Khafre Statue Analysis

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Many art works such as statues are place throughout the world in different settings. The most common setting to find statues is in funerary settings. The importance of statues in funerary settings is that they help project the power the person had before their death. The seated statue of Khafre enthroned from Gizeh, Egypt, build in ca. 2520-2494 BCE, illustrates the idealized Pharaoh after his death. Another sculpture is Kouros, from Anavysos, Greece, build in 530 CE, that depicts the heroism of Kroisos dying in battle. The Kouros and Khafre statue are similar in the way that they both radiate power and serve the purpose of honoring the dead men, yet Khafre has a greater significance because it illustrates the Pharaoh in a more idealized form…show more content…
Khafre ordered statues to decorate the valley temple. The valley temple is a funerary setting in which the Pharoah placed the statues made for him. In this case, the statue is place near the Great Sphinx as a gift to the pharaoh himself. Its original setting was in the valley temple and it is now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The materials used to create Khafre consist of a stone name diorite, which is a hard dark stone imported from the Nile. The diorite gives an insight that the statue was costly to make but that they did not mind going the extra mile to build it. It is the only material used to build the statue, and the stone is finely chiseled. The sculptors that made the statue took a while to build it due to the precise decorative carvings that surround it. He is wearing the royal false beard strapped on his chin and the royal headdress with the euraes cobra of kingship. He radiates such a state of serenity, which relates to the peacefulness of an afterlife. It is important for the statues to illustrate a sense of peacefulness because it allows the audience to enjoy the art, as well as think that they will have a happy after life. If their ruler is at peace at death then so will they. However, that is a promise that cannot be held because every person is different and do not have the same power or wealth. Even though the statue illustrates serenity, it does not fully guarantee that Khafre is really at peace. He was built to prove perfection, but that does not guarantee that he excel in everything he did. One of his hands is in a tight fist while the other lies flat on his lap. He is sitting down with both his feet placed into the ground and close together. His posture is upright and his torso is full of flesh. His face expression is calm and there is a slight smile. The sculptor portrayed

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