Wall Paintings Flashcards
Reconstruction abilities, Macedonian examples, Vergina examples (30 cards)
In what regard was painting (on walls, pots etc) held by Gs?
high esteem, as a form of art proper
What makes survival rate of wall paintings so low?
high levels of humidity
disrepair of buildings
Use of wooden panels on walls to display paintings (more susceptible to non survival)
Why are Macedonian tomb wall paintings so signif?
stand as some of few wall paintings to survive and provide good material evidence to compare to literary stuff
What is a key part of literary evidence for wall paintings?
Pliny HN.35 (AN ACCOUNT OF PAINTINGS AND COLOURS.)
In what media was painting done in AG?
pinakes (sing. pinax - painted wooden/terracotta pieces dedicated as votives)
pottery
walls
What and when is a key early instance of tomb wall painting?
two tumuli from ancient Lycia dating to late 6th-early 5th cents
show myth or life in persian court all in v east Greek style
What does tetrachromy mean? Signif?
four-colour palette
This was the range of colours used for early wall painting
What colours were used in early painting? signif?
black
white
red
ochre
Associated with four elements
Who was the great painter of mid 5th cent of grand tableaux at Athens and Delphi? Subject? Source?
Polygnotos of Thasos
Sack of Troy and Odysseus’ Descent to Underworld
Pausanias (material lost)
What is a feature of figures in Tomb of the Diver that shows early date?
tonal depth added only to the cheeks (reddening)
What does Pliny say was particularly good abt Apollodoros? When was this painter active?
he could ‘attract the gaze’ w his painting
c425-400 BCE
What does the term skiagraphia mean?
shading; the use of light and shade variation in order to achieve lifelike results
In what way was Apollodoros’ work innovative?
mixed tones to expand early palette
utilised fading in shadow
What were the 2 vital features of wall painting from end of 5th cent BCE?
illusion of depth
light-and-shadow play
What, after c400 BCE, became common features of wall painting? Why?
human figures, architectural forms, elements of scenery, the landscape
Showed off artist’s playing w light and shadow for realistic effect
How did Plato and Aristotle understand art? Signif?
mimesis the imiation of reality
Evident (from materials and literature) that artists of classical and hellenistic periods aimed to achieve 3D effect.
What is the term used for achievement of ultimate realism?
trompe l’oeil (trick the eye)
What story (truth or legendary) does Pliny (HN) tell of aims of Classical painters to achieve ultimate realism?
masters Zeuxis and Passhasios were competing; Z painted grapes that were so real, birds came to eat; P painted a curtain that tricked even Z who thought the painting was obscured behind
details likely not true but the overall intent of the story demonstrates importance/value of mimesis at this time
What is a medium through which lost paintings have been poss preserved? Examples?
Mosaics of hellenistic and roman periods.
Alexander mosaic, unswept room (only preserved in copies of the original mosaic)
What are the different types of wall paintings seen in the Macedonian Tombs?
masonry style architectural structures
fully illusionistic 3D architectural style
friezes of figures and action
Key facts of the Tomb of ‘Philip II of Macedonia’
320-10 BCE
from Vergina
tetrachromic
quasi-monumental entrance
royal hunt frieze
Key facts of the Tomb at Agios Athanasios
c300 BCE
Thessaloniki
highly detailed
two 1.5m Maced guards above entrance
frieze of funerary banquet showing entombed person in military gear
Key facts of the Persephone Tomb
c350-40 BCE
Vergina
NOT macedonian but plainer monumental cist-grave
sketch of later painted scene has been recovered underneath pigment
murals on 3 of 4 walls: Hades carrying off Persephone; others feature Demeter and the Fates
At what point in time does G painting appear to have reached a high point?
late 4th cent
