Date of Award

10-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Art History and Visual Culture

Department

Art

First Advisor

James Hutson

Second Advisor

Brandelyn Andres

Third Advisor

Marie Nicole Pareja Cummings

Abstract

This paper discusses 18th Dynasty pharaohs Hatshepsut and Akhenaten and the images they portrayed during their reigns. Hatshepsut, though being female, adhered to the preconstructed image of a traditional male pharaoh while Akhenaten defied the long-established artistic canon in order to create a more androgynous pharaonic identity. Both did this to legitimize their rule, connect themselves to divinity, and interpret the duality of gender innate to Egyptian religion through their iconography. Hatshepsut’s masculine depictions cemented her as the father of the polytheistic Egyptian empire over which she reigned. Akhenaten’s more androgynous representations, on the other hand, portrayed him as both the mother and father of the newly monotheistic Egypt he created. Modern discourse has taken great interest in the masculine representations of Hatshepsut, but not the androgynous depictions of Akhenaten. Queer theory has been implemented in order to gain more knowledge of gender systems of the past as well as to break though hetero-normative thought; but in some cases, it ends up reinforcing it. Akhenaten has not received this same type of attention from queer theorists. These theories tend to disconnect Hatshepsut from the political, social, and religious motivations behind her depictions. Reasons for this difference in approach include the biological sex of both pharaohs, their contrasting strategies of addressing the dualities of gender, as well as Hatshepsut’s lack of a male counterpart within her iconography.

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