Focus on Portrait of the Boy Eutyches and discuss the Details.
Portrait of the Boy Eutyches exemplifies a fusion of Classical Greek-inflected portrait painting methods, Roman clothing, painting materials, and the historical Egyptian reverence for the dead. The portrait, done in encaustic paint on wood panel, was intended to be placed on the face of deceased after they were mummified. Unlike some earlier mummy portraits, Portrait of the Boy Eutyches is noted to be heavily influenced by Greco-Roman artistic tradition as opposed to Egyptian.The portrait makes use of light and dark colors coupled with broad brush strokes to model the boy's face. The olive background of the panel is used to contrast the subject's face and dark hair creating a sense of depth. The image depicted by the portrait is lit by an intra-painting light source to the boy's right; this can be inferred through the reflections present in the boy's eyes. The boy is dressed in white garb.This manner of painting, originated in Classical Greece, is very different from the traditional Egyptian style, but its use in burials is directly related to the Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife. Paintings of this type, often referred to as Faiyum portraits, are typical products of the multicultural society of Roman Egypt.
Faiyum portraits encaustic paint Classical Greece Portrait mummified beliefs about the afterlife Egypt Egyptian style wood panel Greco-Roman portrait Roman Egypt Greek