This past week, I visited two of the most renowned art institutions in the New York City—MOMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Experiencing famous encaustic paintings and sculptures in person was incredibly inspiring. It reinforced my love and deep appreciation for this ancient yet versatile medium.
Encaustic Masterpieces in New York Galleries
New York’s art galleries are home to some of the most iconic encaustic artworks. Below are some of the highlights from my visit, featuring works by legendary artists who have pushed the boundaries of encaustic art.
[click on the thumbnails to view larger images]
Jasper Johns
Jasper Johns is arguably one of the most influential artists to popularize encaustic painting in the 20th century. His innovative techniques brought this ancient medium into the modern art scene.
Flag (1954–55) – MOMA
Encaustic, oil, and collage on fabric mounted on plywood, three panels.
This iconic work features a textured surface created with layers of molten wax and embedded newspaper clippings. Johns’ use of encaustic allowed him to achieve texture and depth. Evidently, the rich historical context embedded in the piece adds another layer of intrigue.
“One night I dreamed that I painted a large American flag,” Johns has said of this work, “and the next morning I got up and I went out and bought the materials to begin it.” Those materials included three canvases that he mounted on plywood, strips of newspaper, and encaustic paint—a mixture of pigment and molten wax that has formed a surface of lumps and smears. The newspaper scraps visible beneath the stripes and forty-eight stars lend this icon historical specificity. The American flag is something “the mind already knows,” Johns has said, but its execution complicates the representation and invites close inspection. A critic of the time encapsulated this painting’s ambivalence, asking, “Is this a flag or a painting?”
Target with Four Faces (1955) – MOMA
Encaustic on newspaper and cloth over canvas surmounted by four tinted-plaster faces in wood box with hinged front
“In the mid-1950s Johns incorporated symbols such as numbers, flags, maps, and targets into his paintings. Here, he transforms the familiar image of a target into a tangible object by building up the surface with wax encaustic. As a result, the concentric circles have become less precise and more tactile. Above the target Johns has added four cropped and eyeless faces, plaster casts taken from a single model over a period of several months. Their sculptural presence reinforces the objectness of the painting, particularly as the faces may be shut away in their niches behind a hinged wooden door.”
White Flag (1955) The Metropolitan Museum of Art
This minimalist yet powerful work demonstrates Johns’ ability to reimagine iconic imagery using encaustic. The subdued palette and textured surface invite close inspection, revealing the meticulous craftsmanship of the layered wax.
Lynda Benglis
Lynda Benglis, a pioneering American artist, is renowned for her innovative use of encaustic in sculptural works. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Benglis challenged traditional boundaries between painting and sculpture by creating bold, textured forms using pigmented wax. Benglis’s pushed the encaustic beyond traditional painting into the realm of three-dimensional, tactile art.
Embryo II (1967) – MOMA
“Purified and pigmented beeswax and damar resin, and gesso on masonite.” Lynda Benglis
As I’ve been considering sculptural encaustic wondering how far I can build up a piece —I was thrilled to see this piece, that MOMA has classified it as a sculpture, in person.
Martin Kline
Nest (2000) – The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Encaustic on plywood panel at The Metropolitan Museum of Art – by Martin Kline
Standing in front of this painting I had a delightful conversation with a woman about encaustic. She asked, “What is encaustic and is it archival?” I was able to tell her that downstairs in the Museum are encaustic funeral panels from the first century A.D.
Ancient Encaustic Paintings | Fayum Mummy Portraits
The Fayum Mummy Portraits are among the most famous examples of ancient encaustic painting. Created between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE in Egypt, these portraits were painted on wooden panels and placed over the faces of mummified bodies. Encaustic Mummy Portraits can be found in museums around the world.
Encaustic’s resistance to moisture, combined with the protection of the tombs, preserved the paintings. The encaustic technique allowed for lifelike detail, vibrant colours, and incredible durability, preserving their beauty for centuries.
I read about them beforehand so I was happy to see some in the museum. This mummy is intact with the panel inserted over the face.
Mummy with an Inserted Panel Portrait of a Youth from 1st Century A.D.
Visiting galleries like MOMA and the Met offers a profound appreciation for this extraordinary medium. Just walking around galleries viewing these famous encaustic paintings and reading the accompanying text can be an art education.
Sources:
- MOMA – Jasper Johns Encaustic
- MOMA – Lynda Benglis Embryo II
- Metropolitan Museum of Art – Martin Kline
- Metropolitan Museum of Art – Encaustic Funeral Panels
To learn more…
Read about The History of Encaustic Painting from Fayum Funeral Portraits to Today
I enjoy working with encaustic’s, the freedom to incorporate things from nature, make it more interesting an beautiful.