Akhenaton

(art by dianne curtis / all rights reserved)

Akhenaton

I find this man one of the most fascinating of all Egyptian pharaohs of all time. He was known to have almond-shaped eyes and a very long body. He was an intellect, wrote poetry and was a huge patron to the arts.

Amenhotep IV (1353-1336 BC) changed his name to Akhenaton in honor of his one god, Aten (Although he changed his name many times during his reign, this is the name he is known for historically.) He supposedly met with his god on "top of a mountain" and started a religious reform that did not please the majority of the ancient Egyptians. In fact, we have evidence that many of his images were defaced and vandalized after his death. We still, however, have a lot of the art he commissioned, perhaps more than other pharaohs because his capital city was abandoned after his death. He had chosen to rebuild a new Egyptian capital city (Armana) in the eastern regions of the Nile in honor of his god. After his death, the site was forgotten till 19th century excavations so a lot of the art was found in tact and hadn't been tampered with by grave robbers.

He had a queen whose beauty was legendary, Nefertiti. Oddly enough, as popular as this woman was, her death still remains a mystery. He had a famous son, Tutankhamen who reinstated the old polytheistic religion when his father died. We must question, however, would this boy-king be famous if Harold Carter hadn't found his elaborate tomb to be one of the most fully-intact discoveries in Egyptian archeology?

You can find prints of my painting here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/150680331/akenaten-egyptian-pharaoh-print-from?

I also sell canvas prints here:

http://www.imagekind.com/Akenatenx_art?IMID=9abf7579-2862-4bfb-a163-54f8259f1b30