Funerary Portrait, c. 150
Encaustic on linen
Roman Empire, Antonine
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland OH, USA
These portraits constitute the only painted portraits of individuals in the Classical style to have survived from antiquity. Found only in Egypt, they are often called "Faiyum portraits" because the majority have been found in the cemeteries of the Faiyum, a lakes side oasis west of the Nile,about 50 miles south of Cairo. They had a specific purpose, to cover the head of the mummified individual represented in the portrait. Typically they were painted onto wooden panel, less frequently they were painted on linen shrouds, that covered the mummy.
Encaustic is a technique in which pigments are mixed with beeswax, whether melted in its natural brittle condition or emulsified by chemical mixture with bicarbonate of soda. They present a moving, if not haunting, image of the deceased as he or she appeared in life.
Funerary Portrait, c. 150
Encaustic on linen
Roman Empire, Antonine
Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland OH, USA
These portraits constitute the only painted portraits of individuals in the Classical style to have survived from antiquity. Found only in Egypt, they are often called "Faiyum portraits" because the majority have been found in the cemeteries of the Faiyum, a lakes side oasis west of the Nile,about 50 miles south of Cairo. They had a specific purpose, to cover the head of the mummified individual represented in the portrait. Typically they were painted onto wooden panel, less frequently they were painted on linen shrouds, that covered the mummy.
Encaustic is a technique in which pigments are mixed with beeswax, whether melted in its natural brittle condition or emulsified by chemical mixture with bicarbonate of soda. They present a moving, if not haunting, image of the deceased as he or she appeared in life.