Encaustic: One of the oldest methods of painting, being practised from at least 3000 BC. Some of the finest existing examples are the mummy portraits from Fayum executed about the 3rd century AD. The colours are applied to the support with hot beeswax, either with spatulas or brushes, finally being driven in with a heavy hot iron. The method was more or less abandoned in the 9th century. Count Caylus, a French archaeologist and engraver, sought to revive interest in the 17th century but failed. A number of scenes were painted in the Residenz at Munich in 1831 by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. The invention of eicctrically heated spatulas has brought a slight revival of interest, but it is a laboursome and awkward technique at the best.

 

Related Words

Encaustic: One of the oldest methods of painting, being practised from at least 3000 BC. Some of the finest existing examples are the mummy portraits from Fayum executed about the 3rd century AD. The c . . . View Full Definition