Egyptian Art

During most of Egyptian history, the proportions of the human figure were related to the width of the palm of the hand.� These measurements are based on a "sacred ratio," as named by the Egyptians, better known as the golden ratio.

��� Paintings of Egyptians, such as the one above can be seen all over Egypt.� In the picture above, each block equals one and a third handbreadths.� The Egyptians used measurements established by lengths of the body because they are proportional to the golden ratio. These proportions made their artwork more pleasing to the eye. This idea was used by builders and craftsmen to establish the square grids used for the proportioning of their work.�

Hand placement was very important in Egyptian art.� Below are examples of some different had positions found in Egyptian art that follow the same pattern as the art above.� Here, the placement is based on the golden section.

The entire figure below, from feet to hairline, is eighteen palms high; the face is two palms high.� The shoulders are aligned at sixteen palms from the base of the figure, the elbows align at twelve from the base, and the knees at six. Many of the rectangles in the grid surrounding the figure are proportional to the golden rectangle.

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