Here we go again...

So, here we are.  Its that time of the month again.  The inevitable second blog.  You all knew it was coming.  Mostly because I told you it would be (its a school assignment for crying out loud).  Like I said originally, this is where I'll be talking about the stuff we're studying in class.  So, here we go...

Above is this fellow who was at one time known as Amenhotep, but upon becoming Pharaoh changed his name to Akhenaten meaning "living spirit of aten".  This piece we actually got a peak of in class on Thursday, and I thought it was really interesting.  I thought it was an amazing piece that really showed off the profile of this radical Pharaoh.  Not only did he bring about HUGE changes for the people and religion of Egypt, he also made vast improvements to Egyptian art.  He changed the Egyptian approach from an idealistic view of the subject to a more realistic view, which I think is pretty evident in this piece.  Compared to many works done previous to his reign, this work looks like flesh in stone instead of a stylized representation.  I really like the soft curves and natural flow of the facial features.  This is a great piece and a wonderful start in the right direction for Egyptian art.