A Time for Change

Many leaders bring with them a change to society when they come into power. Bill Clinton brought gays into the military. Martin Luther King brought equality to black people. Abe Lincoln brought the North and South together again. It is not just America either. Back in ancient Egypt, there was once a pharaoh named Akhenaton. He brought Egypt many changes. His changes reflected mostly in the art of that period. Akhenaton’s changes were bold and scandalous back then. This was because of most the human just like rest of human nature is not too welcoming to change that easily. But today, they look very ingenious.

For one thing, Akhenaton took art in a bold direction. One example is a statue of himself from the temple of Aton. It is an androgynous figure. One cannot tell if it is a man or woman at first glance. Up until the point of his reign, androgyny was not common in Egyptian art. The statue also has full lips, nice curves, and heavy-lidded eyes. This is definitely a far cry from the art with the pervious pharaohs. The older pharaohs were probably rolling in their graves when this was first made. Two other statues to push the boundaries of Egyptian art of that period were Nefertiti and Tiye. They too seemed to break the old rules of that time. Akhenaton’s wife, Nefertiti, was a beautiful woman and had a bust made for her. Nefertiti’s bust of her head was painted in pretty colors. None of the statues were really like that back then. Her neck is also long and gracious and her face looks so realistic. Most statues were craved to look like the ideal image of beauty of that time. Nefertiti’s head seems to defy all old ideas of what the human statue should look like and just be natural in the open. This statue really does draw attention from anyone who views it.

The statue of Tiye does the same thing as well. Tiye was Akhenaton’s mother. The pharaoh saw to it that she got a special bust made of her as well. She is made with a dark material, maybe of a really dark wood. Her face looks realistic and bold as well. Just like Nefertiti, she does not fit with the old ways of beauty and commands everyone’s attention from those who views them. Both statues’ charm was so strong that they survived destruction when the Post-Amarna finally set in. However, that did not come without a price to pay for being bold and different. Nefertiti was allowed to stay, but her left eye was left blank. It was as if the artist had lost interest in painting the bust and just stopped. Tiye was allowed to stay as well. But only because her headpiece was covered up with a stone-like substance. It is a shame for such amazing art to stay off but only because they were changed or neglected to fit the new conservative status quo.

Statues were not the only thing to receive the wild change of Akhenaton. A craving of the pharaoh and his family is pretty bold for its time period. Most of the cravings and paintings of the pharaoh and his family are just still and lifeless. Just at painted or craved in a moment frozen in time then and there. Akhenaton’s is an active scene. It depicts Akhenaton, his wife, Nefertiti, and their three daughters sitting at their palace playing together like a normal family. The family looks so happy with life in the craving. They look like a bunch of aliens, but the family stands out by living in the moment and enjoying life. This type of picture was never seen before in Egyptian art. The family portrait is the forerunner to pictures taken by camera in the future. This craving just like all three of the statues, grabs the viewers’ attention and hold it hostage for a long time.

It is a shame that most the art in the Akhenaton reign was destroyed. It would be interesting to see more of these unique pieces from that time period. But until then, there is the small selection that was found for the modern world to enjoy.