Amarna
style
Ancient Egypt
(Amarna Style)
Was a revolutionary style of Egyptian art created by a revolutionary King : Amenhotep IV, who took the name Akhenaton during his reign (1353–36 bce) in the 18th dynasty.
Akhenaton’s alteration of the artistic and religious life of ancient Egypt was drastic, in his short-lived. The innovations were centred upon a new religion based on the worship of Aton, or the sun’s disk, Akhenaton was elevated above all others in the Egyptian pantheon.
Akhenaton’s alteration of the artistic and religious life of ancient Egypt was drastic, in his short-lived. The innovations were centred upon a new religion based on the worship of Aton, or the sun’s disk, Akhenaton was elevated above all others in the Egyptian pantheon.
Unlike other Egyptian
deities, Aton was shown in its natural state as a sun disk in
the heavens with pendant rays; each ray ended in a tiny hand. In such
portrayals Akhenaton was placed at ground level, bathed in the sunlight
descending from the disk and often accompanied by his queen, Nefertiti, and
one or more of their daughters.
For his revolutionary project, Akhenaton had to found
a new Capital: Amarna.
He placed it to 400 km north of Thebes
For support your new religion & new artistic style
, he had to get away of traditional centers of Power .
A new artistic idiom, today called “Amarna Style “, for both wall relief and sculpture,
was devised to represent the human body.
It flourished during a short period (
Akhenaton's reign ) and was markedly different from other Egyptian art.
In some cases, representations are more naturalistic, especially in depictions of animals and plants, of commoners, and in a sense of action and movement—for both nonroyal and royal people. However, depictions of members of the court, especially members of the royal family, are extremely stylized, with elongated heads, protruding stomachs, heavy hips, thin arms and legs, and exaggerated facial features.
In some cases, representations are more naturalistic, especially in depictions of animals and plants, of commoners, and in a sense of action and movement—for both nonroyal and royal people. However, depictions of members of the court, especially members of the royal family, are extremely stylized, with elongated heads, protruding stomachs, heavy hips, thin arms and legs, and exaggerated facial features.
Significantly,
and for the only time in the history of Egyptian royal art, Akhenaton's family
are shown taking part in decidedly naturalistic activities, showing affection
for each other, and being caught in mid-action (in traditional art, a pharaoh's
divine nature was expressed by repose, even immobility).
The Amarna period also produced a number of sculptures
of exquisite refinement, including the painted portrait bust of Nefertiti found
in the workshop of the sculptor Thutmose, perhaps the most famous embodiment of
female beauty from the ancient
Middle East.
The Amarna style represents a series of artistic experiments. Despite the later
abandonment of the Aton cult and the systematic destruction of its sculptures
and monuments, a number of stylistic features were retained by later artisans
of the Ramesside period.
AMARNA , brief video
(Por Eduardo Filipe Freitas -
AMARNA , brief video
(Por Eduardo Filipe Freitas -
