About the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

Amenhotep III, ninth king of Dynasty 18, was heir to the expansionist policies of his predecessors and ruled over an empire at the height of its political, economic, and cultural power. It was also an empire at peace, relying on diplomatic exchanges to ensure the stability and revenues of Egypt. During his long reign, Amenhotep III transformed the religious landscape at Thebes, building a great temple to Amun-Re at Luxor and making major additions to the Temple of Karnak. On the west bank at Thebes, he built an enormous palace complex with an artificial lake at Malqata, where he celebrated three sedor jubilee festivals. His mortuary temple was one of the largest ever built, but little remains today except the famous Colossi of Memnon, actually a pair of colossal statues of Amenhotep III that stood before its pylon.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History presents the Met’s collection via a chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of global art history. Targeted at students and scholars of art history, it is an invaluable reference, research, and teaching tool. Authored by the Met’s experts—predominantly made up of curators but also of conservators, scientists, and educators—the Timeline comprises 300 timelines, 930 essays, close to 7,000 objects, and a robust index, and is regularly updated and enriched to provide new scholarship and insights on the collection.