Akhenaten

Akhenaton was Pharaoh of Egypt, shortly before Tutankhamun. Husband to Nefertiti, (made famous by her beautiful statue in the Berlin museum). He reigned from 1367 to 1350.

A religious revolutionary who founded his own capital. He eschewed (but did not abandon) the traditional pantheon of deities and worshipped the god, Aten. He changed his name to Akhenaton (originally: Amenhotep IV).

Styles of art that flourished during this short period are markedly different from other Egyptian art, bearing a variety of affectations, from elongated heads to protruding stomachs, exaggerated ugliness and the beauty of Nefertiti.