objects. A person's perception of the world depends on his worldview, life experience, training and education, as well as many other factors.

The individual's relationship with the world is also influenced by the peculiarities of life and everyday life, characteristic of a particular historical era. In the early stages of human development, the worldview of people was characterized by syncretism, which was reflected in works of art and religious cults.

What it is

This concept is used in cultural studies, psychology, religious studies, art history. According to scientists, syncretism is an indivisibility characteristic of an undeveloped state of any phenomenon. Culturologists and art historians call the combination of different types of arts syncretic. In religion, syncretism means the fusion of dissimilar elements, trends and cults.

From the point of view of child psychologists, syncretism is a characteristic of the thinking of a child of early and preschool age. Toddlers do not yet know how to think logically, to establish true cause-and-effect relationships ("The wind blows because the trees sway"), to make generalizations based on essential features. A two-year-old child can call with the same word a fluffy kitten, a fur hat, and other externally similar objects. Instead of looking for connections, the baby simply describes his impressions of things and phenomena in the world around him.

The syncretism of a child's thinking is also manifested in creativity. Also K.I. Chukovsky wrote that preschoolers simultaneously rhyme, jump and select "musical accompaniment" for their poetic experiments. Children often use their own drawings for games, and the drawing process itself often turns into fun.

The origins of syncretism

The cultural objects of primitive society are considered a classic example of syncretism in art. During this period, a person did not yet perceive the world as dismembered, did not try to analyze the events that were taking place, did not see the difference between the depicted and the real. In primitive society, there was no division of the spheres of human activity into science, art, labor, etc. People worked, hunted, painted on the walls of caves, made primitive sculptures, performed ritual dances, and all this together was a way of being in the world, knowing it and interacting with it. Cultural artifacts (masks, figurines, musical instruments, costumes) were used in everyday life.

Primitive culture is also notable for the fact that people of that time rarely painted themselves. The explanation for this is the previously mentioned integrity of the perception of the world. If the person himself and his image are one and the same, then why detail the drawing? It is much more important to depict the hunting scene, to show the key moment of the action - the victory over the beast.

The syncretism of primitive culture is also manifested in the identification of a person with members of his community. The system of "I" as such did not exist, instead there was the phenomenon of "we".

In the depths of syncretism, fetishism arose - the idea that the names of people, objects used by fellow tribesmen have magical powers. Therefore, through a thing, you can harm an aggressive neighbor, or, conversely, make a worthy member of the clan successful. Therefore, syncretism is also the beginning of the formation of magical cults. His name was also considered a part of primitive man.

Syncretism of other eras

Syncretism took place in the ancient world, the Middle Ages and later periods of history. Homer's poems describe folk festivities during which they sang, danced, and played musical instruments. A striking example of syncretism is the ancient Greek theater. In ancient Rome, religion was syncretic, since during the conquests, the Romans borrowed and adapted to themselves the religious beliefs of other peoples.

Primitive syncretism also influenced the development of the art of the Ancient East. People already knew about the existence of artistic reality, mastered the techniques of fine and other types of arts, but cultural artifacts were still created for solving utilitarian problems or for performing religious rituals. So, in Ancient Egypt, the avenue of the sphinxes adorned the road to the temple.

In the Middle Ages, syncretism manifested itself in the unity of the spheres of human life. Politics, law, scientific research and art were one whole, but the fundamental principle of all teachings and the regulator of people's lives, of course, remained religion. In particular, mathematical symbols were used to interpret divine truths, so medieval mathematicians were also theologians.

The Renaissance and the New Age were characterized by the differentiation of science, religion, art, and the emergence of specializations. Syncretism in the art of those times was reflected in music (opera), architecture (buildings in the Baroque style), painting (synthesis of the intellectual and sensual principles in the work of N. Poussin), etc.

Syncretism today

Contemporary art is characterized by a tendency towards synthesis, unification of various types of arts, as well as the emergence of a qualitatively new product on this basis. In theatrical performances, vocal parts alternate with recitations, stage actions are combined with demonstration of videos, installations are demonstrated at exhibitions. The dance movements are again given a magical meaning, and the dance itself is a theatrical performance.

Television and advertising are syncretic in nature. Contemporary syncretism is the blurring of boundaries between high art and everyday life, the author and the consumer, the performer on stage and the audience in the hall.

Probably, a person's desire for integration is due to the awareness of oneself as a member of a certain community, a representative of the genus. Also, in the conditions of a post-industrial society, syncretism in art is due to the need to comprehend the new reality (economic and political crises, the spread of information technologies, changing views on a person, society) and adapt to it.

Religious syncretism

Syncretism in religion is based on the desire to unite all creeds, taking the best from each of them. Such beliefs include Bahaism (a synthesis of Christianity and Islam), Voodoo (contains features of Negro beliefs and Catholicism), Won Buddhism (penetration of the ideas of other religions into Buddhism), etc. Followers of traditional religious teachings believe that such associations are unfounded, and therefore doubtful from the point of view of true faith.

The combination of different views, opinions, beliefs, the need to search for their unity, which is also characteristic of our time, is also called syncretism.

Primitive culture against the background of all human activity is characterized by indivisibility and syncretism, which led to the creation of a certain image of the surrounding nature. This direction of activity implies the presence in that period of complete unity of man and the sphere of habitation, which they had just begun to master.

The lack of developed forms of self-awareness at the social level due to the underdevelopment of the organization, which was based solely on feelings and subconscious perception, had a huge impact.

The main features of primitive culture are considered to be its inseparability from man, who had direct opportunities to observe and feel the nature around him. The circle of simple things served as an extension of his own consciousness, copies of the surrounding world created by him. Syncretism of primitive art means the indivisibility and indivisibility of a given era in the field of culture.

At this stage of his development, man personified himself with nature, feeling a kinship with all living organisms, which was expressed in primitive totemism. Household items were perceived as components of magical rituals associated with obtaining food and protecting their territory.

Syncretism at this stage of the cultural state of primitive man is a manifestation of regularity and natural existence, which is clothed in the form of indivisibility and amorphousness. This is a kind of transition from the definition of an animal biological image to the image of the presence of Homo sapiens.

Syncretism is a kind of omen of disintegration into parts of something whole. At this stage, the culture of primitive man can be characterized by new formations directed simultaneously on several sides:

• hunting;
• gathering;
• the production of primitive tools.

Primitive culture - the longest stage of development

Primitive tools, the history of which goes back several million years, can be considered evidence of the emergence of man as such on our planet. It is at this stage that the formation of human society begins. Syncretism can be called a distinctive milestone of primitive culture, its indissoluble human perception of the characteristics of the environment against the background of human properties.

Primitive man strove to define his “I” as inseparable from the living beings that surrounded him. He considered himself a constituent part of the natural environment, of the community. Human individuality at this stage manifested itself exclusively at the level of instincts.

Primitive thinking and art could not boast of a contrasting opposition of objective and subjective, material and spiritual. At this period, it was the norm for a person to syncretically perceive the relationship of certain symbols with the surrounding reality, words and objects. That is why a characteristic feature of that stage of development is the infliction of harm on a drawing or object in reality. Further, this attitude to the environment became the reason for the development of fetishism - the possession of objects with unreal power.

There was no politics in primitive society

The most important characteristics of primitive culture can be considered the complete absence of any manifestations of individual property and inequality in property. In this society, there was a complete absence of political groupings, and social relations were based on social traditionalism. The lack of writing required close contact between members of the community. The older members of the tribe were cultural bearers.

The syncretic nature of primitive art was manifested in the inseparability of the artistic, material and spiritual parts of the culture of that period. A spiritual or ideal concept in primitive culture is manifested at two stages in the development of the consciousness of primitive man: mythology and reality.

The mythological level of development found its expression in the unconscious and artistic way of displaying the surrounding space. Whereas the realistic beginning allowed primitive man to see the natural properties and differences of the surrounding nature: stones, trees, dangerous plants, and so on.

Syncretism in art

Most often, the term Syncretism is applied to the field of art, to the facts of the historical development of music, dance, drama and poetry. In the definition of A. N. Veselovsky syncretism is "a combination of rhymed, orchestical movements with song-music and elements of the word."

The study of S. phenomena is extremely important for resolving questions of the origin and historical development of the arts. The very concept of "syncretism" was put forward in science as opposed to abstract theoretical solutions to the problem of the origin of poetic genders (lyrics, epic and drama) in their supposedly consistent appearance. From the point of view of the theory of syncretism, both the construction of Hegel, who asserted the sequence: epic - lyricism - drama, and the construction of J.P. Richter, Benard and others, who considered the original form of poetry, are equally erroneous. From the middle of the XIX century. these constructions are increasingly giving way to the theory of syncretism, the development of which is undoubtedly closely related to the successes of evolutionism. Already Carriere, who basically adhered to Hegel's scheme, was inclined to think about the initial indivisibility of poetic genders. G. Spencer also expressed the corresponding provisions. The idea of ​​syncretism is touched upon by a number of authors and, finally, is formulated with full certainty by Scherer, who, however, does not develop it in any way broadly in relation to poetry. A. N. Veselovsky set himself the task of an exhaustive study of the phenomena of S. and clarification of the ways of differentiating poetic genders, in whose works (mainly in "Three Chapters from Historical Poetics") S.'s theory received the most vivid and developed (for pre-Marxist literary criticism) development, justified by a huge amount of factual material.

In the construction of A.N. Veselovsky, the theory of syncretism, basically, boils down to the following: during its inception, poetry was not only not differentiated by gender (lyrics, epic, drama), but it itself was far from being the main element of a more complex syncretic whole : a leading role in this syncretic art was played by dance - "rhythmic orchestical movements accompanied by song-music." The lyrics were originally improvised. These syncretic actions were significant not so much in meaning as in rhythm: sometimes they sang without words, and the rhythm beat on a drum, often the words were distorted and distorted to please the rhythm. Only later, on the basis of the complication of spiritual and material interests and the corresponding development of the language, "the exclamation and insignificant phrase, repeated indiscriminately and understanding, as a support for the melody, will turn into something more integral, into a real text, an embryo of the poetic." Initially, this development of the text was due to the improvisation of the lead singer, whose role was increasing more and more. The lead singer becomes a singer, the chorus is left with only the chorus. Improvisation gave way to practice, which we can call artistic. But even with the development of the text of these syncretic works, dance continues to play an essential role. The choric song-play is involved in the ceremony, then it is combined with certain religious cults, the development of the myth is reflected in the character of the song-poetic text. However, Veselovsky notes the presence of non-ritual songs - march songs, work songs. In all these phenomena - the beginnings of various types of arts: music, dance, poetry. Fictional lyrics were isolated later than fictional epics. As for the drama, on this issue AN Veselovsky resolutely (and rightly [neutral?]) Rejects the old ideas about drama as a synthesis of epic and lyric poetry. The drama comes directly from the syncretic action. The further evolution of poetic art led to the separation of the poet from the singer and the differentiation of the language of poetry and the language of prose (in the presence of their mutual influences).

GV Plekhanov, who made extensive use of Bücher's work "Work and Rhythm", went in this direction in explaining the phenomena of primitive syncretic art, but at the same time polemicized with the author of this study. Fairly and convincingly refuting Bucher's thesis that play is older than labor and art is older than the production of useful objects, G.V. Plekhanov reveals the close connection between the primitive art of play and the labor activity of a pre-class person and his beliefs conditioned by this activity. This is the undoubted value of GV Plekhanov's work in this direction (see mainly his "Letters without an address"). However, for all the value of the work of G.V. Plekhanov, in the presence of a materialistic core in it, it suffers from flaws inherent in Plekhanov's methodology. It reveals not fully overcome biologism (for example, imitation of the movements of animals in dances is explained by the “pleasure” experienced by primitive man from the discharge of energy during the reproduction of his hunting movements). Here is the root of Plekhanov's theory of art-play, based on the erroneous interpretation of the phenomena of syncretic connection between art and play in the culture of “primitive” man (which partially remains in the games of highly cultured peoples). Of course, syncretism of art and play takes place at certain stages of cultural development, but this is precisely a connection, but not identity: both are different forms of showing reality, - play is imitative reproduction, art is ideological-figurative reflection. S. receives a different illumination in the works of the founder of the Japhetic theory - Acad. N. Ya. Marr. Recognizing the language of movements and gestures ("manual or linear language") as the most ancient form of human speech, Acad. Marr connects the origin of sound speech, along with the origin of the three arts - dancing, singing and music - with magical actions that were considered necessary for the success of production and accompanying one or another collective labor process (Japhetic theory, p. 98, etc.). So. arr. S., according to the instructions of Acad. Marr, included the word (“epic”), “the further design of the embryonic sound language and development in the sense of forms depended on the forms of society, and in the sense of meanings on the social worldview, first cosmic, then tribal, estate, class, etc. " ("Towards the Origin of Language"). So in the concept of Acad. S. Marra loses its narrowly aesthetic character, associating with a certain period in the development of human society, forms of production and primitive thinking

Ancient Egyptian architecture

The Egyptians, regardless of their social status, built their houses from fragile materials - reed, wood, clay or raw brick and never used stone. Among the few surviving dwellings, the majority are village shacks of the poor, and only in the capital city of Akhetaton were the houses of representatives of the nobility discovered. The oldest houses of the pre-dynastic period were often simply shelters for protection from the wind and sun, quite suitable for living in dry and hot climates. The estates of the nobility were complex structures with bathrooms, sewers and spacious communal rooms with high ceilings and small windows, cramped bedrooms and free-standing kitchens, barnyards and granaries. Common rooms were often decorated with wall paintings. The stairs led to the roof, where the family spent most of the time, or to the second floor. At the dwelling there was a chapel for the worship of one or several gods (in Akhetaton - exclusively to Aton), which was usually a separate structure in the courtyard of the house. Since most Egyptians, with the exception of the pharaohs, had one wife each, there were no special women's quarters in an ordinary dwelling. Egyptian women participated in public life and enjoyed numerous rights that were denied to women in other countries of the Ancient East.

Steles and mastabs

Architectural structures made of stone were intended only for the dead and for the worship of gods. The oldest surviving human burials testify that the Egyptians made provisions for the afterlife. The tombs of the times of the 1st and 2nd dynasties, regardless of whether they belonged to kings or ordinary members of the community, were built from raw bricks and wood, although some of their elements were already made in stone. For example, stone slabs (steles) are known from the tombs of the pharaohs of the 1st dynasty in the Helwan necropolis, which were embedded face down into the ceiling of the chamber above the burial. On these steles, a primitive convex image of the deceased, his name and titles, basic foodstuffs, vessels with drinks and hieroglyphic signatures to them were carved. Such a custom was clearly associated with the idea that this entire set would be preserved even after the products placed in the grave decay, and the body of the owner of the tomb turns to dust. Perpetuation in an imperishable stone was considered as a magical means of ensuring eternal existence for the deceased and the means of subsistence necessary for him. Soon, stone steles began to be placed in the walls of tombs, they acquired larger sizes and more varied forms, gradually turning into<ложные двери>in the western wall of the tomb. It was believed that the deceased, depicted above the lintel, would go out of the burial chamber through this door to taste the food that his relatives would regularly bring to the tomb, and therefore their names and their figures were written on the panel of the false door.

In the era of the III and IV dynasties, stone pyramids were built for the pharaohs. Around them, mastaba tombs were placed in rows, which the rulers presented to their high dignitaries and entourage. The mastabs had numerous premises, during the 5th dynasty there were up to a hundred of them. They were richly decorated with reliefs that reproduce the lifetime deeds of the owner of the tomb, including the performance of official duties, as well as forms of display of royal favor.

A typical mastaba consisted of a vertical shaft in rock, often up to 15-30 m deep, leading to a burial chamber. A similar tomb was built for the wife of the deceased. The above-ground structure was a solid structure of hewn stone, to which an east-facing prayer house with a false door in the western wall was first attached. Over time, the chapel acquired ever larger dimensions and was incorporated into a stone ground structure. It was divided into several cult rooms, the walls of which were decorated with reliefs designed to provide the owner of the tomb with everything necessary in the afterlife. One or more rooms located in the depths (they are called serdabs) were connected by narrow openings in the masonry with halls accessible to the living, in which, as a rule, there were statues of the deceased. Some of these statues represent magnificent portraits that are considered to be among the highest achievements of sculpture in the era of the Old Kingdom.

Pyramids and temples

There is reason to believe that the transformation of a complicated mastaba into a stepped pyramid was carried out by King Djoser and his architect Imhotep. Later, the kings of the III and IV dynasties made attempts to change the design of the pyramids in a different direction. Especially noteworthy are the pyramid in Dakhshur with a different angle of inclination of the side faces and the pyramid in Medum with steeper steps than those of the pyramid of Djoser, later rebuilt into a real pyramid, but erected so poorly that its faces are now completely destroyed. Pharaoh Snefru, founder of the IV dynasty, conceived and erected the first true pyramid, and his son Cheops was the greatest of all pyramids.

Just as the mastaba had a false door facing east, the cult chapel in the royal pyramids was also located in the eastern part. By the era of the IV dynasty, it turned into a temple of a complex layout with a courtyard decorated with columns, a vast hall around the perimeter of which there were statues of the pharaoh, religious premises and the main sanctuary facing the pyramid. This pyramid temple was connected by a long covered passage going eastward all the way to the border of the desert and cultivated fields, covered with water during the annual floods of the Nile. Here, at the very edge of the water, was the lower one,<долинный>a temple with places of worship. Food and everything needed for the funeral worship of the pharaoh was delivered here on boats during the flood. They were carried along a covered passage to the temple at the pyramid and offered to the Pharaoh, whose spirit (ka) could leave the sarcophagus to eat the prepared dishes.

The Valley Temple of Khafre - a simple, unadorned, but massive structure of huge rectangular granite blocks - still stands next to the great sphinx with the face of the pharaoh himself.

The austere grandeur of the architecture of the 4th dynasty was rejected by subsequent rulers who built their pyramids and temples in Abusir. The lower temple of Pharaoh Sahur was decorated with graceful granite columns in the shape of date palm trunks. The walls of the temple were covered with bas-reliefs on which the pharaoh is depicted as the victor of his defeated enemies - Asians and Libyans. The funeral temple at the pyramid, which also has a covered approach, is many times greater in size and grandeur than similar structures of the previous pharaohs. The use of stone of contrasting colors - limestone, basalt, alabaster - enhances the impression of the magnificent painted reliefs that cover its walls. Here are: scenes of Pharaoh's triumph over defeated enemies and their helpless wives and children; a ruler who is engaged in fishing and hunting for birds or shooting antelope, gazelles and other animals; departure of the merchant fleet of 12 sea vessels to the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean and its return; deities of the provinces making funeral offerings to the Pharaoh.

A notable feature of this temple is a complex drainage system of copper pipes with a length of more than 320 m.It was laid under the floor of the temple and brought out, and it was not rainwater that flowed down from the roof (although there was a special device for this), but wastes from ritually unclean cult ceremonies that were required to be removed outside the sacred space.

The magnificent achievements of the builders of temples of the era of the Old Kingdom can be judged only by individual fragments of buildings. The architects of that time demonstrated an astonishing level of proficiency in the processing of the hardest stone types. Meanwhile, the royal architects of subsequent times preferred to build from softer material and from smaller blocks.

The next period of flourishing of Egyptian architecture was during the reign of the XII dynasty, the religious capital of which was in Thebes. The structures of that era have not survived in their original form, with the exception of the temple complex on the east bank of the Nile at Karnak. This is primarily a white limestone chapel dating back to the reign of Pharaoh Sesostris I. Separate details of this complex were found in the masonry of the third pylon, erected by Amenhotep III in the eighteenth dynasty. This pharaoh, using the aforementioned prayer house as a quarry, unwittingly preserved for posterity an architectural gem, whose value is far superior to any of the grandiose buildings erected by him in pursuit of sovereign greatness.

Since the pharaohs of the 18th dynasty began to cut down secret tombs for themselves in the Valley of the Kings near Thebes, they had to separate their funeral temples (corresponding to temples at the pyramids of the Old Kingdom) and the tombs themselves. At this time, a new style developed in architecture, and all funeral temples follow the same type. They consist of a pylon - an imposing entrance structure in the form of two towers with a connecting portal leading to a partially open courtyard with a colonnade on the north and south sides. The entrance through the second pylon gave access to the next colonnaded courtyard - a kind of hall for celebrations in honor of the gods, followed by several hypostyle halls. Around them, along the perimeter, were places of worship, treasuries, shops for the sale of sacred objects used in rituals, halls for preparing sacrifices and chapels in which images of the gods were placed. Literally every square meter of the temple walls inside and outside was covered with painted reliefs glorifying the wars and other deeds of the pharaohs, everyday temple rituals and major religious holidays. Hieroglyphic inscriptions tell about the exploits of the kings and their offerings to the gods. The funeral cult to which such temples were dedicated was aimed at serving the pharaoh located in a remote rocky burial vault.

A number of royal funeral temples stretch from north to south along the edge of the desert west of Thebes. Each of them was dedicated to the cult of one of the rulers buried in the Valley of the Kings. Behind the temples are the limestone tombs of the nobility.

In Karnak, for about 2000 years, a complex of buildings of the main state temple dedicated to the king of the gods Amon-Ra was created. At present, it is a series of columns, ruins of pylons, overturned stone blocks; monumental obelisks (monolithic stone pillars) with numerous hieroglyphic inscriptions. Some of the painted reliefs are very well preserved, others have lost their original appearance, and still others have turned to dust. Each pharaoh sought to build a pylon, colonnade, portal, hall, obelisk, or to leave a hieroglyphic inscription with his name and title in honor of the great god of the Egyptian state, but first of all to perpetuate himself. During the reign of Ramses II, the Great Hypostyle Hall with 134 columns was completed.

The ensemble of temples in Karnak, more than 1 km long, is connected by an alley of sphinxes with the temple in Luxor with its fantastic colonnade - the creation of Amenhotep III - and with a giant pylon erected by Ramses II in memory of the wars he waged in Asia.

Significantly upstream of the Nile, in Abu Simbel, Ramses II built an incredible temple. This original structure was carved into the rock, and its courtyard and places of worship were built of sandstone. Outside, there are four colossal statues of seated Ramses II, carved out of rock monoliths.

The concept of the canon in art. Canon in sculpture and painting of Ancient Egypt.

The canon establishes a connection between the ways and methods of depiction developed by the history of art and the content prescribed from the outside, official iconography, normative aesthetics, and cult requirements. The canon exists in a system of rules and regulations, it preserves, stops the development of artistic thinking. The creative method and style, on the other hand, are evolving. This is why Egyptian art cannot be called canonical. It developed slowly, but not according to the canons. It is noteworthy that in the transitional periods between the epochs of the Ancient, Middle and New kingdoms, the time of the weakening of centralized power, the canons disappeared, but artistic traditions were preserved. As a result, there was a feeling of incompleteness, transient style. During the Amarna period, the canon was completely rejected. In the era of the Old Kingdom, the city of Memphis at the beginning of the Nile Delta became the capital of the united Upper and Lower Egypt.

The epoch of the Pharaohs of the III-IV dynasties of the Ancient Kingdom is associated with the construction of giant pyramids - the only one of the "Seven Wonders of the World" that has survived to our time. This fact speaks of their strength and perfection. The pyramid, which has a regular square at its base, is a unique form in the history of architecture, in which the concepts of construction (geometric basis) and composition (figurative integrity) are identical. It is the pinnacle of the art of the geometric style and at the same time is the perfect embodiment of the Egyptian canon. The simplicity and clarity of the pyramid's shape take it out of historical time. This is how the catch phrase should be read: "Everything in the world is afraid of time, and time is afraid of the pyramids." It is known that the classical shape of the pyramid did not take shape immediately. One of the early pyramids of Pharaoh Djoser in Sakkara (III dynasty, c. 2750 BC), erected by the architect Imhotep according to the calculations of Khesi-Ra, has a stepped shape, as if composed of seven mastabas, and a rectangular base. The pharaoh of the IV dynasty Sneferu, the father of Khufu, the builder of the tallest and most famous pyramid, departed from the stepped form. Sneferu built two pyramids at Dashur. The third was under construction in Medum - it was started earlier, but under Sneferu it was converted from a stepped to a regular one. For a long time, the large pyramids were considered the tombs of the pharaohs. Indeed, empty sarcophagi were found in their "burial chambers", but none of them contained the pharaoh's mummy, inscriptions, evidence that these were tombs.

Meanwhile, in other rocky and underground tombs, such inscriptions are present in abundance - with detailed titles of the pharaohs, texts from the "Book of the Dead". Inside the large pyramids in Gyse, north of Memphis and Saqqar, you can find many graffiti inscriptions, but these are the usual marks of builders, such are made now, so that it is clear which stone to put where. Not a single pharaoh's name! To the question of why such huge “tombs” were needed, reasoned answers have appeared in archeology only in recent years. The largest pyramid - Pharaoh Khufu (c. 2700 BC), the Egyptians called it "Akhet Khufu" ("Khufu horizon"; Greek Cheops) - composed of 2 million 300 thousand stone blocks, from 2 , 5 to 15 tons each. The side of the base of the "great pyramid" is 230.3 m, height - 147 m (now because of the lost summit and facing - 137 m). Inside the pyramid there will be free space for St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome (the largest in the world), St. Paul's Cathedral in London and St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, it took ten years to build the road along which the boulders were dragged to the construction site, and the pyramid itself took twenty years. But the stories that only slaves worked on the construction are not supported by the facts.

Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at the rocks of Deir el-Bahri (XVIII Dynasty, c. 1500 BC)

In 820, by order of the son of the legendary Harun al-Rashid Caliph Mamun, the warriors punched a hole in the pyramid for several weeks (the entrance, usually located on the north side, was carefully masked). Having penetrated inside, they found an empty sarcophagus without a lid. The same cenotaph was found in the dungeon of the destroyed pyramid next to the pyramid of Djoser. One of the hypotheses, which is called "solar", suggests the symbolic meaning of these structures. The Cairo Museum contains "pyramidions", stones that were on the tops of the pyramids and personified the Sun. Obelisks associated with the cult of the Sun are crowned with the same pyramidal shapes. The facing of the pyramids in ancient times was polished and sparkled like a mirror, reflecting the sun's rays. The so-called ventilation shafts, inclined channels inside the Khufu pyramid, have an astronomical orientation. One is directed at Orion's belt, associated with the cult of Osiris, the other at Sirius, the star of the goddess Isis. Three large pyramids - Khufu, Khafra and Menkaur - are oriented to the cardinal points and are located on the same diagonal axis. The total number of open pyramids is 67, all of them were erected not far from each other and not at the most successful, from a construction point of view, place - on the edge of a rocky plateau (in some cases, it had to be strengthened with special walls). But then the "map" of the pyramids exactly repeats the map of the starry sky. The seven steps of the Djoser pyramid correspond to the seven planets known to the Egyptians and the seven symbolic steps of human life in the afterlife. Like the Babylonian ziggurats, they were painted in different colors. The top step was gilded. In the "Pyramid Texts" these structures are called "mountains of the star gods."

The shape of the pyramid is an ideal geometric abstraction, a symbol of eternity, absolute peace. It is not architecture, much less a body storage capacity. The expressiveness of the pyramid is in its external form, which is not consistent with any utilitarian function, but is related to many other symbolic structures of the Ancient World. There is a version about the use of the pyramids for the Mysteries of the Initiates and as accumulators of cosmic energy, explaining the biomagnetic properties that affect the psyche of a person inside. Many functions of the pyramids are associated with the use of the properties of symmetry and irrational ratios of quantities. Around the pyramids there were many other buildings - temples, mastabs, avenues of sphinxes that form a whole city. The funeral temple at the Khafre pyramid has a hall, the ceiling of which is supported by monolithic granite pylons. Horizontal massive blocks are laid on them. This design repeats the megalithic one and at the same time is the prototype of the ancient Greek order. The architecture of the "solar temples", which combine the forms of mastaba and obelisk, is interesting. “No other art has created such an impression of overwhelming grandeur by such simple means,” wrote the architectural historian O. Choisy. The feeling of stability, durability was achieved by the skillful use of scale - the undivided mass of a wall, a pylon, against which a few small details stood out in color and chiaroscuro. Further, O. Choisy writes: "The shape of the wooden structure is repeated in the clay buildings, and the forms of the latter leave their mark on the stone architecture ... The ribs of the outer walls of the houses were strengthened with bundles of reeds, and above the ridge of palm branches protected the edge of the clay terrace." Such a ridge was transferred to stone construction in the form of a cornice carved out of sandstone with a fillet, called the "Egyptian throat".

Architecture of Ancient Greece. Acropolis of Athens.

Ancient greek temples

The most important task of architecture among the Greeks, like any other people in general, was temple building. It gave rise to and developed artistic forms, which later passed on to structures of all kinds. Throughout the continuation of the historical life of Greece, its temples constantly retained the same basic type, which was later assimilated by the Romans. The Greek temples were not at all like the temples of Egypt and the East: they were not colossal, religiously fearsome mysterious temples of formidable, monstrous deities, but cheerful, welcoming abodes of humanoid gods, arranged like the dwellings of ordinary mortals, but only more graceful and wealthy. According to Pausanias, the temples were originally built of wood. Then they began to be built of stone, and, however, some elements and techniques of wooden architecture were retained. The Greek temple was a building of mostly moderate size, standing inside a sacred fence (ι "ερόν) on a foundation of several steps and in its simplest form resembling an oblong house, having two squares folded together in plan and a gable, rather sloping roof; one of its short sides did not go out as a wall, which was here replaced by two pilasters at the edges and two (sometimes 4, 6, etc., but always even numbers) columns standing in the span between them, somewhat receding into the depths of the building (usually by ⅓ square), it was partitioned off by a transverse wall with a door in the middle, so that a kind of porch or covered passage (porch, πρόναος) and an internal room closed on all sides - a sanctuary (ναός, cella), where the statue of the deity stood and where no one had no right to enter, except for the priests. A similar building is called. "temple in pilasters" (ι "ερόν ε" ν παραστάσιν, templum in antis). In some cases, exactly the same porch as from the front o fasa, it was arranged on the opposite side (ο "πισθόδομος, posticum). The pilasters and columns of the entryway supported the ceiling and roof, the latter forming a triangular pediment above them. This simplest form in more extensive and luxurious temples was complicated by some additional parts, through which the following types of temples originated:

"Temple with a portico", or "forgiving" (Greek πρόςτνλος), which has a portico in front of the entrance hallway with columns standing just opposite their pilasters and columns

The temple "with two porticos", or "amphiprostyle" (Greek αμφιπρόστνλος), in which to ridge. in antis about two porches attached along the portico to both

The temple is "circular-winged", or "peripteric" (Greek περίπτερος), consisting of a temple in antis, or forgiving, or amphiprostatic, built on a platform and surrounded on all sides by a colonnade

The temple is "double-winged", or "dipteric" (Greek δίπτερος) - one in which the columns surround the central structure not in one, but in two rows

The temple is "pseudo-winged" or "pseudoperipteric" (Greek ψευδοπερίπτερος), in which the colonnade encircling the building is replaced by semi-columns protruding from its walls

The temple is "compound double-winged", or "pseudodiptery" (Greek ψευδοδίπτερος), which seemed to be surrounded by two rows of columns, but in which in fact the second row was replaced from all or only from the long sides of the building by half columns embedded in the wall.

Column styles

From the foregoing, one can see how important the column played in Greek architecture: its forms, proportions and decorative decoration subordinated to themselves the forms, proportions and decoration of other parts of the structure; she was the module that defines his style. It most of all expressed the difference in the artistic taste of the two main branches of the Hellenic tribe, which gave rise to two separate directions that dominated Greek architecture. As in character, aspirations, image of public and private life, the Dorians and Ionians did not resemble each other in many ways, just as the difference between their favorite two architectural styles was great, although the basic principles of these styles remained the same.

The Doric style is notable for its simplicity, power, even the heaviness of its forms, their strict proportionality and full compliance with mechanical laws. Its column is a circle in its section; the height of its rod (fust) refers to the diameter of the cut as 6 to 1; the rod, approaching the top, becomes somewhat thinner and slightly below half of its height has a thickening, the so-called. "Swelling" (ε "ντασις), as a result of which the profile of the rod is rather crooked than rectilinear; but this curvature is almost invisible. Since this circumstance does not at all increase the strength of the column, it must be assumed that the Greek architects tried only to soften by means of swelling the impression of dryness and rigidity, which it would produce with a geometrically precise straightness of the profile.In most cases, the column is covered in the direction of its length with "spoons" or "flutes" (ρ " These grooves, 16-20 in number, were made on the column, apparently, in order to revive the monotony of its smooth cylindrical surface and so that their perspective contraction from the sides of the column would allow the eye to better feel its roundness and produce a play of light and shadow. The lower end of the column was initially placed directly on the platform of the building; then sometimes a low quadrangular plinth was placed under it. A little short of its upper end, the rod is girded with a narrow, recessed groove, like a depressed hoop; then, through three convex rollers, or straps, it passes into a "pillow" or "echin" (ε "χι˜νος). This part of the column really looks like a pressed round pillow, at the bottom is almost the same diameter as the rod, and wider at the top On the pillow lies a rather thick square-shaped slab, the so-called "abaca" (βα "αξ), protruding with its edges forward against the echinus. The latter, together with the abacus, constitutes the "capital" of the column. In general, the Doric column, with the simplicity of its forms, perfectly expresses the elasticity and resistance of the column to the weight that is supported by it. This weight is the so-called. "Entablature", that is, stone beams thrown from column to column, and what lies above them. The entablature is divided into two horizontal belts: the lower one, which lies directly above the abacus and is called "architrave", presents a completely smooth surface; the upper belt, or "frieze", contains two alternating parts: "triglyphs" and "metopes". The first are oblong protrusions, depicting, as it were, the ends of the beams lying on the architrave, going inside the building; two vertical flutes are embedded in them, and two halves of flutes limit their edges; under them, below the convex strip, by means of which the frieze is separated from the architrave, there are small appendages with a row of buttons, as it were, of hats from nails, called “drops”. The metopes, or spaces between triglyphs, were originally empty spans, in which vessels and statues were placed on the architrave, or shields were attached; later, these spaces began to be cut with slabs with relief images of similar objects, as well as scenes from various cycles of mythological legends. Finally, the Doric entablature ends with a strongly protruding cornice or "gezims", under which is the so-called. “Dripstone” is a row of quadrangular plates, dotted with 18 “drops” on each. Along the edge of the cornice, in the so-called. "Soffit", seated lion heads with open mouths, designated for the drainage of rainwater from the roof. The latter was made either from stone or tile slabs; the triangular pediments formed by her, bordered by a dismembered cornice, were often decorated with sculptural groups. At the top of the pediment and along its edges, acroteres appeared in the form of palm leaves (palmettos) or statues on pedestals.

In the Ionic architectural style, all forms are lighter, softer and more graceful than in the Doric one. The column does not stand directly on the foundation of the building, but on a quadrangular, rather wide foot (stylobant) and has a base (spira) below, consisting of several round shafts or "torus" (torus), separated from one another by hollow grooves, or "cattle" ... The core of the column is slightly widened at the bottom and becomes thinner as it approaches its top. The Ionian column is higher and slender than the Doric one and is covered with flutes in a larger number (sometimes up to 24), and they are cut into it much deeper (sometimes representing exactly a semicircle in section), separated from each other by small smooth spaces and do not reach the very top and bottom of the rod , ending here and there with a rounding. But the most characteristic part in the Ionic style is the column capital. It consists of a lower part (echina), decorated with the so-called. "Ovami", and from the four-cornered mass lying above it, pushing forward strongly and forming the capitals on the front and back sides along a pair of curls, or "volutes". This mass looks like a wide and flat pillow laid on the echinus, the ends of which are twisted into a spiral and tied with straps, marked on the sides of the capital with small rollers. The most volutes are encircled by convex rims that twist in the form of a spiral and converge in the middle into a kind of round button, the so-called. "eye". From the corners formed by the volutes, it protrudes on the echina along a bunch of flower petals. The abaca is a thin square slab of much smaller width than the capital, decorated with wavy petals along the edges. The Ionian entablature consists of an architrave, splitting into three horizontal stripes that protrude slightly forward one above the other, and a frieze, which usually depicts hanging skulls of sacrificial animals, wreaths of greenery, garlands of flowers, or relief scenes of mythological content. In the latter case, the frieze was called "zoophorus". The architrave is separated from the frieze by a shelf, under which there is a groove, ornamented with teeth or in some other way. The cornice of the entablature, separated from the frieze by also an ornamented strip, hangs strongly over it; it contains in its lower part a rather wide row of large teeth, or "denticles". CHAPTER 2. OUTSTANDING SCULPTORS OF THE ARCHAIC ERA