Mummy Portraits in the J. Paul Getty Museum

Download or read book Mummy Portraits in the J. Paul Getty Museum written by David L. Thompson and published by Getty Publications. This book was released on 1982-01-01 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These extraordinary Egyptian images produced from Julio-Claudian times through the age of Constantine (the first four centuries A.D.), seem often to have been commissioned while the subject was still alive and displayed in the home. At death, the portrait was inserted into the deceased’s mummy wrappings. Thirteen mummy portraits from the Getty Museum’s collection are catalogued in this text by Dr. David Thompson, professor of Classics at Howard University. Placing the works in the context of other so-called Fayum paintings, Dr. Thompson examines their importance as portraits and identifies the hands of individual painters. Numerous illustrations accompany his discussion.