t where his followers are mere pygmies. In the
absence of perspective, receding figures of men or of horses were
given by multiplied outlines of legs, or heads, placed before, or
after, or raised above one another. Flat water was represented by
zigzag lines, placed as it were upon a map, one tree symbolized a
forest, and one fortification a town.

These outline drawings were not realistic in any exact sense. The face
was generally expressionless, the figure, evidently done from memory
or pattern, did not reveal anatomical structure, but was nevertheless
graceful, and in the representation of animals the sense of motion was
often given with much truth. The color was usually an attempt at
nature, though at times arbitrary or symbolic, as in the case of
certain gods rendered with blue, yellow, or green skins. The
backgrounds were always of flat color, arbitrary in hue, and
decorative only. The only composition was a balance by numbers, and
the processional scenes rose tier upon tier above one another in long
panels.

[Illustration: FIG. 3.--OFFERINGS TO THE DEAD, WALL PAINTING, EIGHTEENTH
DYNASTY. (FROM PERROT AND CHIPIEZ.)]

Such work would seem almost ludicrous did we not keep in mind its
reason for existence. It was, first, symbolic story-telling art, and
secondly, architectural decoration. As a story-teller it was effective
because of its simplicity and directness. As decoration, the repeated
expressionless face and figure, the arbitrary color, the absence of
perspective were not inappropriate then nor are they now. Egyptian
painting never was free from the decorative motive. Wall painting was
little more than an adjunct of architecture, and probably grew out of
sculpture. The early statues were colored, and on the wall the chisel,
like the flint of Primitive Man, cut the outline of the figure. At
first only this cut was filled with color, producing what has been
called the koil-anaglyphic. In the final stage the line was made by
drawing with chalk or coal on prepared stucco, and the color, mixed
with gum-water (a kind of distemper), was applied to the whole
enclosed space. Substantially the same method of painting was used
upon other materials, such as wood, mummy cartonnage, papyrus; and in
all its thousands of years of existence Egyptian painting never
advanced upon or varied to any extent this one method of work.

HISTORIC PERIODS: Egyptian art may be traced back as far as the Third
or Fourth Memphitic dynasty