Face to Face: The People Behind Mummy Portraits

Face to Face: The People Behind Mummy Portraits is the first exhibition on ancient Egyptian mummy portraits in the Netherlands. Mummy portraits were usually painted on wood during the Roman period in Egypt. After treating and wrapping the body of the deceased, the portrait was attached to the face of the mummified person. In this exhibition visitors are not only introduced to the people portrayed but also to makers, surviving relatives, imitators, collectors, archeologists and researchers who play a role in these portraits. The mummy portraits appeal strongly to the imagination because of their colors, penetrating gaze and, above all, their modern-looking realism. Today they are seen as an example of the earliest known, realistically painted portraiture.