Nilotic landscape

Nilotic landscape is any artistic representation of landscapes that emulates or is inspired by the Nile river in Egypt. The term was coined to refer primarily to such landscapes created outside of Egypt, especially in the Aegean, though it is occasionally used to refer to scenes of hunting and fishing in Egyptian art. A nilotic landscape is a river scene with rich and abundant plant and animal life, much of which is native to Egypt. Common iconographic elements include papyrus, palm trees, fish and water birds, and in some cases felines, monkeys, and/or crocodile.

Archaeological evidence attests to painted depictions of the Nile in Egyptian tombs as early as the Predynastic period. Nilotic scenes remain popular throughout the Old and Middle Kingdoms, and flourish in the New Kingdom. Of particular prominence are landscapes in tombs paintings of the 18th dynasty of Egypt. Nilotic landscapes are first adapted outside of Egypt in the Aegean, notably in the art of the Minoan civilization. The subject enjoys a renaissance in Hellenistic and Roman art, when nilotic scenes become a common subject for mosaics, most famously the 1st-century BC Nile mosaic of Palestrina. These emphasized the exoticism of the Nile, as well as its busyness as a waterway. Scenes of water traffic are depicted next to abundant and often dangerous wildlife.

A number of biblical subjects in art, such as the Finding of Moses, are set in Egypt, and Christian artists slowly evolved modest conventions for conveying the unfamiliar landscape. The process accelelerated after the Renaissance, with Nicolas Poussin, who painted many subjects on the life of Moses, a particular pioneer in developing a more authentic decor. But the process was slow until the start of the 19th century, with increased Western travel, the advent of modern Egyptology, and in art the development of Orientalism. By the late 19th-century exotic and carefully studied or researched decor was often dominant in depictions of both landscape and human figures, whether ancient or modern.

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