Fayum portraits should be contemplated in relation to the ancient Egyptian cult for the dead, who were for them actual objects of veneration. The soul or Ka needed physical support for its eternal existence.
Within this context the portraits were “considered an immortal substitute for the deceased one. They were, in effect, objects sacral by themselves.” (1).
Naturalism, the characteristic principle of the best Fayum images, is directly inherited from Apelles, a celebrated Greek painter from the fourth century B.C. who belonged to the School of Alexandria. The painter was a friend of Alexander the Great, and is believed to have painted a portrait of him. Naturalism is thus a successor of Greek-Macedonian art and “In the tradition of naturalism, the object of painting was presented in most accurate manner of physical characterization […], like a mirror image” (1).
Fayum portraits are Greek-Egyptian images from the Roman era. The people presented followed the ephemeral fashions of Rome with regard to jewelry and hair-style, yet preserved their connection to the Greek and the Egyptian traditions. One of the major needs of the Romans, after conquering Egypt, was to possess “beautiful portraits expressing life” (2). Thus the portraits are situated at a cross point where Egypt, Greece and Rome come together.
This Fayum portrait reproduction (45 x 25 cm. approx.) presents the portrait of a ‘grand dame’ (end of Adrian’s rule and the beginning of Antoninus Pius’s (130-161). The depicted woman is known as “Isidora” from the short inscription in Greek letters on the portrait itself. It probably originates from El-Hibeh, up the banks of the river Nile, south of Fayum, because the red mantle that envelops the figure is decorated with gilded rhombi near the face and is a deffinite mark for El-Hibeh origin.
The original portrait is at present part of the collection of J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Ángeles, California).
The woman’s head is adorned with a wreath of gold leaves with a specific central motif and there is also a big pin in her well-done hair-style, typical for the times of Antoninus. Her ear-rings are decorated with four purls instead of the usual three, while her triple necklace consists of purls, emeralds and a pendant matching the color of her dress (1).
The main technique used in the original paintings was that of encaustics (on the basis of hot or cold bee-wax), which developed during the apogee of Greek painting. Sometimes in the accompanying scenes the “détrempe” (tempera) technique was also used, and the board was prepared with the help of one or more layers of plaster.
The so called encaustic painting technique has developed in the antique Greek art as early as the sixth century B.C. and was widely used in painting, sculpture and architecture. During the first century A.C. it entered Roman mural painting as well (Pompeii, between the first and the second century A.C.).
Described in detail in Pliny’s tract, this technique has its origins also in Byzantine iconography where it continues its dominance until the eighth century. After the iconoclastic period the encaustic technique was gradually replaced by the egg tempera technique and since the tenth century it fell into disuse.
At present there are only a few authors who are masters of this technique because it requires great skill both for the mixing of the painting components and for their application.
The number of methods and means which the contemporary author uses to realize these magnificent works can be specified within the following major points:
- On the wooden plate layers of primer are applied then they are polished until a very smooth homogeneous surface is achieved which is capable of absorbing the pigment and the wax.
- The painting is realized with the help of colored encaustic paste, using an emulsion of wax and agglutinative mineral pigments.
- The plastic development is achieved through various sizes of paint brushes and a spatula which, with the help of the direction of the marks, determines the forms it traces.
- The mixing of the pigment with the wax and the infusion of the wax into the primer of the base ensure the lasting of the colors which surpasses any other technique.
- The colors can be mixed both optically and mechanically and combined with the relief of the marks enrich the plastic expressivity of the color.
(1) DOXIADIS, Euphrosyne (1995): Portraits du Fayoum. Visages de l´’Egypte ancianne. Gallimard. I.S.B.N.: 2-07-011518-6
(2) GOMBRICH, E.H. (2002): La Historia del Arte. Madrid: Editorial Debate, S.A. Tercera reimpresión de la decimosexta edición inglesa.I.S.B.N.: 84-8306-044-2