Anfänge der ägyptischen Kunst

In a perspective of visual anthropology, the ancient Egyptian production and reception of images was related in particular to (a) the cultural dealings with death, (b) the relation with the world of the gods and (c) the staging of power. These three functions of representation, representativity or even representativeness were tightly interwoven in the ancient Egyptian culture, and in all three domains the problem of making visible the invisible was a central issue.With this introduction into the ancient Egyptian image production Ludwig D. Morenz connects millennariesold materials with contemporary enquiry, applying a cluster of various analytical methods. Several case studies – partly on well-known objects – address new questions to images materialised in painting, rock engraving or relief, thus opening up new avenues of understanding.