Gesso Preparation and Application, Tomb of Rekhmire
ca. 1479–1400 B.C.
Medium
Tempera on paper
Dimensions
facsimile: h. 27.3 cm (10 3/4 in); w. 59.5 cm (23 7/16 in), scale 1:1, framed: h. 30.5 cm (12 in); w. 63.5 cm (25 in)
Classification
Facsimile, Rekhmire (TT 100), stucco making
Period
New Kingdom
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1933
Accession Number
33.8.4
Art Historical Context
Step into the world of ancient Egyptian artistry with *Gesso Preparation and Application* from the Tomb of Rekire, a vivid facsimile capturing a crucial step in New Kingdom tomb decoration. Dating to Dynasty 18 (ca. 1479–1400 B.C.), this scene from the Theban tomb of vizier Rekhmire (TT100) depicts skilled workmen mixing and applying gesso—a gypsum-based plaster—to walls, preparing them for the vibrant frescoes that would immortalize the elite's afterlife journey. Such detailed vignettes of craft processes are rare, offering a window into the meticulous techniques that ensured tomb paintings e...
About the Artist
Nina de Garis Davies · 1881–1965
Nina de Garis Davies, born Anna Macpherson Cummings on January 6, 1881, in Salonika, Greece, to English-Scottish parents Cecil J. Cummings and Sarah Macintosh Tannoch, showed early artistic talent as the eldest of three daughters. After her father's death in 1894, the family relocated to Scotland and then London, where she trained at the Slade School of Art. In 1906, at age 25, a holiday trip to E...