What is Canon as pertain to Egyptian sculpture?

Answer 1

A canon is a set of rules regarding pose, proportions, thickness of line, colours, style of dress and so on; it applies equally to drawings as well as carvings and sculpture.

The rule (canon) in ancient Egyptian art was always that things should be depicted from their most recognisable viewpoint - even if some other part of the same object was being seen from a different viewpoint. Shoulders, for example, would be hard to understand if drawn from the side - they are always depicted as if seen from the front, while the arms, stomach and legs are always seen from the side. Nobody believes that real ancient Egyptians ever stood like that - it was simply the traditional way of drawing.

For setting out the proportions of the human figure, the canon changed over time. In the early scheme six horizontal guidelines intersected the vertical median lines of the body to define its proportions. From the Middle Kingdom, the human figure was fitted into a grid 18 squares high (to the hairline).

In the later period the grid scheme was changed to 21 squares high (to the eyes) - the differences in proportion are tiny and can not normally be observed without measurement.

Answer 2

In Egyptian sculpture, canon refers to the standardized proportions and rules that governed the creation of statues and reliefs. These canons were based on idealized notions of beauty and were used to create an unchanging and timeless representation of the human form. These canons included features such as the rigid frontal pose, rigidly arranged limbs, and elongated proportions.