The following is a formal analysis of the statue Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut
which is housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art located in New York City. As
you approach the room you get a feeling of grandness with soft lighting. Within
the room there are several statutes which reference Hatshepsut. Immediately you
notice that the piece is of monumental size. Upon examination I found the
dimensions of the statue to be of monumental size seemingly twice my size and
of a grand nature.
The unknown sculptor carved the statue of red granite so
that the viewer can view it in the round. The composition shows a linear
symmetry. Hatshepsut, a female Egyptian Pharaoh, is portrayed in a stylized
fashion with little signs of naturalism, although the statue clearly shows no
sign of being a woman. Hatshepsut’s pose is of a submissive nature, since she is
represented kneeling down bearing two jars. She is shown wearing the
traditional nemes headdress of a Pharaoh. Of note, since Hatshepsut
was a woman, it is interesting to see that she has been depicted adorned with
the traditional Pharaonic beard. The statue consists of an engaged base. The
actual artist of this piece is unknown.
As a result of Tuthmosis III’s iconoclastic attempts to
remove Hatshepsut from history, the uraeus serpent on her headdress was removed,
as were her eyes before he destroyed the entire sculpture. The figure shows the
evidence of the damage as conservators carefully reassembled the figure from
pieces found from the dumps near Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahri.
To fully understand the significance of this statue, I
believe that an investigation into the life and times of Hatshepsut is in
order.
Hatshepsut (1479-1458 B.C.E) ruled New Kingdom Egypt for
around 20 years. She was one of the few female pharaohs in ancient Egypt’s
history, and became ruler when her husband died. At that time Thutmose III, her
stepson, was too young to rule. Hatshepsut had a difficult task ahead of her-
she had to forgo the traditional feminine representations of a Queen to
establish her role as Pharaoh. To legitimize her job of ruler, Hatshepsut
started a large building program by creating several images, temples, and
obelisks (a tall pointed stone pillar that has been built to remember an
important person or event). She also broke away from
the traditional role of Queen by leading several military campaigns. The visual
representations of Hatshepsut ran a large gamut. These visual forms spanned
from representations of her being obviously female and yet wearing the
trappings of a Pharaoh to her not only devoid of physically female attributes
but bearing the chest and build of a man.
Although motherhood was considered the greatest
achievement for a woman in ancient Egyptian society, this was not considered
the only role for a woman. Women in ancient Egyptian society were allowed to be
educated, to own property and businesses, to work a job and even be involved in
military leadership. Women even had the right to rule in the place of a male
heir who was too young. When Hatshepsut's husband Thutmose II died early, he appointed
his son of his second wife Isis, Thutmose III to be the Pharaoh of Egypt. Because
Thutmose III was too young to rule, his stepmother Hatshepsut became the ruler
by proxy. Soon after, Hatshepsut assumed the throne claiming herself king. She began
commissioning sculptures and erecting architectural structures that depicted her
divine right to be king.
During Hatshepsut’s rule we find a chronological change
in the depictions of her appearance. Early depictions of Hatshepsut show
herself in a more traditional view of a Queen. These portray her with
physically female characteristics and traditional queen like accoutrements. However,
shortly after this we find Hatshepsut slowly introducing a dual gendered image.
In the later part of her rule, we find her representing herself in a blatant
physically male form reminiscent of traditional Pharaonic representations.
Not only did Hatshepsut’s image appear to be female at
one time and male the next, we find an androgynous quality to several of her
representations. Traditionally, a male Pharaoh would be depicted with his
primary wife. These representations were generally viewed metaphorically
symbolizing the royal couple as the mother and father of Egypt. Since Hatshepsut
did not have a formal partner she was generally depicted alone. By using the
device of androgyny, Hatshepsut conveyed the idea that she was both mother and
father of Egypt. By depicting herself in such a way she gain the favor of the Egyptian populace.
Breaking from tradition, we find a representation of Hatshepsut
as a man. In Large Kneeling Statue of
Hatshepsut, Hatshepsut is represented as a fully male Pharaoh. She wears
the nemes headdress and a traditional male kilt. Her midriff is uncovered and
shows the squared chest of a man. She also wears a beard. She is kneeling and
offering Miv'jars oà maat' to Amun, a ritual reserved for the King. Maat is the
order of the universe, without which all of creation would perish. It was the
duty of the pharaoh to uphold the law and administer justice. Because
Hatshepsut is depicted as offering maat to Amun, she is displayed as the
rightful king fulfilling her role as pharaoh. The large, open eyes and the
small, thin nose are consistent to features depicted in her female images. Although
these facial qualities contradict the masculine attributes, I believe that
these features may have been used to represent Hatshepsut’s piety, such as seen
in the votive statues of the Early Dynastic period.
I found a new outlook on art thorough the observation of
formal analysis. I was particularly
struck by the variation of representations of Hatshepsut. By researching the
history of this statue I now better understand the diversity of the statues and
why I found them grouped together in this room. By reviewing the statues, I now
have a better understanding of how Hatshepsut used her sculptural projects to
solidify her right to rule. By Hatshepsut using both male and female gender in
depictions of her, she not only solidified her image as the Pharaoh but was
also able to keep her female identity.
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