The Last Judgment of Hunefer

The Last Judgment of Hunefer In the Egyptian time period, art was used as a method of telling stories about previous rulers and providing religious information and guidelines to the citizens. The Last Judgment of Hunefer is a painting that had quite a large impact on the Egyptian people and their thoughts and actions in society, as well as a piece of art that when looked at, creates a lot of interest in discovering the meaning behind it. The large amount of curiosity in the eyes of the observer is due to the fact that this painting is telling a story about an unfamiliar or mysterious time period. People nowadays may not always know the meanings behind the symbols used and as a result, may be inspired to do some research on the painting in order to discover what the artist was initially attempting to get across to the viewer. Although the fact that this painting was used specifically for religious reasons and as a result doesn’t leave much to the imagination, it is still quite intriguing to discover more about the Egyptians and their way of life.
The ability of Egyptian art to ensue curiosity in the eyes of the onlookers is based on the fact that it tells a story about what may have happened thousands of years ago, which without prior knowledge may be a bit challenging to depict. Unless one knows the connotations of the symbols, they will be unable to fully understand the meaning of the story being told. The Last Judgment of Henefer is a great example of Egyptian art work from the XIX Dynasty. This 1’6” painting on papyrus can be found in The British Museum in London, England. Starting at the bottom left of the painting, there are two figures: a human who is being judged, and the jackal headed Anubis facing a scale. The scale is used to weigh the heart of the person being judged. Seen overhead, there’s a pattern of smaller figures known as the deities that the judged had to swear virtuousness to. On the bottom and middle of the painting, a man with the head of an