Portrait of Fayyum: masterpieces of world painting

At the beginning of the XVII century in one of the burial sites studied, the Italian traveler discovered exotic portraits, which caused a real shock for Europeans - they were so different from others.

Important historical find

However, the real fame was the archaeological discovery of mummies in 1887 near the city of Fayum, inhabited in ancient times by the Egyptians. After the conquests of A. Macedonians, the Greeks and the Romans occupied their place there. The funeral cult, associated with the embalming of the dead, undergoes changes. If before the Egyptians put on the face of a mummified body enclosed in a sarcophagus, various masks that are not realistic depictions of the deceased, then local artists painted voluminous portraits with wax paints on a tree resistant to decay, sometimes on canvases that were pasted on a plaque.

The Fayum oasis, which opened up the unknown sides of the works of ancient artists, gave the name to picturesque images of the dead who produced a truly real cultural revolution at that time. Portraits, trimmed to the right size, were attached to the head of the mummy: against the background of white bandages, as if from a window, looked a realistic image of the deceased person.

Painting techniques

The artists used a special encaustic technique, which presupposed the application of paints directly to the tree without preliminary treatment. The portrait of Fayumsky was an image of the deceased, which was applied by brushes and heated metal rods. This work was very laborious, requiring special skills, since corrections in the portrait were not allowed. Due to the high temperature, carefully prepared wax paints melted, forming an uneven surface when hardening, creating a volume effect. In addition, the masters used gold sheets, emphasizing the background, wreaths on the head or any details of clothing.

Another technique used in writing funerary portraits of people is tempera. Images created on the basis of pigments mixed with animal glue were performed on a matte surface with brushes with less noticeable contrast of light and shadow. Scientists note the longevity of such images: the Fayum portraits of Ancient Egypt from antique painting were best preserved, and to this day they have reached, without losing the brightness of color and not succumbing to temporary changes.

Roman art of depicting the dead

We must not forget that the writing of ritual portraits was part of the tradition of the Roman Empire, only the images did not become part of the funerary cult, and the images of the deceased ancestors and deceased emperors were kept in yards called atriums. Stylistic features were similar to the painting of Fayum's portraits, but archaeologists found a small fraction of the works of Roman art, but the ancient masterpieces of Egyptian world painting, according to scientists, have reached such a good state to descendants, thanks not only to the unique technique of applying paints, but also to the arid climate of the country .

Similarity with iconography

The portraits, created thousands of years ago, which became a real miracle in the world art, brought to the descendants of the living images of people. The unique images of the ancient Egyptians, who lived in the times of Hellenism and Roman power, not only conveyed the face of a man. Huge sad eyes, looking through the observers, as if they see what is beyond the eyes of the living now.

It is no accident that under the influence of such realistic images, located on the other side of life, the canons of iconography began to be formed. But do not forget that these are still ritual portraits, not intended for contemplation alive, and they were created solely for burial, because the Egyptians always attached great importance to the afterlife.

Funeral portrait as a precursor of icon painting

In the future, Byzantine iconography is influenced by the work of ancient masters who paint on wood with wax paints and use the finest plates of gold leaf. A look at ritual portraits, directed to another world, gradually migrates to the religious art of Byzantium. According to the stylistics, it is customary to consider the Fayum portrait as a proikona, the funerary image is sad and designed to preserve the loved features of a departed person in memory. On the icon, life is overcome by death, and the face is turned towards God, and the meaning of care is not in parting, but in the joy of Easter from the meeting. The artists seemed to peer into the soul, passing not a momentary image, but viewing it from the perspective of an immortal person, transformed in the light of eternity.

From realistic portraits - to the ideal face

Researchers are convinced that all images were written from a living person, since access to the deceased and work with them were strictly prohibited by Egyptian masters. Therefore, the funeral portrait (Fayumsky) was ordered in advance, painted during his lifetime, he hung in the house until the death of a man. Some scholars have suggested that, perhaps, there were still images on papyrus, from which they were made posthumous copies for mummies.

If we talk about the realism of the image of the deceased, then it is certainly deceptive, after all it is an out-of-age image of some ideal image, as if frozen in eternity. Mummies are known, from the funerary portraits of which young people looked, although in reality people died in old age. Byzantine icon painting moved from a real portrait to an ideal and eternal face, adhering to certain rules for writing holy images.

Stylistic changes

It is worth mentioning that with the development of Christianity in the writing of the Fayum portrait, global changes take place, the image of a person is being comprehended in him, and the spiritual principle increasingly prevails over the bodily. Creators of the Roman Empire feel noticeable changes in the perception of the world, expressed in a conditional manner of execution of forms, preference is given to ascetic contours, rather than to volume.

The Fayumsky portrait of a cult character changes stylistically, rethinking the human image. Christianity, approved in the fourth century in Egypt, ceases the practice of embalming, and the technique of encausticism is gradually forgotten along with the disappearance of funerary images.

Features of ritual portraits

Proceeding from the unspoken rules of painting ritual images, the following features are noted that characterize the funerary portraits of that era:

• The light source is on top, the right side of the viewer's face is in the shade.
• The heads are rotated three-quarters, there are practically no direct images.
• The look is directed over the observers, and not in the eyes of the viewer.
• The face does not display emotions, wide-open eyes are sad.
• The background of the portrait is monophonic: either light or golden.
• The asymmetry of the left and right sides of the face (corners of the lips, eyebrows, ears differ in their angles and are depicted at different levels). It is believed that this new trend in painting was an attempt to convey the perspective of the depicted image.

Since the funerary portrait (Fayumsky) was written during the lifetime of a person and, perhaps, was in his house for a long time, almost all the people drawn on it appear as young people. After the death, the image was embedded in the bandages of the mummy, and a wreath of gold, symbolizing eternal life, was carefully applied over the head through a stencil.

Funeral portraits as a reflection of fashion trends

Funeral images - this is a real art gallery, creating a unique atmosphere of each viewer's involvement in great art, giving aesthetic pleasure. According to the Fayum portraits, one can easily trace the Hellenistic fashion of that time. Men were depicted in light robes, and women in red, white or green robes. Ornaments corresponded to a certain epoch, just like a hairstyle. It was believed that the Emperor's family set the special style, inventing new ways of hair styling, especially for women, but in the province from the capital fashion came extremely slowly.

Museum masterpieces of world painting

Scientists have no more than 900 Fayumskie portraits, which make an indelible impression and have become quite an independent category in art. It seems that even a small art gallery would have dreamed of possessing the ancient treasure of the funeral cult of the ancient Egyptians. Such portraits are now very expensive at various auctions, and the interest of private collectors in ritual art is growing every year. We can not fail to mention the large number of counterfeits and copies, but artfully made canvases in the style of funerary images do not observe the traditions of the image of the posthumous appearance.

Some unique works that have survived to this day are now kept in the collections of large world museums, including those in Pushkin. In the hall of ancient art, anyone interested in culture and painting will be able to view Fayum portraits, incredibly deep in the transmission of images. The Pushkin Museum in Moscow stores more than 20 funerary images, even foreigners come to admire it. The most famous portrait of the young man depicts a real handsome man with masculine features and eyes burning like a coal. His whole appearance assumes a hot temperament and a wayward character, and the combination of contrasting colors seems to exacerbate internal tension.

Egyptian art will forever remain a real treasure trove of all times and peoples, and Fayum portraits, whose artistic significance is incredibly great, are rightly considered to be genuine masterpieces of art. They can be called gates, which opened for future masters new ways of creativity, expressed in the creation of the Byzantine icon.