Ramesses II

Ramesses II rises in granite beside the entrance pylon of Luxor Temple, in Luxor, Egypt. His seated form towers above a two-storey house. The smooth stone still preserves traces of the sculptor’s work across the royal nemes headdress. Above his brow, the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt once carried a rearing cobra. The Nile runs nearby, while daylight shifts the temple stone from gold towards rose.

Two seated figures once flanked the gateway, with standing figures and an obelisk arranged before them. Only one obelisk remains here, while its twin stands in Paris. The arrangement represented the horizon, linking sunrise and sunset with a threshold between earth and the divine. Beyond the pylon, standing figures fill the spaces between papyrus-bundle columns. Some began as works for Amenhotep III before Ramesses II had them recut for the temple. Granite gives the central figure its enduring presence, while its calm expression turns royal power into a still, visible form.