Amarna Art

By Daniele Salvoldi
Edited by Sherif Boraie
Photography Werner Forman
Hardcover | 136 pages | 72 illustrations | 32x32cm | English
2023 | isbn 9789775864352

In Ancient Egypt’s rich history, the revolutionary Amarna’s beauty stands apart.

Amenhotep IV, who reigned from 1351 to 1334 B.C. in the late Eighteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom, broke with his predecessors, changed his name to Akhenaten, and declared the Aten his sole God. Moving his capital upstream on the Nile, from the imperial city of Thebes to the virgin site of Amarna, Akhenaten and wife Nefertiti established the cult of Aten, the world’s first-known monotheism.

In this unprecedented break in Egyptian history, he encouraged artists to abandon traditional art forms and embrace freedom and realism, ushering in a new era which continues to leave scholars guessing.

Werner Forman (1921-2010), a renowned photographer of ancient civilizations, captures the essence of Amarna art. With a portfolio of 80 books, Forman’s lens reveals the splendor of this pivotal, if short-lived, era.

Daniele Salvoldi, Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Pisa and adjunct assistant professor at the American University in Cairo, guides us through this journey, enhancing our understanding of Amarna’s cultural and artistic significance.