CHAPTER II
THE PERIODS AND SCHOOLS
Before we can understand any art the first step is to discriminate between the different periods and their various styles, and to observe the characteristics of the several schools. If we consider medieval architecture, we separate the many periods from Saxon to Renaissance; if we turn to painting, we distinguish many stages between Cimabue and Canaletto, yet these variations belong but to a single revolution of civilisation, and are comprised within some centuries; in Egyptian art we have to deal with seven revolutions of civilisation and thousands of years. And not only the period, but also the source and traditions of each local branch of the art are to be recognised, and we discriminate a dozen schools of painting between Rome and Venice, each with its own style. So in Egypt we need to learn the various schools and understand their differences. In this chapter we shall notice the essential characters of each period and school as compared together; while in the following chapters the more technical detail of the statuary, reliefs, and paintings will be considered.
In order to grasp more readily the differences of period and of place, there are given here eight typical examples of different periods ([figs. 3 to 10]), and four examples of different schools during one reign ([figs. 11 to 14]). These may be supplemented by reference to subsequent illustrations, but the contrasts will be more readily seen in a simultaneous view.
THE PERIODS OF ART
3. Prehistoric
4. Earliest dynastic
5. Old Kingdom (IV)
6. Middle Kingdom (XII)