Ancient Egyptian wall paintings.

The exquisite tomb paintings of ancient Egypt inspired the third grade to interpret these antiquities in depth. Following a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's extensive Egyptian exhibit, the children began studying these picture stories carefully, using one of the museum's publications. As they looked at reproductions of details and close-ups of these ancient wall paintings, they were able to gather extensive information about ancient Egyptian life.

Artistic Clues to the Past

The children were intrigued by tile stylization of tile figures. Trying to stand in front of a full-length mirror in this position brought forth some giggles. Tile children practiced drawing eyes, hair, and fingernails, Egyptian style. They noticed that the clothing was minimal which helped them to figure out the climate. Jewelry was an important adornment which helped them understand the socioeconomic status of the population.

They were able to observe agricultural practices, noticing the presence of animals such as oxen, crops such as grains and dates, tools such as plows and scythes. They observed methods of transportation on land and water. They learned about the geography of the area rivers, marshes, and desert, and the kinds of plants and trees that grew there.

Though some animals were used for work, others, particularly cats, were revered as idols and worshiped by the people. The children tried to read the hieroglyphic symbols with the help of alphabet charts to glean more information.

Picturing Ancient Egypt

It was exciting to learn so much about a culture from looking carefully at these historical paintings. The children were inspired to imagine themselves as ancient Egyptians and tried a picture story of their own.

After sketching ideas in pencil, each child prepared an 18 x 24" (46 x 61 cm) piece of white tagboard to simulate the limestone blocks from which the tombs were constructed. We sponged alternating layers of white and gold paint to build up the surface on the paper. The result was a mottled color and rough texture, which looked convincingly like limestone. The next step was the final drawing using sepia marker pens on the sponged tagboard. The brown outline contributed to the "ancient" look of the work. The drawings were then painted with thin watercolor washes, using colors observed in the originals in the museum. The children signed their names with hieroglyphs.

The children's paintings were hung as "limestone blocks" to form a wall. The study of historical works of art and architecture--social studies, cultural history, geography, art process and techniques-resulted in an exhibit of spectacular impact.

Carol Borelli is an elementary art teacher At New Canaan Country School in New Canaan, Connecticut.