Who were the artists?
Ancient Egyptian artists did not sign their works, and even when we know from inscriptions that someone was an artist by profession, it is rarely possible to identify his work. Imhotep, who built the Step Pyramid of Djoser (about 2628 BC), is credited with inventing the art of building in stone, and Amenhotep son of Hapu was responsible for many of the great works of Amenhotep III’s reign (1391-1353 BC), such as the Colossi of Memnon. These men, however, were more like contractors than artists. A man called Bak was chief sculptor in the reign of Akhenaten (1353-1337 BC); another sculptor, Tuthmosis, probably carved the famous bust of Nefertiti in the Egyptian Museum, Berlin, among other beautiful works. The artists who decorated the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings are also known by name. They lived in a special community at Thebes, called Deir el-Medina, where they enjoyed certain privileges. But these people are the exceptions. Most ancient Egyptian artists remain anonymous.
