Spirits of Hathor
I came across some very old daguerreotypes in a book in the library one afternoon, within this book there was a photo circa 1890's of the inside of the temple at Edfu. The photo was so mysterious that I decided I had to create something around this photo. The photo was of course black and white and I could not see detail. It was also very hard to find any other photos of this particular temple so I relied on other books on Egyptian temples to see what the color and lighting would be.
The figure I chose is wearing an amulet that I made up containing the eye of Horus, there is actually light coming out of the eye. I chose this idea because the temple was believed to have been built for the god Horus, but there are numerous depictions of the anual meeting between Horus and his wife Hathor. The reliefs are mostly situated on the inside of the first pylon, and spiritually connect this temple with Hathor’s Temple at the Dendera complex. During the third month of summer, the priests at the Dendera complex would place the statue of Hathor on her barque (a ceremonial barge) and would thus bring the statue to the Edfu Temple, where it was believed that Horus and Hathor shared a conjugal visit.
A couple of years after I had finished the painting a friend of mine told me she had traveled to Egypt and had seen this temple, she told me it was as if I had been there too, because she said all the lighting was accurate. It was the best compliment I could have received on this piece.
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