December Dionysia

 Let us not forget December was probably the month in which the Winter Dionysia were held.

Party safely people and dont spread Covid !

ATHENA as a Warrior

 #Athena 

A series of posts featuring Images of Athena in Classical Greek Art 

Here we see Athena as a warrior defeating Encelados the Giant a child of Gaia who is said to be buried under Mount Etna in Sicily.

We can see the shield straps telling us something about how the Greeks used and carried round shields.

She has the elaborate embroidered robe of an upper class woman but the helmet of a warrior.

The battle of Athena and Encelados is depicted on various ceramics and is mentioned by Euripides in his ION, and also Callimachus, Apollodoros, Pausanias, Nonnos,  and the Latin poets Virigil, Statius,Horace, and Claudian, though some writers attribute his defeat to Dionysios or Zeus.

The Wedding of Dionysios and Ariadne

#weddign #dionysios #ariadne

There are a lot fo Renaissance and Baroque paintings on the theme of Bacchus and Ariadne and their first meeting or wedding but I came across this piece the other day and I like this

Ariadne daughter of Minos grand daughter of gods stands side by side with Dionysios the god of wine and parties as an equal playfully affectionately adjusting her spouses wreath with Poseidon on one side and Hermes on the other. 

Its one of those simple elegant images that show the beauty of Greek Classical art at its finest!

Garish Colors - Orpiment Yellow

The major source for bright yellow in ancient Greek and Roman painting was #Orpiment another sulphate mineral ore pigment

This is how experts think it looked painted onto statues.

and here is a fresco example from Pompeii 

Garish Colors - Lapis Lazuli Blue

#lapislazuli #blue #pigment #ancientpainting.

The strongest pigment in the ancient palette was probably lapislazuli or ultramarine blue.
It was also the most expensive having to be imported from what is now Afghanistan.

Blue could also be obtained from smalt ot azurite but the peculiar porous structure of this mineral makes it work better as a pigment than as a gemstone.

So if you're thinking bright blue appeared on buildings and artworks.

Probably not unless blended with other pigments to make it go further.

The unprocessed mineral form.

Due to it being so expensive I have not have found any pre byzantine mosaics or frescos or encaustic painting  that seem to be using blue that clearly derives from ultramarine.

Sometimes I've seen dark or light blues but these could be smalt or azurite blended with other pigments.

S bright garish blues ... maybe not ?

Garish Colors - Cinnabar Red

GARISH COLOURS - CINNABAR RED

#classicalart #ancientgreekpainting #romanpainting #pigments # cinnabar

Probably the Brightest Strongest Mineral Pigment available to the Greeks and Romans was #Cinnabar #MercurySulphide

If you think painted statues or wall paintings were a riot of bright reds greens yellows and blues ... er no ... the Greeks and Romans had a more limited range of pigments available than we do.
But yes some of those all now seemingly serene marble sculptures may have had red clothing and cinnabar mixed with other pigments for skin tones.

This is what cinnabar looks like.

Please bear in mind that cinnabar can be toxic and especially in its powdered form should be handled with gloves and a mask and washing of any exposed skin and probably clothes too.

The raw mineral ore form

Powder and wet pigment


Its a gorgeous warm color stronger than Realgar or any of the Iron Oxide reds from clays.

Cadmium Red wasn't discovered until the 19th century.

Cinnabar red is also known as Vermilion or sometimes as Minium.

If you're planning to try to duplicate the reds seen on Roman frescoes I suggest you use modern paints to avoid the toxicity problem and bear in mind another problem with sulphides is that they do NOT BLEND WELL with pigments from copper ore.

I did consult Wikipedia and other sources but that was to check if what I remembered from art school decades ago was still valid and up to date.

Klimt's Athena

#klimt #athena #painting

For a change some "modern art" that shows classical influences and references not only in its subject but its details: the steely grey eyes, the helmet and the Aegis with the Gorgon's face.

Two Paintings of the Graces

Two Paintings of the Graces

Pausanias tells us (Book 9. 35. 1-7) that while it was normal in his time the 2nd century AD to depict the Graces as nude he has seen older works of art in which they are clothed but alas none of those works survived even as Roman mosaic copies.

However here's one Roman era fresco from Pompeii that did.

and here to demonstrate Classical Influences on later art Raphael's depiction of the Graces.