Robert Senkpiel (1946-1975)

This drawing was included in the Western New York Purchase Award Collegiate Drawing Exhibition held March 11 - April 29, 1973. In it Robert Senkpiel presents a profile portrait of Napolean as the face of the ancient Egyptian god of the sky, Horus, on a falcon’s body. He wears a headdress with the solar disk and Uraeus (cobra with uplifted head) which comprised the crown of Lower Egypt. The composition resembles an archaeologist’s rendering of an ancient stele complete with hieroglyphics, but the symbols are drawn from different time periods. The object on the left under Napolean/Horus has an eagle similar to those used by the Nazis of the Third Reich. Next to it is the Ancient Egyptian sacred scarab, symbolically a dung beetle believed to roll the sun across the sky and make it reemerge in the morning. On the next line, reading left to right are two Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs: a loaf shape representing the sound “t” and an owl representing “m”. Next is “N”, the 14^th letter of the English alphabet.  There placement may be random rather than intended to produce a decipherable message.--NW