At this moment, the entire stone chamber was illuminated as if it were daylight. What is even more surprising is that the torches by the wall are lit one after another.

Under such bright lights, the entire stone chamber is in a golden hue, which looks unusually magnificent. We couldn't tell if the stone chamber was originally in such a hue, or if it was illuminated by the blazing fire. The things in the stone room are also clearly seen and clear at a glance.

We used to be in a dark environment, but now all of a sudden, the surroundings are so bright that we can't adapt well for a while. I quickly closed my eyes, and after a long time of getting used to it, I barely got used to such a bright light. It was only after my vision was fully restored that I was able to take a closer look at the surroundings of the stone chamber.

The walls are carved with old Egyptian murals, which, at first glance, feel a little messy. But if you look closely, there is a lot of information in it, and you can't help but want to look at it twice. The contents of this mural are all-encompassing, full of sacred legends and ancient stories.

These are a type of ancient Egyptian paintings, known as "line engravings". On closer inspection, there are three styles of painting in Egypt. These three painting styles constitute a unique painting decoration system in ancient Egypt.

"Line carving" is the depiction of human figures or animals on stone, and these images are flat shapes. Similar to the painting in the Book of the Dead, it is actually a style of art that is between sculpture and painting.

Another style is hieroglyphs.

Hieroglyphs originally used a symbol to represent a physical object, and each symbol was an independent painting. Afterward. Although hieroglyphs gradually developed into epigrams, they always maintained pictographic symbols.

The painter draws the images of people, birds, lions and other animals, as well as various plants one by one, in a real and vivid way, and matches them on the background of the picture or relief. It plays a role similar to the "inscription" in Chinese painting, and at the same time plays a decorative role in the picture.

The third style of painting is tomb painting, which was the most dominant form of painting in ancient Egypt.

Ancient Egyptian painters did not paint according to objects like Europeans; It's not like Chinese painters, who paint according to their imagination. They create according to the actual purpose, so their paintings are not delicate and beautiful, but complete and complete. The painter tried to make everything as clear and durable as possible. This way of drawing. Similar to drawing map markers.

Reliefs and frescoes were an indispensable part of Egyptian tomb decoration. The foundations were already laid in the Old Kingdom. They have a stylized commonality in the form of the table. In many cases, there is no strict distinction between them. Some of the artistic techniques have been perpetuated, forming a unique and bizarre style of Egyptian art.

This style is characterized by: a horizontal band-like arrangement structure, with horizontal lines to divide the picture; The composition of the picture arranges people and objects in a straight line. The size of the characters is determined according to the dignity and distance of the characters. Be in apple-pie order. Pursue the arrangement effect of the plane; Pay attention to the narrative of the picture, the content is detailed, and the depiction is subtle; The characters are stylized. The head of the figure is frontal and side, the eyes are frontal, the shoulders are frontal, and the waist is front and side; a combination of realism and deformation decoration; Hieroglyphs and images are used together.

Of course, these murals have always maintained the two characteristics of the legibility of the paintings and the painterliness of the words.

The king of Egypt (i.e., the Pharaoh) was the supreme leader of the slave-owning class and the embodiment of the sun god and the god of the Nile. They were kings of the earth when they lived, and they remained rulers of hell when they died.

The religious view of the Egyptians is: the belief that after death, the soul only leaves the body and wanders in the universe, and if it returns, it can be resurrected. Therefore, the Egyptians kept the corpses as "mummies" and attached great importance to the coffin making and the construction of mausoleums to pray for resurrection.

Therefore, the Egyptians attached great importance to the protection of the bodies of the pharaohs and the great slave owners, and built tombs at any cost. This is the origin of the world-famous pyramids of Egypt and the reason why the pharaohs actually built the pyramids.

Since the corpse could not be resurrected due to decay, they thought of carving the statues of the king and princess in stone and preserving them. The king reigns and reigns in the underworld, and he must also enjoy the joy of being on earth. So, I thought of painting all the things in the world on the tomb wall for enjoyment. In this way, the art of carving and painting in Egypt took place and developed.

There are several typical features of Egyptian painting:

The picture is full and does not leave blanks; Men have brown skin, women have light brown or pale yellow, blue-black hair, and black eye circles; The posture must be upright, with the arms close to the torso, facing the audience directly; The figure focuses on the head, and the rest of the body is very brief; The facial contours are realistic, with idealized retouching, and the expression is solemn with little to no expression.

Judging from the Egyptian stone statues we have encountered before, the coloring of the sculptures is generally black eye circles, and some eyeballs are inlaid with crystal and quartz materials to achieve a realistic effect.

It can be seen that ancient Egyptian painting has distinctive national characteristics:

The use of lines to shape and fill in colors is a bit like Chinese painting in this respect; Some of the compositions are flat and unfolded, and some are arranged on a horizontal line, which is not limited by perspective. Composition on a horizontal line, the close figures, the high status of the large draw; The distant, the unattainable, draw small; The picture is full, dense and even, and the blank space is accompanied by hieroglyphs, which has a strong decorative art effect. Therefore, the painting of ancient Egypt is a pearl of ancient civilization.

Ancient Egypt was also very particular about the use of color in painting!

The ancient Egyptians believed that color was part of the essence of people and things, and that objects of the same color had the same properties. They attach great importance to the purity of color, and artists often paint objects with one color first, then use the next, and finally sketch and add limited internal details with fine brushwork.

Different colors represent different meanings:

Black, which is seen as the color of the Nile silt. Meaning reproduction, rebirth, and resurrection, it is often used in statues and coffins to symbolize the rebirth of osiris (the resurrected god of death).

White, is pure, sacred, clean and concise color. This is the reason why Egyptian tools, sacred objects, and even priestly sandals are white, and sacred animals are also depicted as white.

Silver, painted with precious metals, depicting the sun, moon, stars at dawn.

Green is the color of vegetation, new life, and resurrection (along with black). The green and blue stones, which are particularly valued, also represent joy and the color of the sun's rays at dawn. (To be continued......)