ArcadópolisFayum mummy portraits
Roman Egypt, 1st–3rd century AD. Roman Egyptian art (funerary portraiture)
The Fayum portraits are some 900 portraits painted on wooden panels in Roman Egypt between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD by artists whose names we do not know. They were placed over the face of the mummy, held in place by the linen wrappings, and painted in encaustic (beeswax mixed with pigments) or tempera with striking realism. They are one of the largest groups of panel paintings to survive from classical antiquity, and their frontal gaze foreshadows icon painting.
The 11 works in the room
Portrait of the Boy Eutyches100–150
Portrait of a Young Woman in Red90–120
Funerary Portrait of a Young Girlc. 25–37
Portrait of a Thin-Faced, Bearded Man160–180
Portrait of a Man with a Mole on His Nose130–150
Portrait of a Young Woman with a Gilded Wreath120–140
Portrait of a Thin-Faced Man140–170
Funerary Portrait of a Womanc. 138–192
Funerary Panel of a Manc. 138–192
Elderly Man Flanked by Egyptian Godsc. 250
Mummy with an Inserted Panel Portrait of a Youth80–100
The Arcadópolis Museum has 443 public-domain works in 40 rooms, free to explore in 3D in your browser.