Egyptian Art

The Amarna Style
By
Varo Borja

The reign of Amenhotep IV was a phenomenon. His revolutionary crusade to unite Egypt under one god, Aten, changed the course of Egyptian civilization and drastically altered the artistic style of the period. In this short essay I will attempt to define the Amarna style and contrast it with the older order of the Egyptian pharaohs. I will also give background information on Amenhotep's revolutionary life and how it affected Ancient Egypt.

Amenhotep IV was the son of Amenhotep III, and he came to rule Egypt in 1348 B.C. His father, Amenhotep III had venerated the sun disk, Aten, and had promoted its worship against the wishes of the predominant cult of Amun. The priests of Amun had grown over the years to have extreme weatlh and power, and the pharaohs had resented this. Therefore, when Amenhotep IV received the scepter, he destroyed the temples of the god Amun and even went so far as to erase the name of Amun from the public records. Amnehotep IV then moved his kingdom to the city Tel el' Amarna and changed his name to Akhenaten, which means, "effective for the Aten." Akhenaten and his wife, Nefertiti, ruled there until 1336 B.C., at which time Akhenaten died and, according to some sources, Nefertiti took up the throne.

The style set forth by the Amarna artists is very different from the art of the dynasties before them. The Amarna style is very fluid, as exemplified by the limestone relief, Akhenaten and His Family, found at the top of the page. The Amarna style, headed by Thutmose, the King's head master, was much more perosnal and lighthearted than the style of the Old Kingdom. In the Old Kingdom, busts were done in a very rigid fashion, displaying the Pharaohs as being very muscular and stoic, as in the statue of Khafre from Giza, c. 2500 B.C. The reliefs and statues from the Amarna period display Akhenaten and Nefertiti as having long, spindly arms and free-flowing facial features. The Amarna style is certainly less stuffy and more compassionate, whereas the Old Kingdom style is more conservative and reserved. Thutmose, Akhenaten's "favorite master of works" was the first Egyptian sculptor that modern scholars have been able to identify as having a particular style. His limestone sculpture of Nefertiti is one of the most elegant pieces from antiquity, but it remained unfinished and was left behind in his workshop when he moved to Memphis after the death of Akhenaten in 1336 B.C.


In conclusion, the art of the Amarna period is something of an anomaly. Akhenaten's spiritual revolution changed Egyptian culture and art for years thereafter, and it remains, in my humble opinion, some of the best art from antiquity. Akhenaten was succeeded by Tutankhamen, who reinstated the worship of the god Amun, as is evidenced by his name. However, Tutankhamen did not abolish the creative genius that was evident during the Amarna period, as displayed by works he commissioned such as Workmen Carrying a Beam. The same organic and lifelike figures inhabit this relief, as they did in the Amarna period. Although lacking some of the playfulness and compassion of the Amarna pieces, this relief is a testimony to the far-reaching effects of Amenhotep IV's spiritual and creative revolution.