Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV), is one of the most well known pharaohs of ancient Egypt. He was born Amenhotep IV, worshiper of Amen. When he became pharaoh he changed his name to Akenaten which means "he who is of the service of Aten" and became a worshiper of Aten, the Sun Disk.
During his reign as Pharaoh he changed the religion of Egypt as well as the art. For thousands of years art in Egypt had not changed, but Akhenaten had a new vision.
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| The Narmer Palette |
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| Akhenaten |
This image depicts Akhenaten (far right), his wife Nefertiti and two of his daughters (smaller figures on the left), they are worshiping Aten, the Sun Disk, it's rays falling down upon them.
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| Akhenaten, Nefertiti and their three daughters |
This image of Akhenaten and his family shows a family connection that was new to Egyptian art. On the left Akhenaten is kissing one of his daughters, while on the right Nefertiti is holding the other two. Above the family is Aten, the disk god they worshiped.
Note the unusual proportions. While Egyptian art had never been true to life, Akhenaten preferred to be represented this way, with an odd shaped head, etc.
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