Editing Culture of Egypt (section)

=== Egyptian art in antiquity ===
{{Main|Art of ancient Egypt|Ancient Egyptian architecture}}
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| image1 = Princess Nefertiabet before her meal-E 15591-IMG 9645-gradient.jpg
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| caption1 = Stele of Princess [[Nefertiabet]] eating; 2589–2566 BC; limestone & paint; height: 37.7&nbsp;cm (14{{fraction|7|8}} in.), length: 52.5&nbsp;cm (20{{fraction|5|8}} in.), depth: 8.3&nbsp;cm (3{{fraction|1|4}} in.); from [[Giza]]; [[Louvre]] (Paris). This finely executed relief represents the most succinct assurance of perpetual offering for the deceased
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| caption3 = The ''[[Mask of Tutankhamun]]''; {{circa|1327 BCE}}; gold, glass and semi-precious stones; height: 54&nbsp;cm (21{{fraction|1|4}} in.); [[Egyptian Museum]] ([[Cairo]])
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| caption2 = The ''[[Nefertiti Bust]]''; 1352–1332 BC; painted [[limestone]]; height: 50 cm (1 ft. 7 in.); [[Neues Museum]] ([[Berlin]], Germany)
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The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in [[art]]. The [[wall painting]] done in the service of the [[Pharaohs]] followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Early Egyptian art is characterized by the absence of [[linear perspective]], which results in a seemingly flat space. These artists tended to create images based on what they knew, and not as much on what they saw. Objects in these artworks generally do not decrease in size as they increase in distance and there is little shading to indicate [[Distance|depth]]. Sometimes, distance is indicated through the use of ''tiered space'', where more distant objects are drawn higher above the nearby objects, but in the same scale and with no overlapping of forms. People and objects are almost always drawn in profile.

Painting achieved its greats height in [[New Kingdom of Egypt|Dynasty XVIII]] during the reigns of [[Thutmose IV|Tuthmose IV]] and [[Amenhotep III]]. The Fragmentary panel of the Lady Thepu, on the right, dates from the time of the latter king.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bothmer|first1=Bernard|title=Brief Guide to the Department of Egyptian and Classical Art|date=1974|publisher=Brooklyn Museum|location=Brooklyn, NH|page=48}}</ref>

Early Egyptian artists did have a system for maintaining dimensions within artwork. They used a grid system that allowed them to create a smaller version of the artwork, and then scale up the design based upon proportional representation in a larger grid.