Home Page
Royal Family
Explore Armana
Artistic Revolution
FAQ

Pharaoh Akhenaten, who is himself an esteemed poet, has decreed that all art should glorify the Aten. Since before the time of the pyramids, Egyptians have painted reliefs, sculpted figures, and constructed buildings in much the same way. Pharaoh Akhenaten has revolutionized this tradition by bringing truth into art. His New Art reveals the glories of the natural world and emphasizes the here-and-now rather than the eternal.

Click on the topics below to learn how the New Art reflects the pharaoh’s religious revolution.

The Purpose of Art

The Appearance of the Pharaoh

The Focus of Egyptian Art

The Display of Emotion

Images of Daily Life

Architecture

 


The Purpose of Art

©Corbis
Egyptian Museum, Cairo (the Art Archive)

The Old Art

Art existed to glorify the pharaoh and the gods and serve the dead in the afterlife.

The New Art

All art celebrates the Aten, the source of life.


The Appearance of the Pharaoh

Egyptian Museum, Cairo (the Art Archive)
Egyptian Museum, Cairo (the Art Archive)

The Old Art

The king stood or sat stiffly and was portrayed in such formal settings as smiting the enemies of Egypt and offering to the gods. He always had broad shoulders and a slim waist and appeared youthful.


The New Art

The pharaoh and the queen are shown with all their soft curves. The pharaoh’s hips are wide, his belly is generously rounded, and his neck is slim and curved. In some sculptures, the queen appears in the richness of her years, with the facial lines that come with wisdom.





The Focus of Egyptian Art


The Old Art

Painted reliefs and sculptures depicted the gods, religious festivals, military victories, and state occasions. Realism was considered unnecessary, except in paintings on tomb walls.

The New Art

Images of the Aton and of the pharaoh and his family in their daily lives have replaced the false gods of former times as the focus of Egyptian art on temples and palaces. Scenes of the royal family dominate tomb paintings, which are no longer devoted to the lives of those buried within.


The Display of Emotion

The Old Art

The king as well as high-born subjects were shown in quiet, restful poses with expressionless faces.

The New Art

Reliefs capture the pharaoh and the queen with delightful informality and intimacy. They appear eating, kissing, and playing with their daughters, as well as worshiping the Aten. Artists now depict facial expressions and emotion. One notable example is a recently completed relief in the Royal Tomb that beautifully conveys the grief of the royal family at the death of Princess Meketaten.


Images of Daily Life

Egyptian Museum, Cairo (the Art Archive)
Egyptian Museum, Cairo (the Art Archive)

The Old Art

Images of everyday activities appeared only in private tombs. Tomb owners, believing that these scenes would come to life in the afterworld, had themselves pictured in highly pleasant settings that they wished to enjoy.

The New Art

Painted reliefs on temple and palace walls now show scenes of nature, including ducks and other animals. These paintings also depict ordinary Egyptians in such everyday activities as plowing fields, herding goats, and baking bread, as the Aten rains down blessings on them.


Architecture


The Old Art

Temples were dark and closed to nature, with many interior columns and shrines.

The New Art

Temples no longer have roofs, making them airy and light inside. This new architecture allows the royal family to worship directly in the life-flowing rays of the Aten.


return to top
<