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Mummy by the Bay: Irethorrou, an Egyptian Priest of the Early Persian Period

Posted by Renee D. Dreyfus on October 31, 2012

This Halloween, we take you inside one of the Museums’ most enigmatic inhabitants: the mummy Irethorrou. While mummies have long been the antagonists of numerous horror films, they also provide us with incredible insight into the funerary practices and religious beliefs of ancient Egyptians. We dare you to read on as curator Dr. Renée Dreyfus and Egyptologist Jonathan P. Elias unwrap the Museums’ mummy.

Mummy of Irethorrou in Coffin

Mummy of Irethorrou in Coffin, ca. 500 BC. Egypt, Akhmim, Middle Egypt. Human remains, linen, wood with polychrome. Gift of the First Federal Trust Company (from the Estate of Jeremiah Lynch). 42895

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Memento Mori: Remember That You Must Die!

Posted by Emma Acker on October 31, 2011

In honor of Halloween and Día de los Muertos, we've dug up some of our most ghoulish art! The theme of memento mori presents a visual reminder of the ephemerality of human existence and is an artistic tradition that dates back to antiquity.

Memento Mori

Jean Morin (French, 1612–1650). After Philippe de Champaigne (French, 1602–1674). Memento Mori, ca. 1650. Etching and engraving. Museum purchase, Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts Endowment Fund. 1994.13

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Masters of Masquerade

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on October 28, 2011

As we simultaneously prepare for Halloween and the opening weekend of Masters of Venice: Renaissance Painters of Passion and Power from the Kunsthisorisches Museum, Vienna (which opens tomorrow, October 29), what better topic to kick off the festivities than a post about the sumptuous tradition of masquerade?

Paris Bordone. Allegory of Mars, Venus and Cupid

Paris Paschalinus Bordone. Allegory of Mars, Venus and Cupid. ca. 1560. Oil on canvas. Gemäldegalerie of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

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FRAME|WORK: A Mask Fan from Eighteenth-Century England

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on October 26, 2011

FRAME|WORK is a weekly blog series that highlights an artwork in the Museums' permanent collections. This week, in a joint celebration of Halloween and the imminent opening of Masters of Venice: Renaissance Painters of Passion and Power, we feature an extraordinary mask fan from the department of Textile Arts.

Mask fan, England, 1740–1750. Opaque watercolor on vellum; ivory sticks. Gift of Susanne King Morrison in memory of Elizabeth Brant King. 1980.66

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A Spooky Night at the Legion

Posted by Cheryl McCain on November 3, 2009

Last Friday, ArtPoint hosted a ghoulish costume gala at the Legion of Honor. Hundreds of art enthusiasts braved the Richmond fog to dance the night away in tribute to Halloween and the opening of Very Postmortem: Mummies and Medicine. The exterior columns of the Legion looked spooktacular with purple and blue lighting. As guests made their way to the entrance, creepy music played from the dark corners of the Court of Honor.

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