Archaeologists have unearthed some very interesting finds from tombs in Egypt. These are wooden panels with portraits painted on them. These mummy portraits, or fayum art, as they are now known, give us a fascinating glimpse into ancient times. They are the best surviving examples of panel painting which used to be a highly respected art form.
Fayum portraits are also important for the way they document culture. They were thought to represent the upper classes of society. This would have included leaders in government, the military and the church as well as wealthy families. Not everyone could afford a portrait as many mummies were found without one. It is clear from the style that the portraits come from Greek tradition. This is understandable as there were many Greeks who settled in Egypt after it was conquered by Alexander the Great.
The fascination with these portraits has meant that modern technologies have been used to analyze them. This has shown that the artists appear to have worked with a number of standard forms, rather than using the specific facial proportions of each individual. They then add other details such as hairstyles and beards to make them distinctive.
The boards these portraits on were made of hard woods such as ceder or cyprus. Panels were cut into rectangles and then prepared with a primer. The primer was necessary in order for the colors to appear as vivid as possible and not sink into the wood.
The encaustic technique was used for the earliest portraits which was a combination of pigments and wax. The colors produced were very vivid, almost like the oil colors of today. The tempera method was also used which involved mixing the pigments with an egg base. This method was cheaper and quicker but the results produced were not usually as good as the colors were milder.
Portraits depicted the deceased person, showing only the head and shoulders. Many of them showed the deceased at a fairly young age. The full frontal perspective and the concentration on facial features gave them a startling realism. The person was usually looking slightly to the left to add some perspective. The background was mostly monochrome.
The portraits were set into the wrapping around the mummified bodies, covering the faces of the deceased. It was thought that these portraits may have been painted earlier in the life of the person. The fact that some were painted directly onto the wrappings seems to discredit this theory.
Today, mummy portraits are found in many museums around the world such as the British Museum and the Louvre. The vividness of the colors have been preserved, most likely due to the fact that Egypt has a dry, hot climate. The intensity of colors together with the realistic nature of the images, makes them arresting.
The fascination with fayum art has inspired artists to recreate this ancient form today. Modern materials are used with age-old techniques to produce some striking results. The method used involves transferring of a painting onto a prepared wooden board and then treating this in various ways to create the desired effect.
Fayum portraits are also important for the way they document culture. They were thought to represent the upper classes of society. This would have included leaders in government, the military and the church as well as wealthy families. Not everyone could afford a portrait as many mummies were found without one. It is clear from the style that the portraits come from Greek tradition. This is understandable as there were many Greeks who settled in Egypt after it was conquered by Alexander the Great.
The fascination with these portraits has meant that modern technologies have been used to analyze them. This has shown that the artists appear to have worked with a number of standard forms, rather than using the specific facial proportions of each individual. They then add other details such as hairstyles and beards to make them distinctive.
The boards these portraits on were made of hard woods such as ceder or cyprus. Panels were cut into rectangles and then prepared with a primer. The primer was necessary in order for the colors to appear as vivid as possible and not sink into the wood.
The encaustic technique was used for the earliest portraits which was a combination of pigments and wax. The colors produced were very vivid, almost like the oil colors of today. The tempera method was also used which involved mixing the pigments with an egg base. This method was cheaper and quicker but the results produced were not usually as good as the colors were milder.
Portraits depicted the deceased person, showing only the head and shoulders. Many of them showed the deceased at a fairly young age. The full frontal perspective and the concentration on facial features gave them a startling realism. The person was usually looking slightly to the left to add some perspective. The background was mostly monochrome.
The portraits were set into the wrapping around the mummified bodies, covering the faces of the deceased. It was thought that these portraits may have been painted earlier in the life of the person. The fact that some were painted directly onto the wrappings seems to discredit this theory.
Today, mummy portraits are found in many museums around the world such as the British Museum and the Louvre. The vividness of the colors have been preserved, most likely due to the fact that Egypt has a dry, hot climate. The intensity of colors together with the realistic nature of the images, makes them arresting.
The fascination with fayum art has inspired artists to recreate this ancient form today. Modern materials are used with age-old techniques to produce some striking results. The method used involves transferring of a painting onto a prepared wooden board and then treating this in various ways to create the desired effect.
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