Portrait of a Man Wearing a Laurel Wreath
Roman Period, early to mid–2nd century
Medium
Lime (linden) wood, beeswax, pigments, gold, textile, and natural resin
Dimensions
41.9 × 24.1 × 0.2 cm (16 1/2 × 9 1/2 × 1/8 in.)
Classification
painting
Department
Arts of Africa
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
5520
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This portrait belongs to a large group of similar works known as “Fayum portraits,” so-named for the region in northern Egypt in which many have been discovered. To create this man’s likeness, the artist painted a thin piece of wood with encaustic, or pigmented wax, a medium that not only gave the impression of three-dimensionality but also resisted fading and deterioration in the dry climate of Egypt. These highly individualized and lifelike portraits conveyed the wealth and status of the perso...
About the Artist
Ancient Egyptian
Ancient Egyptian artists, a collective of highly skilled artisans spanning over three millennia from the Predynastic period (c. 6000–3150 BC) to the Roman era (30 BC–4th century AD), produced some of humanity's most enduring masterpieces. These anonymous craftsmen, often organized in state-sponsored workshops, lived in dedicated communities like Deir el-Medina near Luxor during the New Kingdom (c....