Khepri was the Ancient Egyptian god of the rising sun, creation, and the renewal of life…but why a beetle for a head?
Egyptians observed scarab beetles rolling balls of dung across the ground. They connected this action to how Khepri pushed the sun across the sky every morning.
Scarabs lay eggs inside dung balls, and young beetles emerge fully formed. Because they could not see the hidden eggs, ancient Egyptians believed scarabs were born out of nothing.
This made Khepri a symbol of spontaneous creation and self-generation.
A famous passage in the Book of The Dead has the deceased soul boldly declaring: “I am a scarab, the son of the morning sun. I roll up the ball of the sun and give it to Re”.
By stating this, the soul sheds its human mortality and transforms into a permanent, luminous being capable of rising into the heavens every morning.
Fink honors this by seating the deity in a modern office leather chair surrounded by bookshelves. This frames the god not just as a cosmic force, but as a modern professional, intellectual, or “self-made” creator who commands his own destiny.
The central focus is the striking, teal-colored scarab beetle serving as the figure’s head. This mirrors classic tomb vignettes while utilizing a glossy, polished texture that feels like modern protective armor or a high-end mask.
The deity wears a traditional Egyptian nemes (headdress) and a golden usekh (broad collar necklace). Fink seamlessly transitions these ancient royal markers into a sharply tailored, cobalt-blue modern suit jacket with padded, armored gloves, effectively blending the divine pharaonic ruler with a contemporary icon of power.
Title: Khepri God of Rebirth
Artist: Vincent Fink
Gallery: Modern Eden Gallery (San Francisco, CA)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 16 x 20 inches (24 x 20 inches framed)
Purchase from the gallery website: moderneden.com
there are more hidden symbols.
what do you see when you look into Fink’s Khepri?