The Fayum portraits are one of the most astonishing monuments of Egyptian culture to survive from antiquity
Although the first portraits were found in the Saqqara necropolis, it became customary to call this find “Fayum,” since the bulk of the portraits were in fact discovered in the Fayum Oasis
What makes them unique 👇🏻
The portraits were created during a person’s lifetime and kept in their home. Only after death was the portrait placed over the face of the mummy, replacing the traditional Egyptian mask. That is why most of the people depicted in the portraits are young
The portraits were so lifelike that it feels as though the person is still looking at us across the millennia
The artists managed to capture the depth of the gaze, the character, the inner strength
Special attention was paid to the eyes, painted with such subtle expressiveness that they create a sense of living presence 👍🏻
The portraits were painted on natural wood, most often linden or fig
Initially the encaustic technique was used - painting with molten wax - and later the tempera technique was applied - water-soluble paints based on dry powdered pigments and natural emulsions, for example yellow was created from egg yolk
In the Fayum museum we found only one portrait, while the main collection is held in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo
There an entire hall is even set aside for the Fayum portraits, though ordinary tourists, alas, rarely make it there, since hardly anyone knows about it
