Comparison of Babylonian Art vs. Egyptian Art

Comparison of Babylonian Art vs. Egyptian Art Over the history of man, there have been many prosperous empires that ruled in different parts of the world. Babylon and Egypt are two of these empires that ruled almost 500 years apart, but had one thing in common, great artistic works. Wall paintings such as the Babylonian work Investiture of Zimrilim, and the Egyptian Queen Neferati Making an Offering to Isis are examples of the great works of their times. Both pieces are rich in meaning and background, share many similarities, but differences can be seen in their style due to the time periods. The wall paintings Investiture of Zimrilim and Queen Neferati Making an Offering to Isis have backgrounds that let viewers into a small view of their ancient times. The first, Investiture of Zimrilim comes from circa 1750 B.C.E. in the great Babylonian Empire of Mesopotamia. It was constructed on a mud plaster wall of the Palace of Zimrilim, who was a contemporary of the Babylonian Ruler, Hammurabi. The palace was located in the capital city of Mari, about 250 miles north of Babylon. This painting was one of the many extravagant wall paintings Zimrilim had to depict his dominance. It was made to show the empowerment of Zimrilim from the Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of war, fertility, and love. The piece was eventually destroyed by the Babylonians who turned on Zimrilim and ransacked his palace; however parts of the painting survived. The second piece, Queen Neferati Making an Offering to Isis, also depicts the meeting between a ruler and a deity. This piece, shows the ruler Queen Neferati whose tomb is where the painting rests. It is located in the Valley of Queens, near Deir el-Bahri in Egypt, and was painted between 1279-1212 B.C.E. Within the walls of the tomb are many depictions of the Queen using hieroglyphics to outline the figures. These are placed to show the afterlife of the Queen who was buried with the offerings de...