Yet another convention of Egyptian art was to depict gods, including the pharaoh, and other important figures much larger in size than everyone else in the scene. This was a simple way to indicate status. Over the course of 3000 years, the most remarkable feature of Egyptian art is the lack of change. While the Egyptians did learn very early how to represent standing or sitting human beings reasonably well, they did not study the movements of bones and muscles beneath the skin, nor attempt to represent figures relaxing, moving violently, or expressing strong feelings. No matter what the figure is doing, the muscles do not change shape.
Little effort is made to show any individual characteristics.
He preferred artists to render him and his wife, Nefertiti , as realistically as they could. The work of this period features an emotional intensity not found at any other time in ancient Egyptian art. Otherwise, the conventions are adhered to tenaciously, and only a trained Egyptologist can tell the difference between Egyptian reliefs created a couple of thousand years apart. Perhaps those who were interested in change were prohibited by the pharaoh from executing any but the official, conventional style of art that was accepted for portraying the pharaoh's importance and grandeur. The endurance of the style was an important element that allowed a new pharaoh to prove he belonged among the past divine rulers.