Ancient Egyptian temple art followed a highly deliberate set of artistic conventions. Rather than focusing on realistic perspective or depth, artists aimed to present each scene, figure, god, and object in the clearest and most complete way possible. This approach, often called aspective perspective, combined multiple viewpoints: the head and legs were shown in profile, while the eye, chest, and shoulders were shown frontally. 

Figures were typically depicted with two left feet, allowing the body to be shown according to an established visual system. Objects were also presented from the angle that best communicated their identity (example of this could be a body of water being shown from aerial view). In Egyptian art, clarity was more important than realism, with posture, color, symmetry, and placement all carefully chosen to communicate meaning.

Each scene was built upon a ground line, with multiple ground lines stacked to create a register system, organizing scenes and representing the ordered structure of the universe. Ancient Egyptians did not use traditional vanishing points; instead, placing a figure higher within a register could indicate greater distance. Over time, these artistic proportions became increasingly standardized. Old Kingdom artists used a six-part axial system to establish the proportions of the human body, which eventually developed into the more familiar grid system during the Middle Kingdom. Proportion and scale were equally as important in communicating each scene. The size of a figure showed its importance, with pharaohs and gods drawn much larger than servants or other figures/animals. Hieroglyphs followed similar principles, often being arranged within an ideal square grid so that symbols remained balanced, harmonious, and clearly readable.

Hunting and Fishing in the marsh. Tomb of Nakht, painted plaster, first half of the 14th century BC

Image 2: Wilkinson, R. H., 1992. Reading Ancient Egyptian Art:  A Hieroglyphic Guide to Ancient Egyptian Painting and Sculpture. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd, p121