Entry 13: Akhenaten

This is a statue of Akenaten, a Pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Egypt. He is most known for moving away from the Egyptian religion based on polytheism to a monotheistic religion. I picked this work of art, because the structure of the body doesn't represent what you would usually expect from a leader. It is more common for a sculpture to feature a muscular body and a sense of authority. Here Akhenaten has skinny arms, big belly, and almost women like curves. This drastic change in art probably launched from the change in religion. If you are bringing in a new program then everything needs to be changed. This shows a realistic portrayal instead of an unrealistic depiction of a hulking figure. It was probably an experiment to see how people would respond to something that showed what their leader really looked like. My response to this sculpture is that it gives an example of how we should act today. We need to stop having a fake persona around people and show our true self. Just like how Akhenaten wanted to show his true self through the sculpture.