Bek (sculptor)

The young prince Amenhotep (who became the pharaoh Akhenaten) had a palace here, and it is likely that his religious views were formed in part by the Heliopolitan teachings.

[3] A stela found in Aswan, made around the 9th regnal year of Akhenaten shows Men and his son Bek with the pharaohs they serve.

This side of the stela reflects the traditional artistic style of the 18th Dynasty, and the only indication of the Amarna Period is that the name "Amenhotep" is left out, instead of it the pharaoh's throne name "Nebmaatre" is repeated, in order to avoid having to mention the god Amun whose cult was forbidden.

It is likely that he oversaw the making of the statues which show Akhenaten and his family in an overly naturalistic style, breaking with the idealised depiction that tradition demanded.

A drawing of Akhenaten, which depicts the pharaoh and Aten and is likely to have been made in the early years of his reign, is possibly Bek's work.