ABSTRACT

The Fayum corpus of painted portraits is of paramount significance in the history of art because it embodies the great Greek painting tradition. Almost all the work in that tradition has been lost to time and the elements, the Mediterranean not sharing the exceptional preservative conditions of the Egyptian desert. In addition to the Greek painting tradition, which, ancient sources tell us, reached its peak at the time of Apelles in the fourth century Bc, there came Egyptian influences, particularly in relation to the beliefs and techniques surrounding the preservation of the human form for the attainment of immortality. The portraits in tempera were painted either on white gesso or on dark khaki or grey grounds. In the smaller portraits of children, a different technique was adopted. A uniform flesh tone, comprising two or three different tones roughly blended together, was applied flatly in a manner that works only because of the smaller size of the faces.