The earliest representations of
Amenhotep IV
show him in a traditional style closely resembling the one used to portray
Thutmosis IV
and Amenhotep III , but not long after his accession Amenhotep IV had himself depicted with a thin , long face with pointed chin and thick lips , an elongated neck , a round protruding belly , wide hips , fat thighs and thin legs . During the early years at Amarna , the king's features were depicted in such an exaggerated way . Later during his reign , a more balanced style developed . It was not only
Akhenaten
, Nefertiti , and their daughters who were depicted in this style , but all other courtiers who existed at that time . This is not surprising , since representations of private individuals had always followed the artistic model of the king of their time .
The extraordinary manner in which Akhenaten portrayed himself and his family on his monuments somehow reflects the King's actual physical appearance , although in an exaggerated style , according to one opinion . Scenes of the royal family display an intimacy that had never been shown before in Egyptian art even among private individuals .
Another characteristic feature of the Amarna style is its extraordinary
sense of movement and speed , and its freedom of expression that was to have a lasting influence on Egyptian art for centuries after the Amarna Period had come to an end . Speed is also the determining factor of a new building technique . Again , the earliest structures of Amenhotep IV employed the traditional large sandstone blocks commonly used for temple walls , but these were soon replaced (in both
Thebes
and Amarna) by very much smaller blocks , the so-called 'talatat' , typically measuring about 60 x 25 cm and therefore small enough for a single man to lift and carry . This made it much easier to erect a large building in a relatively short span of time . The new method was abandoned again after the Amarna Period , perhaps because it had by then become apparent that the reliefs carved on the walls constructed of such small blocks did not stand time like the traditionally built walls . Certainly Akhenaton's successors soon found that it also took far less time and effort to demolish buildings constructed of talatat .
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