Changes

Especially unusual was the nature of the scenes depicted in Amarna art. Earlier pharaohs were typically portrayed in an austere manner, engaging in official religious duties, hunting, or fighting in battle. The Amarna period is known for depicting Akhenaten and his family in a markedly intimate and informal manner by comparison. A famous example is a royal family portrait dated to approximately Year 8 of Akhenaten’s reign. The king and queen are seated facing each other and nearly equal in height. Akhenaten raises his daughter Meritaten to his lips, kissing her, and Maketaten and Ankhesenpaaten interact playfully with their mother, one seated in her lap and the other leaning up against her in a relaxed posture. Intimate scenes such as this were virtually unknown in Egyptian art up until this time.<ref>Davis, Whitney. “Two Compositional Tendencies in Amarna Relief”. <i>American Journal of Archaeology</i> 82.3 (1978): 388 Web. 05 November 2015</ref>. It is unknown why Akhenaten required that he and his family be portrayed in this way, but the result would have been surprising to his contemporaries.

==Why did Akhenaten relocate the Egyptian Capital?==