Faces of the Dead

In the Fayum region of Egypt, archaeologists discovered hundreds of painted portraits attached to mummies dating from the 1st to 3rd centuries CE. These aren't stylized Egyptian images — they're startlingly realistic portraits of specific individuals, painted in encaustic (hot wax) or tempera on wooden panels, then bound over the mummy's face.

Only Survivors

Almost all painting from the Greek and Roman world has been lost — wooden panels rot, and walls crumble. The Fayum portraits are the great exception. Preserved by Egypt's dry desert air, they are the largest surviving body of panel painting from classical antiquity. When you look at one, you're seeing a tradition that has otherwise almost completely vanished.