Cold Wax Painting: The Fayum Portraits
During this course students will learn the ancient technique of cold wax painting. One of the most famous examples of this technique are the Fayum portraits which were placed on mummies of Romans buried in Egypt. These are some of the oldest surviving portraits in the world, partly due to the wax medium's longevity.
These portraits represent a bridge between antiquity and the Byzantine tradition of icon painting. Early icons were painted using the same method and materials as the Fayum portraits. The paint consists of a few readily available non-toxic ingredients and four earth pigments. Aesthetically and culturally the mummy portraits represent a school that lasted for three centuries. They became a model and an inspiration for Christian art and still has echoes in contemporary European portraiture.
Students will learn to make their own paints out of dry pigments and cold wax medium. Beginning with the under-drawing and mapping of the features to the application of layers of paint to create volume and texture, the instructor will demonstrate how these long-lasting paintings were created.
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During this course students will learn the ancient technique of cold wax painting. One of the most famous examples of this technique are the Fayum portraits which were placed on mummies of Romans buried in Egypt. These are some of the oldest surviving portraits in the world, partly due to the wax medium's longevity.
These portraits represent a bridge between antiquity and the Byzantine tradition of icon painting. Early icons were painted using the same method and materials as the Fayum portraits. The paint consists of a few readily available non-toxic ingredients and four earth pigments. Aesthetically and culturally the mummy portraits represent a school that lasted for three centuries. They became a model and an inspiration for Christian art and still has echoes in contemporary European portraiture.
Students will learn to make their own paints out of dry pigments and cold wax medium. Beginning with the under-drawing and mapping of the features to the application of layers of paint to create volume and texture, the instructor will demonstrate how these long-lasting paintings were created.
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