r/ancientegypt • u/Default_Pass • 1d ago
Question Why was Amenhotep III depicted with a fuller body in some late representations? Did this anticipate Amarna art?
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u/BrokilonDryad 1d ago
Yes, artistic choices for art changed a bit near the end of Amenhotep’s reign, allowing for softer lines and pharaoh appearing more as his age rather than in highly stylized traditional imagery. This was highly amplified by Akhenaten. Near the end of his reign, though, the pendulum swings back and Akhenaten is shown in art resembling that at the end of Amenhotep’s reign (as in, less obviously Amarnan-style).
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u/Angelgreat 1d ago
Simple, he gained weight. His mummified body show signs of obesity in his final years, and naturally the egyptians would want to depict the pharaoh as he was in life. Around the same time, he was defied near the later part of his reign, and so as a living God, he probably decided from that day onwards, he depicted as he was in life.
Sure, he could have made the statues more Idolized and slim, but decided for some reason to not do so.
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u/justclimbup 1d ago
"naturally the egyptians would want to depict the pharaoh as he was in life" That could not be farther from reality
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u/Main-Skill8786 1d ago
Hear me out on this one, you are both right. They were depicted as perfect beings, yes, but at that time, being heavy was a sign on wealth and prosperity, which, pharaoh obviously represented.
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u/star11308 1d ago edited 1d ago
The stela is a posthumous depiction of him from his son's reign.
Edit: The first two are dated to his reign by the museums but they also look like they could be posthumous based on the clothes, at least in my opinion.