The Renegade's Wife
Egyptian
art is distinctive. There was a standard style – a canon that artists
followed- which was set in stone as it were, very early on in their
history.
There is the characteristic view of bodies; heads and lower bodies from the side, chests from the front; important people portrayed larger than less-significant people and usually trim and slim bodies.
Then along came Akhenaten.
This pharaoh was a radical. He axed virtually the entire array of gods and goddess that had been looking over Egypt for over a thousand years in favour of one god to reign supreme: Aten, the power and light of the sun.
Akhenaten also had a bold new vision regarding how the world would see him. He launched a dramatic new style of art. Images of the king and his family display an elongated head, slanting eyes, thick lips, bulging bellies, wide hips and thick thighs. It all looks rather androgynous. In fact some statues still have Egyptologists debating whether they represent Akhenaten or his famous wife, Nefertiti.
No-one is 100% on what inspired Ankhenaten, however later the harshness softened to a softer, more realistic approach, displaying a sensual sense of movement that had been missing from the rigid, traditional canon.
The revolution was short-lived, and within a dozen years after Akhenaten's death, his one-god fanaticism was tossed out and traditional order restored.
The king's greatest legacy was in his art. Court artists trained in his style folded some However, court artists melded trained in the renegade pharaoh's 'natural' style, melded sometic legacy prevailed for another few generations. Court artists trained in the Akhenaten style, portrayed
This fabulous image of Nefertiti is by artist Sandro Perovich.
We are used to seeing the queen sporting her iconic tall, blue crown. However she also wore other crowns, including featuring a crown of royal cobras, topped with double plumes and a sun-disc.
Enjoy more of Sandro’s amazing artwork at his Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/sanioart
A select number of pieces are available for purchase: http://www.inprnt.com/gallery/sanio/
There is the characteristic view of bodies; heads and lower bodies from the side, chests from the front; important people portrayed larger than less-significant people and usually trim and slim bodies.
Then along came Akhenaten.
This pharaoh was a radical. He axed virtually the entire array of gods and goddess that had been looking over Egypt for over a thousand years in favour of one god to reign supreme: Aten, the power and light of the sun.
Akhenaten also had a bold new vision regarding how the world would see him. He launched a dramatic new style of art. Images of the king and his family display an elongated head, slanting eyes, thick lips, bulging bellies, wide hips and thick thighs. It all looks rather androgynous. In fact some statues still have Egyptologists debating whether they represent Akhenaten or his famous wife, Nefertiti.
No-one is 100% on what inspired Ankhenaten, however later the harshness softened to a softer, more realistic approach, displaying a sensual sense of movement that had been missing from the rigid, traditional canon.
The revolution was short-lived, and within a dozen years after Akhenaten's death, his one-god fanaticism was tossed out and traditional order restored.
The king's greatest legacy was in his art. Court artists trained in his style folded some However, court artists melded trained in the renegade pharaoh's 'natural' style, melded sometic legacy prevailed for another few generations. Court artists trained in the Akhenaten style, portrayed
This fabulous image of Nefertiti is by artist Sandro Perovich.
We are used to seeing the queen sporting her iconic tall, blue crown. However she also wore other crowns, including featuring a crown of royal cobras, topped with double plumes and a sun-disc.
Enjoy more of Sandro’s amazing artwork at his Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/sanioart
A select number of pieces are available for purchase: http://www.inprnt.com/gallery/sanio/
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