historicaldetailsandstuff:

The city of Akhetaten at ’Amarna was erected by Akhenaten (r. 1353–1335 BC) in honour of the god Aten, and it became the source of an artistic revolution that upset many of the old conventions. The rigid grandeur of the earlier periods was abandoned in favour of a more naturalistic style. Royal personages were no longer made to appear remote or godlike. In many scenes, in fact, Akhenaten and his queen, Nefertiti, are depicted as a loving couple surrounded by their offspring. Physical deformities are frankly portrayed, or possibly imposed upon the figures, and the royal household is painted with protruding bellies, enlarged heads, and peculiar limbs.

The famed painted bust of Nefertiti, however, demonstrates a mastery that was also reflected in the magnificent pastoral scenes adorning the palace. Only fragments remain, but they provide a wondrous range of animals, plants, and water scenes that stand unrivalled for anatomical sureness, colour, and vitality. The palaces and temples of ’Amarna were destroyed in later reigns, by Pharaohs such as Horemheb (r. 1319–1307 BC), who razed the site in order to use the materials for personal projects of reign.