The defining characteristics of Amarna art include: distorted facial features, elongated eyes, large ears and lips, a protruding chin, and highly defined cheekbones.
Art During the Amarna Period
During the Amarna Period, pharaonic portraiture underwent a great change initiated by Akhenaten. Akhenaten deliberately chose to have his features distorted. These distortions include:
- unusually long face
- extended forehead
- large full lips
- protruding lower chin
- eyes are elongated
- thin ears appear stretched and quite large
It is important to understand that Akhenaten did not really have the exaggerated features which are conveyed in his portraiture. There is some speculation concerning his overall physic, but the facial features in question here are artistic conventions and are not based on reality.
Two Examples
A sandstone relief block depicting Akhenaten gives viewers a clear sense of these deliberate changes. The first noticeable distortion is the deeply carved outline of a unusually long face. This long face consists of an extended forehead, large full lips and protruding lower chin. Second, while the eye is still seen frontal, it is extremely elongated and thin. Third, the ear is depicted resting over the crown and appears stretched and quite large. Fourth, shadow was enhanced by deep carving around the eye, within the eye, inside the ear and on the crown. This portrait is an example of sunken relief. Sunken relief was commonly used for outside wall decoration, due to the resulting effects of sunlight and shadow. It is probable then, that this piece was originally placed on the outside of a monument.
A sculptor’s model head of Akhenaten reinforces defining features of the Amarna period. Again, viewers are presented with the same features found on the profile head. This time however, the changes appear slightly different due to the fact this portrait is in the round. The face is still depicted long, the lips large and the eyes elongated. Many sculptor models were found during the excavations at Amarna. They were made by masters and intended for other artists to copy. For example, this model’s face is strikingly similar to a colossal portrait of Akhenaten from Karnak . A similar model may have been used in the creation of this piece, as well as other sculpture of Akhenaten in the round.
Aten: The Sun God
Akhenaten’s artistic conventions were most likely a result of his religious beliefs, which included a departure from the emphasis on Osiris. Instead of Osiris, whose image had been a standard in previous Egyptian art, Akhenaten stressed the worship of Aten (a Sun Deity) and the Solar Cult. This new religious philosophy had a great impact on the artwork produced during this time. Even examples of non-royal people feature some of the same distortions of the royal family, although not as severe.
