Orpheus Mosaic

 ORPHEUS MOSAIC #Orpheus #mosaic

While this is from the Roman era the style strongly suggests it may be a copy of an older painting and the location is a city in the part of whats now Turkey that had been settled by colonized and lived in by Greeks for several centuries. The use of tone also suggests a Greek artist to me.

Orpheus amongst the Thracians

 Orpheus Amongst the Thracians

#orpheus #thracians #greekceramics #painting

Orpheus amongst the Thracians is one of those simple yet elegant classical greek paintings that capture a surprising amount of detail on a very small scale .The artist has carefully rendered the lyre and details such as the lacing of the Thracian's boots and the way his cape and robes drape differently from the Greek costume of Orpheus.  The one raised foot of the woman holding the scythe and her eyes looking at both men the raised open hand of the male speaking the more relaxed pose of Orpheus himself show a skilled artist. 

Orpheus and the Thracians

#orpheus #thracians

Part of the legend of Orpheus says that he was torn apart by Thracian Maenads

One detail that caught my eye is that the maenads are either wearing clothes under their embroidered tunics or have tattoos on their arms and legs. This is metal work not ceramics.