Estrategias visuales de los artistas en el arte del Reino Nuevo

The New Kingdom saw the emergence of various socio-economical professional classes, for instance the artists’ ones, which did not appear, or only rarely, in the documentation of former periods. From the top artists (like Userhat-Hatiay, Pahery of Elkab or Dedia) to the ones at the bottom of their socio-professional scales, the modern observer can witness the incredible diversity of the – at least – 340 artists recorded for the New Kingdom. In this context, one might ask: how do they appear in the documentation record? As masters of the images, did they use specific ways to emphasize their profession? The answer is nuanced and, naturally, varies from case to case. Indeed, some artists were only able to commemorate themselves on basic monuments but some exceptions arose which played with the limitations of the decorum, using the traditional repertoire while innovating by combining or re-fashioning iconographic patterns. This presentation will investigate artists’ visual strategies in New Kingdom Art by providing some insights into this key topic to better understand the social places of the artists in ancient Egyptian society.