Student Activities Archives - Page 14 of 23

Unidentified Byzantine Building in Constantinople known today as Kefeli Mosque

March 16, 2021

by admin Art Byzantium Student Activities

**Nicholas V. Artamonoff,** 1908-1989
**Kefeli Mosque in Istanbul, Nave and Apse from the south,** March 1936, Nicholas V. Artamonoff Collection, Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection http://images.doaks.org/artamonoff/items/show/245

The moment was grave… it was the 22^nd of July 838, hot and humid, and Emperor Theophilos, was besieged by the army of Caliph al-Mu’tasim near the hill of Dazimon. Earlier on “while the sky darkened and rain begun to fall in torrents… (he) saw that his opposite wing was in difficulties and (omitting to tell his junior commanders what he was about to do) led 2,000 men round behind the center to reinforce it… his unexpected disappearance immediately gave rise to a rumour that he had been killed. Panic broke out, followed – as always – by flight; and when the rain stopped and the light returned Theophilos realized that he and his men were surrounded.” The moment was grave… but when the Khurramite soldiers in the emperor’s entourage reportedly began planning to surrender the Emperor to the Arabs, Manuel the Armenian, Domestic of the Schools, commander of the elite tagma of the Scholae and de facto commander-in-chief of the entire Byzantine army, seized the Emperor’s horse by the bridle and threatening the confused emperor with his sword, forcibly broke through the Arab lines, and brought Theophilos to safety in the nearby village of Dorylaeum. Although Byzantine military history is not my forte when I researched the history of the Unidentified Byzantine Building in Constantinople known today as Kefeli Mosque and the name of Manuel the Armenian came up, I was intrigued and I did my reading… John Julius Norwich, Byzantium – The Apogee, 1993 Penguin Books, pp. 48 and Warren T. Treadgold, The Chronological Accuracy of the “Chronicle” of Symeon the Logothete for the Years 813-845, DOP Vol. 33 (1979), p. 180, 181 https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291437?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3Ae308c8234dcf2fe514aff96de764bb09&seq=23#page_scan_tab_contents

**Codex Græcus Matritensis Ioannis Skylitzes or Madrid Skylitzes, The Byzantine army under Emperor Theophilos retreats towards a mountain (detail),** fol. 54r, 12th-13th centuries, Biblioteca Nacional de España, Madrid
http://bdh-rd.bne.es/viewer.vm?id=0000022766&page=1

It seems that there is a bit of a controversy between Byzantine Chronographers of what was the fate of the brave general… Some of the Chronographers report that Manuel the Armenian died of wounds that he received in the fateful battle of Dazimon (most probable) and was buried in the Monastery of Manuel in Constantinople, traditionally identified with the Kefeli Mosque. Other chronographers narrate how Manuel survived the battle, returned to Constantinople, took part in the second battle of Dazimon, and died, in the late 850s, a devoted Iconodule, during the reign of Emperor Michael III. Warren T. Treadgold, The Chronological Accuracy of the “Chronicle” of Symeon the Logothete for the Years 813-845, DOP Vol. 33 (1979), p. 182, 183 https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291437?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3Ae308c8234dcf2fe514aff96de764bb09&seq=23#page_scan_tab_contents

**Unidentified Byzantine Basilica Building in Constantinople known today as Kefeli Mosque,** 9^th century, Istanbul
http://thearthistoryjournal.blogspot.com/2011/07/converted-byzantine-churches-in.html

Kefeli Mosque’s history is intriguing, to say the least. It is not yet established if it was originally part of the Byzantine Monastery of Manuel, founded in the mid 9^th century, rebuilt by Patriarch Photius, restored once more by Romanos I Lekapenos and used by Emperor Michael VII to retire after his deposition. Scholars are not even sure if the ΚΤΗΤΩΡ(founder) of the Monastery was indeed Manuel the Armenian, and if the Monastery was founded within Manuel’s residential complex. More importantly, scholars can not be certain if the surviving building was originally a Church or a Monastic refectory. It seems that all scholars agree that it was never the Katholiko of a Monastery.

**Alexandros Georgiou Paspates,** 1814-1891
**Byzantinai meletai topographikai,** 1877, Constantinople
https://ia800304.us.archive.org/0/items/vyzantinaimelet00unkngoog/vyzantinaimelet00unkngoog.pdf page 332 and https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Moni_tou_Manouil.jpg

The building was a basilica, according to Paspates a “κτίριον δρομικόν” and recent studies describe it as an interesting example of how the early Christian Basilica form developed or adapted during the Middle Byzantine period. It is believed that Kefeli Mosque was a 3-aisled basilica building with an apse (polygonal outside, but semicircular inside with two niches) facing north.

What can be said with certainty, is that the presented Byzantine building successively served the Greek Orthodox population of the city, the Catholics along with the Orthodox Armenians, and since 1630 the Muslim population of Karagümrük neighbourhood in Fatih district of Istanbul. Its name comes from Caffa (Kefe) in Crimea. https://ia800304.us.archive.org/0/items/vyzantinaimelet00unkngoog/vyzantinaimelet00unkngoog.pdf and http://suleymankirimtayif.com/pdf/ByzantineChurchesinIstanbul.pdf and http://www.istanbulvisions.com/kefeli_mosque.htm

An interesting Collection of Photographs of Kefeli Mosque can be seen in the ARIADNE – Digital Archaeology in Europe site put together by The German Archaeological Institute (DAI) Istanbul photo archive: https://arachne.dainst.org/project/fotoistanbul and https://arachne.dainst.org/project/fotoistanbul/search?q=%22Kefeli%20Camii%22 In addition, the Nicholas V. Artamonoff Collection, at the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection – Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives, is equally interesting to explore http://images.doaks.org/artamonoff/items/show/244

For a Student Activity, please… Check HERE!

**Map of Byzantine Constantinople: The Red star marks the location of Kefeli Mosque**

Clean Monday Feast

March 14, 2021

by admin 20th century Art Art Greek Art Museums Student Activities

**Spero Vassiliou,** 1903-1985
**Clean Monday Feast,** 1950, oil on wood, 125×78, Municipality of Rhodes Museum of Modern Greek Art
https://paletaart.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/%CE%B2%CE%B1%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%BB%CE%B5%CE%AF%CE%BF%CF%85-%CF%83%CF%80%CF%8D%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%82-spyros-vassiliou-1903-1985/#jp-carousel-4424

Could Isaiah (Isaiah 1:1–20) introduce us to the theme of Clean Monday with his Old Testament verses? “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Come now, let us argue it out, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Are the following Matthew verses (Matthew 6:14–21) indicative of the Greek Orthodox festive, springtime atmosphere of Clean Monday? “When ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret…” I like to think that the painting Clean Monday Feast by Spero Vassiliou embodies Matthew’s recommendations and presents the glorious Greek Clean Monday at its best! https://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Isaiah%201:1%E2%80%9320&version=nrsv and https://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Matthew%206:14%E2%80%9321&version=nrsv

Austerity and Affluence… two words that best describe, in my humble opinion, Vassiliou’s painting Clean Monday Feast in the Municipality of Rhodes Museum of Modern Greek Art. Let me explain…

Austerity… in the green, tripod, metal table, centrally displayed, full of traditional νηστίσιμα(fasting foods) humble delicacies that mark the beginning of Lent… for the day, Clean Monday, when relatives and friends celebrate the upcoming period of humility, self-criticism and mutual forgiveness. Vassiliou’s green coloured table displays a piece of Lagana, the unleavened popular bread of the day, Throubes, sun-dried black olives, crunchy spring onions, the grocer’s halva with tasty almonds, the heart of tender lettuce, a deep yellow plate full of crisp, local “greens,” a white plate with salty, but so tasty red fish roe, and retsina, the Greek resinated white wine, popular in Greece for at least 2,000 years.

Affluence… in the love the artist held for the simple things of everyday life, insignificant at first sight, yet eloquent, meaningful and deeply moving for all the initiates of Greek Clean Monday rituals. Spero Vassiliou’s family tradition for Clean Monday was to invite his friends for a day’s feast on the roof(ταράτσα) of his house, below the Acropolis of Athens! The 1950 painting, titled Clean Monday Feast, is glowingly colourful, brightly sunny, gloriously festive!

**Spero Vassiliou working in his Studio…** https://www.archaiologia.gr/blog/2016/02/19/%CF%84%CE%B5%CE%BB%CE%B5%CF%85%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%AF%CE%B1-%CE%BE%CE%B5%CE%BD%CE%AC%CE%B3%CE%B7%CF%83%CE%B7-%CF%83%CF%84%CE%BF-%CF%83%CF%80%CE%AF%CF%84%CE%B9-%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85-%CF%83%CF%80%CF%8D%CF%81/

Spero Vassiliou “studied painting at the “School of Arts” (later Athens School of Fine Arts) from 1921 to 1926. He was among the students who struggled for the reorganization of the School and who attended the studio of the newly elected professor, Nikos Lytras.” An active member of the Greek Artists Association, Vasiliou put together solo exhibitions as early as 1929, participated in creating stage design and costumes for about 140 plays, and won the prestigious Academy of Athens Award for designing the frescoes in the church of Saint Dionysius Areopagites in Athens. By the late 1940s, Vassiliou was an active member of the Greek intelligentsia representing a style linked to surrealism or pop art with a dominant dose of “aspects of contemporary Greek life in a picturesque and vivid way, sometimes inspired by folklore forms…” http://dp.iset.gr/en/artist/view.html?id=1080

**Municipality of Rhodes Museum of Modern Greek Art –** The original Historic Building in Symi Square
https://www.rodos-palace.gr/discover-rhodes/510/Museums-and-Antiquities/

The painting Clean Monday Feast by Spero Vassiliou is part of the Collection of the Municipality of Rhodes Museum of Modern Greek Art. The driving force behind the creation of the Municipality Museum was Andreas Ioannou, “a distinguished scholar of modern Greek art, writer and prefect of Dodecanese.” He foresaw the leading role Rhodes could play as a cultural center of international fame and decided, back in the 1950s, to create an emblematic Museum of Modern Greek Art. “For this reason he came in contact with the leading Greek artists, acquired their emblematic works and housed them in the historic building of Symi Square at the entrance of the Medieval City of Rhodes, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.” https://www.mgamuseum.gr/el/to-mouseio/

Today, the Municipality Museum has 4 very distinct Art Galleries. The original Historic Building on Symi Square is the center where Engravings of the 19th – 20th centuries, Publications and Posters will be exhibited. The “Nestorideion Melathron” houses the Museum’s permanent collection of 20^th century Modern Greek Art, including Vassiliou’s Clean Monday Feast. The Modern Art Centre, situated at the main thoroughfare in the Medieval Town “Palaio Syssitio,” has been chosen as the center for the first permanent exhibition dedicated to the famous and characteristic Rhodesian Ceramic Art. Finally, in 2010, the Museum inaugurated a new center dedicated to the cultural activities of the island. https://www.mgamuseum.gr/el/to-mouseio/

Get enthused by Spero Vassiliou’s Painting Clean Monday Feast and prepare a Student Activity inspired by the depicted Kites! Use a List of ONLINE sites to find out what best suits your students! Click HERE!

Teaching with Andrea Mantegna

March 9, 2021

by admin Art Powerpoints Renaissance Student Activities Worksheets

**Andrea Mantegna,** 1431-1506
**Camera degli Sposi, The West Wall: The Meeting, (detail of the left panel),** 1465-74, Walnut oil on plaster, Camera degli Sposi, Palazzo Ducale, Mantua
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Andrea_Mantegna_075.jpg?uselang=it

“How great is the effect of reward on talent is known to him who labors valiantly and receives a certain measure of recompense, for he feels neither discomfort, nor hardship, nor fatigue, when he expects honor and reward for them; nay, what is more, they render his talent every day more renowned and illustrious. It is true, indeed, that there is not always one to recognize, esteem, and remunerate it as that of Andrea Mantegna was recognized. This man was born from very humble stock in the district of Mantua; and, although as a boy he was occupied in grazing herds, he was so greatly exalted by destiny and by his merit that he attained to the honorable rank of Chevalier, as will be told in the proper place…” This is how Giorgio Vasari introduces Andrea Mantegna, the artist who was is “seen to have been wrought with much art and diligence.” Teaching with Andrea Mantegna is a set of student activities and worksheets inspired by the great Italian artist I admire. To visit Andrea’ Camera degli Sposi in the Palazzo Publico in Mantua was for years an unreachable dream. In 1988 along with a group of students/friends my dream came to fruition and I was finally, in the middle of this amazing room… moved, I confess, and emotional. http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/giorgiovasari/lives/andreamantegna.htm

**Andrea Mantegna,** 1431-1506
**The presentation of Christ in the temple (detail-Probably Self-portrait),** 1465-1466, tempera on canvas, 86×67 cm, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Portraits_of_Andrea_Mantegna#/media/File:Andrea_Mantegna_049_detail_possible_self-portrait.jpg

When the time comes for me to introduce my students to Mantegna’s oeuvre I start with Giorgio Vasari’s final words. “Andrea was so kindly and praiseworthy in all his actions, that his memory will ever live, not only in his own country, but in the whole world; wherefore he well deserved, no less for the sweetness of his ways than for his excellence in painting…” and continue with the artist’s tutelage under Squarcione, who “made him practise much on casts taken from ancient statues and on pictures painted upon canvas which he caused to be brought from diverse places, particularly from Tuscany and from Rome. By these and other methods, therefore, Andrea learnt not a little in his youth…” I finish my presentation of Andrea Mantegna’s contribution to world art with his reaction to Squarcione’s criticism that “his pictures resembled not living figures but ancient statues of marble or other suchlike things.” My students are intrigued and a discussion takes place by how “This censure piqued the mind of Andrea; but, on the other hand, it was of great service to him, for, recognizing that Squarcione was in great measure speaking the truth, he set himself to portray living people, and made so much progress in this art, that, in a scene which still remained to be painted in the said chapel, he showed that he could wrest the good from living and natural objects no less than from those wrought by art. But for all this Andrea was ever of the opinion that the good ancient statues were more perfect and had greater beauty in their various parts than is shown by nature, since, as he judged and seemed to see from those statues, the excellent masters of old had wrested from living people all the perfection of nature, which rarely assembles and unites all possible beauty into one single body, so that it is necessary to take one part from one body and another part from another.” http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/giorgiovasari/lives/andreamantegna.htm

**Andrea Mantegna,** 1431-1506
**The San Zeno Polyptych (detail),** 1457-60, Tempera on panel, 480 x 450 cm, San Zeno, Verona
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Details_of_Pala_di_San_Zeno_by_Andrea_Mantegna#/media/File:Andrea_Mantegna_024.jpg

Teaching with Andrea Mantegna References – References, a PowerPoint and Activities…

For the List of ONLINE References on Andrea Mantegna TeacherCurator put together, please… Click HERE!

For my PowerPoint on Andrea Mantegna, please… Click HERE!

I always feel confident discussing an artist with my students when I prepare my 7 Steps to Success Lesson Plan Outline…

For Student Activities (5 Activities), please… Click HERE!

I hope that Teaching with Andrea Mantegna will prove easy and helpful. Do you think it justifies my BLOG name Teacher Curator?

**Andrea Mantegna,** 1431-1506
**Ceiling decoration of the Camera degli Sposi (detail),** 1465-74, Walnut oil on plaster and fresco, Camera degli Sposi, Palazzo Ducale, Mantua
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Camera_picta_-_Ceiling#/media/File:Andrea_mantegna,_camera_degli_sposi,_1465-74,_volta,_oculo,_07.jpg

Boat of Greeks

March 5, 2021

by admin 1821-Greek Independence Day 19th century Art Art Greek Art Student Activities Worksheets

**Dionysis Tsokos**, 1820-1862
**Boat of Greeks,** 1844 to 1847, oil on canvas, 29×23 cm, Averoff Museum, Metsovo, Greece
https://www.averoffmuseum.gr/boat-of-greeks/?lang=en

“…Fill high the bowl with Samian wine! / On Suli’s rock, and Parga’s shore, / Exists the remnant of a line / Such as the Doric mothers bore; / And there, perhaps, some seed is sown, / The Heracleidan blood might own. / Trust not for freedom to the Franks— / They have a king who buys and sells; / In native swords and native ranks / The only hope of courage dwells: / But Turkish force and Latin fraud / Would break your shield, however broad….” Writes George Gordon Byron in The Isles of Greece and makes the best possible introduction for Dionysis Tsokos’s Boat of Geeks at the Averoff Museum in Metsovo. https://englishverse.com/poems/the_isles_of_greece

Dionysis Tsokos’s painting Boat of Geeks is closely connected to the fate of the small city of Parga on the Ionian Coast of Epirus. Parga, a small city/fortress, was always closely connected to the European political interests of the Ionian Islands. Since 1360 when the fortress of Parga was built with the help of the Normans who held, at the time the island of Corfu, the Pargians faced countless Ottoman attacks while they were under Venetian, French or British rule. In 1815 the inhabitants of the city of Parga rebelled against the French rule, under the instigation of the British, and a short period of British rule started. Seeing Parga as the stepping stone to achieving their final goal: to occupy the Ionian Islands, the British, in 1817, sold Parga to Ali Pasha for 150,000 pounds. https://www.kastra.eu/castleen.php?kastro=parga

**Edward Lear,** 1812-1888
**Parga,** *Journals of a Landscape painter in Albania etc*., London, Richard Bentley, 1851, 14×21 cm, Benaki Museum Library
https://eng.travelogues.gr/collection.php?view=283

What happened next is best described in the October 1819 edition of the Edinburgh Review… “As soon as the notice was given [of how much Ali was to be charged for their homeland] every family marched solemnly out of its dwelling, without tears or lamentation; and the men, preceded by their priests, and followed by their sons, proceeded to the sepulchres of their fathers, and silently unearthed and collected their remains, – which they placed upon a huge pile of wood which they had previously erected before one of their churches. They even took their arms in their hands, and, setting fire to the pile, stood motionless and silent around it, till the whole was consumed. During this melancholy ceremony, some of Ali’s troops, impatient for possession, approached the gates of the town; upon which a deputation of citizens was sent to inform our Governor, that if a single Infidel was admitted before the remains of their ancestors were secured from profanation, and they themselves, with their families, fairly embarked, they would all instantly put to death their wives and children, – and die with their arms in their hands, – and not without a bloody revenge on those who had bought and sold their country. Such a remonstrance, at such a moment, was felt and respected, as it ought by those to whom it was addressed. General Adam succeeded in stopping the march of the Mussulmans. The pile burnt out – and the people embarked in silence…” http://newsteadabbeybyronsociety.org/works/downloads/sale_parga.pdf and https://books.google.gr/books?id=7kNBAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA12&lpg=RA1-PA12&dq=Edinburgh+Review+Sale+of+Parga&source=bl&ots=hZxwnxM1hD&sig=ACfU3U3ac4JXKloQ18zhWLsbpAsGjXXTtQ&hl=el&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjug-2Ly5jvAhVfQhUIHaLnBgkQ6AEwB3oECAkQAw#v=onepage&q=Edinburgh%20Review%20Sale%20of%20Parga&f=false pp. 22-23

Boat of Geeks by Dionysis Tsokos depicts the final act of Parga’s sale by the British to Ali Pasha… “a boat full of refugees – resistance fighters, a priest, and a woman – floundering on the waves as it heads for foreign shores. One gallant lad stands embracing the mast and holding the Greek flag, gazing intently at the fatherland he is abandoning, while the captain holds fast to the helm.” https://www.averoffmuseum.gr/boat-of-greeks/?lang=en

**Dionysis Tsokos**, 1820-1862
**The Flight from Parga,** after 1847, oil on canvas, 37×47 cm, E. Koutlidis Foundation Collection, National Gallery of Greece, Athens
https://www.nationalgallery.gr/en/painting-permanent-exhibition/painting/the-years-of-othon%E2%80%99s-reign/history-painting/the-flight-from-parga.html

Dionysis Tsokos created two paintings on the theme of Greeks fleeing Parga after the shocking 1819 British sale to Ali Pasha. The earliest, chronologically, of the two paintings, is today exhibited in the Averoff Museum at Metsovo, one of my favourite Art Museums in Greece, the second painting, dated a little later is part of the E. Koutlidis Collection and is exhibited in Athens at the National Gallery. For a Student “Compare and Contrast” Activity on Dionysis Tsokos’s paintings, please… Check HERE!

If you wish to learn more about the Greek War of Independence and the Bicentennial Celebrations in 2021, please VISIT the official Greece 1821-2021 Bicentennial site http://www.greece2021.gr, Twitter, https://twitter.com/Greece_2021, Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/Greece2021/, and Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/greece2021/?hl=el

Cleobis and Biton

February 26, 2021

by admin Ancient Greek Art Art Student Activities

**Polymides of Argos,** a Greek sculptor of the Archaic Period (6th century BC)
**The two Kouroi of Argos, known as Cleobis and Biton,** dedicated to Delphi by the city of Argos, 580 BC, marble, H. 1.97 m, Archaeological Museum of Delphi
https://alchetron.com/Kleobis-and-Biton

“Cleobis and Biton,” according to Herodotus “were of Argive stock, had enough to live on, and on top of this had great bodily strength. Both had won prizes in the athletic contests, and this story is told about them: there was a festival of Hera in Argos, and their mother absolutely had to be conveyed to the temple by a team of oxen. But their oxen had not come back from the fields in time, so the youths took the yoke upon their own shoulders under constraint of time. They drew the wagon, with their mother riding atop it, traveling five miles until they arrived at the temple. When they had done this and had been seen by the entire gathering, their lives came to an excellent end, and in their case the god made clear that for human beings it is a better thing to die than to live. The Argive men stood around the youths and congratulated them on their strength; the Argive women congratulated their mother for having borne such children. She was overjoyed at the feat and at the praise, so she stood before the image and prayed that the goddess might grant the best thing for man to her children Cleobis and Biton, who had given great honor to the goddess. After this prayer they sacrificed and feasted. The youths then lay down in the temple and went to sleep and never rose again; death held them there. The Argives made and dedicated at Delphi statues of them as being the best of men.” What a story… http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D31 and https://www.jstor.org/stable/4476541?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3A696d910b4f58214d895c34828b1f43ce&seq=3#page_scan_tab_contents

The two statues affectionately called The Twins of Argos hold me in fascination! They were sent to Delphi by the Argives back in the early 6th century BC… the first monumental commemorative monument to grace Apollo’s sanctuary. Many, resplended monuments followed… but the Kouroi of Cleobis and Biton forever bedazzle us with their monumentality and grace.

**Unearthing Biton**, 1894, the sanctuary of Apollo, Delphi, Greece
**Archaeologists excavating Cleobis**, 1894
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/greek-art/daedalic-archaic/a/the-kouroi-of-kleobis-and-biton

The Twins of Argos were excavated in Delphi by French archaeologists in 1893 and 1894. The discovery of two extremely similar statues of idealized nude male youths is a rare find of the kouros type. Like other kouroi, they are “naked except for boots, which distinguish them from images of Apollo and may mark them as travellers. They are stockily built, short though over-life-size, with broad shoulders and broad faces… The round eyes are set within curving upper and lower lids, the entire eye unit cut deeply into the head beneath heavy brows. The mouth is full. The large ears are set far back at the side of the head; the lobe is a flat disk. The transition between the front and sides of the head is very abrupt. A single row of large disk-like curls line the forehead. The rest of the hair, emphasizing the flat top of the head, is combed and then subdivided into large bead-like elements. In back the hair springs out from beneath the double cord which holds it in place, at the top of the ears and, again, at the base of the neck. Each of the tendrils, front and back, is neatly finished with a tie… The abdomen is defined linearly… The round knees are set off by incision as well as by modeling. The arms are held close to the body, the clenched hands securely attached to the thighs, the thumbs facing outward…” http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact?name=Delphi%2C+Kleobis+and+Biton&object=Sculpture

Polymides of Argos, a Greek sculptor of the Archaic Period (6th century BC)
**The two Kouroi of Argos, known as Cleobis and Biton (detail),** dedicated to Delphi by the city of Argos, 580 BC, marble, H. 1.97 m, Archaeological Museum of Delphi
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/greek-art/daedalic-archaic/a/the-kouroi-of-kleobis-and-biton

To introduce my students to ancient Greek Archaic Art and the Kouros Brothers from Argos, Cleobis and Biton, I use the Inquiry-based teaching method known as Visual Thinking Strategy introduced by Abigail Housen and Philip Yenawine which “uses art to teach visual literacy, thinking, and communication skills—listening and expressing oneself. Growth is stimulated by looking at artworks of increasing complexity, answering developmentally based questions, and participating in peer-group discussions carefully facilitated by teachers.” Philip Yenawine, Visual Thinking Strategies: Using Art to Deepen Learning Across School Disciplines, 2013 https://www.amazon.com/Visual-Thinking-Strategies-Learning-Disciplines-ebook/dp/B00XO20380

For a student “RWAP”, (RWAP stands for Research – Writing – Art – Project), please… Check HERE!

In 2016, after visiting the Archaeological Museum of Delphi… one of my Grade 7 students, inspired by Cleobis and Biton, presented me with the above poster!

Areskon is my Name and I am an Actor

February 21, 2021

by admin Ancient Greek Art Art Powerpoints Roman Art Student Activities

**Funerary Altar-Shaped Stele of Actor Marcus Varinius Areskon,** 170-200 AD, Marble with traces of the original paint, 1670×70-72×52-66 cm, Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki
Photo Credit: Kostas Papantoniou https://www.amth.gr/en/exhibitions/highlights

O man, with your wonderful dower, / O woman, with genius and grace, / You can teach the whole world with your power, / If you are but worthy the place. / The stage is a force and a factor / In moulding the thought of the day, / If only the heart of the actor / Is high as the theme of the play. … No matter what role you are giving, / No matter what skill you betray, / The everyday life you are living, / Is certain to colour the play./ The thoughts we call secret and hidden / Are creatures of malice, in fact;/ They steal forth unseen and unbidden, / And permeate motive and act. Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919) was an American author and poet who wrote THE ACTOR…an appropriate, in my humble opinion, introduction to our new POST… Areskon is my Name and I am an Actor. http://www.ellawheelerwilcox.org/poems/pactor.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Wheeler_Wilcox

Marcus Varinius Areskon… I seek him out every time I visit the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki. I introduce him to my students every time I guide them around this wonderful “shrine” of the Muses… and yet I know so little about him. An inscription introduces himself. Carved above his portrait and under it, the epitaph inscription reads… Λ(ούκιος) Σηνάτιος Οἴκιος καὶ Οὐαρε | νία Ἀρέσκουσα Μάρκῳ Οὐαρ[ε] | νίῳ Ἀρέσκοντι τῷ τέ | κνῳ μνήμης χάριν Lucius Senatius (probably an unknown member of the family) and Var(e)inia Areskousa to her son Marcus Var(e)inius Areskon in memory… I am intrigued… can the portrait of a young man and an inscription help us unravel the knot? https://www.amth.gr/en/exhibitions/highlights

Areskon was the son of Var(e)inia Areskousa, he was related? to Lucius Senatius, he was Roman, he lived in Thessaloniki, and he died painfully young. This beautiful funerary memorial, in marble and vividly painted, the colours remain remarkably well-preserved, testifying to the economic ability of the family to honour their young demised member with a worthy memorial. https://m.flickr.com/photos/69716881@N02/50914350016/in/faves-36551225@N05/

Areskousa and Areskon, mother and son, members of a popular family of actors, were probably entertainment “stars” of the time. This is what their names connotate (Areskon/Areskousa= one who pleases, who is popular). The mother was probably an actress of the popular mime theatre, while the son managed to elevate himself and become a young, versatile tragic actor of fame and fortune. His funerary monument is a proper testament to his popularity and wealth.

The portrait on his rectangular funerary altar shows him en face, upright, attired in military gear. His right hand is raised in salutation, the left seems to hold a sword? In the upper left corner of the composition, still beautifully coloured, a mask, worn by male actors for a female theatrical role, identifies the male portrait as an actor of versatile abilities.

1917, Trip to the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki… my respects to Areskon… Photo Credit: Kostas Papantoniou

The Portrait of Areskon is shown in the middle of a simple yet elegantly proportioned structure described by the Museum archaeologists as a funerary altar. It is simply framed, sits on a pedestal and is crowned by an inscribed pediment with a central rosette, leaves and stylized acroteria. It was discovered near the eastern fortification walls of Thessaloniki, almost embedded in an apartment building of modern times. Today, exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, it is considered one of the Museum’s highlights!

For a PowerPoint presenting a School Trip to the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki and the Funerary Altar of Areskon, please… Check HERE!

For a StudentActivity, please… Check HERE!

2017, Grade 4 STARS in front of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki! Photo Credit: Kostas Papantoniou

Unidentified Byzantine Church in Constantinople known today as Atik Mustafa Paşa Camii

February 16, 2021

by admin Byzantium Student Activities

**Unidentified Byzantine Church in Constantinople known today as Atik Mustafa Paşa Camii,** original Byzantine construction date: 842-867
Photograph by Dick Osseman, East Façade, https://pbase.com/dosseman/atikmustafa
East Façade, Analysis of Masonry (after Mathews) https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291520?seq=8#metadata_info_tab_contents

It’s bitter cold, a snowy Sunday in the συμβασιλεύουσα του Βυζαντίου and I enjoy reading “Notes on the Atik Mustafa Paşa Camii in Istanbul and its frescoes” by Thomas F. Mathews and Ernest J. W. Hawkins in Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 39 (1985), pp. 125-134. My goal is to prepare for a new POST, titled… Unidentified Byzantine Church in Constantinople known today as Atik Mustafa Paşa Camii. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291520?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

Atik Mustafa Paşa Camii is a historic Byzantine church in Constantinople, an Ottoman Mosque of great importance for the Muslims, and an intriguing building for the expert Art Historians in the academic world. I have to confess I never visited the building and that makes it difficult to talk about it… I rely, however, on Mathews and Hawkins Dumbarton Oaks Paper, the Encyclopedia of the Hellenic World presentation, the Byzantine Legacy report, and the precious photographs taken by Dick Ossemann. This may not be “all-inclusive,” it is the groundwork for my next trip… στην Πόλη! https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291520?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents, http://constantinople.ehw.gr/forms/fLemmaBodyExtended.aspx?lemmaID=11785, https://www.thebyzantinelegacy.com/atik and https://pbase.com/dosseman/atikmustafa

**Unidentified Byzantine Church in Constantinople known today as Atik Mustafa Paşa Camii,** original Byzantine construction date: 842-867, drawing of 1877, from A.G. Paspates’ Byzantine Topographical Studies

References to early 20th-century bibliography and logical deductions lead Mathews and Hawkins to a first acceptance that the Atik Mustafa Paşa Camii is “the earliest Constantinopolitan example of a cross-domed church (and indeed the first Constantinopolitan church after Iconoclasm).” The authors further studied the articulation of the East End of the building, the design of the Apses (p. 127), the windows in the apses, drew comparisons to many Constantinopolitan churches for plausible similarities and drew the conclusion that the Atik share the most similarities with “the Theotokos of Lips (church) of 907 and the Myrelaion 920-22. With these churches the Atik shares the basic plan of three triple-faceted apses in which surfaces begin to be broken up by windows and niches set at varying levels.” Further comparisons (pp.127-128) on where apse windows were placed and the lack of horizontal cornices enhanced the belief that Atik Mustafa Paşa Camii “while closely related to the Lips and the Myrelaion, seems to represent an earlier stage in the evolution of apse design. Very likely it belongs to the second half of the ninth century in the new surge of church building known from literary sources to have followed the defeat of Iconoclasm in 842 and the accession of Basil I in 867.” https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291520?seq=4#metadata_info_tab_contents

The Dumbarton Oaks Paper by Mathews and Hawkins is an inexhaustible source of information I enjoyed reading. Groundwork accomplished, I feel ready for a future trip… στην Πόλη!

For a Student Activity, please… Check HERE!

**Unidentified Byzantine Church in Constantinople known today as Atik Mustafa Paşa Camii,** original Byzantine construction date: 842-867
South Wall Frescoes, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291520?seq=8#metadata_info_tab_contents

Teaching with Jan van Eyck

February 6, 2021

by admin Art Powerpoints Renaissance Student Activities

Jan van Eyck, before 1395-1441
Portrait of a Man (Self Portrait?), 1433, oil on wood, 25,5 x 19 cm, National Gallery, London
https://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/e/eyck_van/jan/01page/13turban.html

When the time comes for me to introduce my students to Jan van Eyck’s oeuvre I start with his remarkable motto, Als Ich Can – As well as I can, inscribed in large Greek letters on the upper part of the frame of his Self-Portrait? at the National Gallery in London. Humble words… but appreciate how subtly they draw attention to his extraordinary skills as a painter. Where can you go wrong Teaching with Jan van Eyck? https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/jan-van-eyck-portrait-of-a-man-self-portrait

“Jan van Eyck is credited with originating a style of painting characterised by minutely realistic depictions of surface effects and natural light. This was made possible by using an oil medium, which allowed the building up of paint in translucent layers, or glazes.” These three lines by the National Gallery in London embody the essence of van Eyck’s painting style and technique. I like to read it to my students emphasizing his contribution to Western European Art. Information about his training and his life is scarce, we do know, however, that he was a member of the gentry class and that by 1425 he lived in Bruges and Lille as court painter to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. We also know that in 1428 he travelled to Portugal to paint Philip the Good’s future wife, Isabella of Portugal. https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/jan-van-eyck

“Hubrecht van Eyck, the most famous painter ever known, started this work of art; his brother Jan, who was second in the art, finished the task at the request of Joos Vijd. With this verse the donor consigns the work to your charge on May 6th 1432. Admire what they have done for you”. The famous inscription on the frame of the Ghent Altarpiece sets off my Jan van Eyck PowerPoint Presentation and lets my students admire what they (Hubrecht and Jan) have done for us.

**The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb in the Ghent Altarpiece (detail)** by Jan van Eyck, 1432, St. Bavo’s Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium
https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-ghent-altarpiece-adoration-of-the-mystic-lamb-detail-of-the-holy-spirit-in-the-guise-of-a-dove-hubert-and-jan-van-eyck/MwEFlDeCLbw9RQ

Introducing a former BLOG POST at the 2020 Ghent Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition, titled Van Eyck – An Optical Revolution, I further discuss with my students his painting characteristics: 1. How he perfected the Oil Technique by adding siccatives. With oil paints, he created rich, deep, lustrous colours, flawless golden tones, and amazing life-like textures. 2. How Observation of reality is key to Jan’s Art. For example, his portraits are lifelike to the minutest detail, his depiction of nature and natural phenomena are credible and authentic, his art seems like it’s competing with reality itself! 3. How Observation of Reality is key to Jan’s Art. For example, his portraits are lifelike to the minutest detail, his depiction of nature and natural phenomena are credible and authentic, his art seems like it’s competing with reality itself! 3. How Observing and Painting Optical Light Phenomena shows an artist deeply interested “in the painting of light, so crucial to his optical revolution.” Scholars believe that Jan van Eyck “not only gathers practical but also theoretical knowledge in order to reproduce the effects of light.” https://vaneyck2020.be/en/the-optical-revolution/ and https://www.teachercurator.com/art/van-eyck-an-optical-revolution/

Teaching with Jan van Eyck… Online References PowerPoints and Activities…

For the List of ONLINE References on Jan van Eyck’s oeuvre, TeacherCurator put together, please… Click HERE!

For my PowerPoint on the Ghent Altarpiece, please… Click HERE! https://www.teachercurator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Twith-JvanE-Ghent2-PP.pptx. List of Slides and Photo Credits for the Ghent Altarpiece PowerPoint, please… Click HERE!

For my PowerPoint on Jan van Eyck’s Oeuvre, please… Click HERE! List of Slides and Photo Credits for Jan van Eyck’s Oeuvre PowerPoint, please… Click HERE!

I always feel confident discussing an artist with my students when I prepare my Steps to Success Lesson Plan Outline…

For High School level Student Activity, please… Click HERE!

For a RWAP (Research-Writing-Art-Project), please… Click HERE!

I hope that teaching with Jan van Eyck will prove easy and helpful. Do you think it justifies my BLOG name TeacherCurator?

**Alexandra D. and her Arnolfini Wedding RWAP Sketchbook Pages**

**Marios M. and his Arnolfini Wedding RWAP Sketchbook Pages**

Teaching with Domenico Ghirlandaio

January 5, 2021

by admin Art Lesson Plans Powerpoints Renaissance Student Activities Worksheets

**Domenico Ghirlandaio,** 1449-1494
**An Old Man and his Grandson (detail),** c. 1490, Tempera on wood, 62 x 46 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris https://paintersonpaintings.com/clarity-haynes-on-domenico-ghirlandaio/

Domenico di Tommaso del Ghirlandajo, who, from his talent and from the greatness and the vast number of his works, may be called one of the most important and most excellent masters of his age, was made by nature to be a painter; and for this reason, in spite of the opposition of those who had charge of him (which often nips the finest fruits of our intellects in the bud by occupying them with work for which they are not suited, and by diverting them from that to which nature inclines them), he followed his natural instinct, secured very great honour for himself and profit for his art and for his kindred, and became the great delight of his age… This is how Giorgio Vasari describes Domenico Gh irlandaio, the artist who was …endowed by nature with a perfect spirit and with an admirable and judicious taste in painting! Teaching with Domenico Ghirlandaio is a set of student activities and worksheets inspired by the great Italian artist I admire. Domenico’ Portrait of An Old Man and his Grandson in the Louvre is one of my all-time favourite Renaissance paintings. It touches me in a very personal way. It reminds me of my father’s love and unconditional devotion to my son, his Grandson… Του παιδιού μου το παιδί, δυο φορές παιδί (My child’s child, is twice my child), he used to say and looked at him with unbelievable tenderness… http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/giorgiovasari/lives/domenicoghirlandaio.htm

**Domenico Ghirlandaio,** 1449-1494
**Madonna and Child (detail),** 1470-75, Tempera on panel, 71 x 49 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC https://www.nga.gov/features/exhibitions/verrocchio-discoveries.html

When the time comes for me to introduce my students to Domenico’s oeuvre I start with Giorgio Vasari description of how …He is said to have been so accurate in draughtsmanship, that, when making drawings of the antiquities of Rome, such as arches, baths, columns, colossea, obelisks, amphitheatres, and aqueducts, he would work with the eye alone, without rule, compasses, or measurements; and after he had made them, on being measured, they were found absolutely correct, as if he had used measurements. He drew the Colosseum by the eye, placing at the foot of it a figure standing upright, from the proportions of which the whole edifice could be measured; this was tried by some masters after his death, and found quite correct. I usually finish my presentation of Ghirlandaio with Vasari’s final sentence… Wherefore he has deserved to be held in honour and esteem for such rich and undying benefits to art, and to be celebrated with extraordinary praises after his death. http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/giorgiovasari/lives/domenicoghirlandaio.htm

**Domenico Ghirlandaio,** 1449-1494
**Last Supper (detail),** 1480, Fresco, 400 x 880 cm, Ognissanti, Florence https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Domenico_ghirlandaio,_cenacolo_di_ognissanti,_1480,_03_giardino_con_uccelli.jpg

Teaching with Domenico Ghirlandaio Lesson Plan, PowerPoint and Activities…

For a List of ONLINE References on Domenico Ghirlandaio TeacherCurator put together, please… Click HERE!

For my PowerPoint on Domenico Ghirlandaio, please… Click HERE!

I always feel confident discussing an artist with my students when I prepare my Steps to Success Lesson Plan Outline…

For Student Activities (four Activities), please… Click HERE!

I hope that Teaching with Domenico Ghirlandaio will prove easy and helpful. Do you think it justifies my BLOG name Teacher Curator?

**Domenico Ghirlandaio,** 1449-1494
**Birth of St John the Baptist (detail),** 1486-90, Frescoes on the right wall: Stories of St John the Baptist, W. 450 cm, Cappella Tornabuoni, Santa Maria Novella, Florence https://www.wga.hu/support/viewer_m/z.html

House of Venus in the Shell

January 3, 2021

by admin Art Roman Art Student Activities Worksheets

**Venus in the Shell (detail),** 1^st century AD, fresco, House of Venus in the Shell, Pompeii Archaeological Site, Pompeii, Italy, 2017 Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese http://pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/R2/2%2003%2003%20part%2011.htm

…Ah, goddess, when the spring / Makes clear its daytime, and a warmer wind / Stirs from the west, a procreative air, / High in the sky the happy-hearted birds, / Responsive to your coming, call and cry, / The cattle, tame no longer, swim across / The rush of river-torrents, or skip and bound / In joyous meadows; where your brightness leads, / They follow, gladly taken in the drive, / The urge, of love to come. So, on you move / Over the seas and mountains, over streams / Whose ways are fierce, over the greening leas, / Over the leafy tenements of birds, / So moving that in all the ardor burns / For generation and their kind’s increase… The amazing fresco of Venus in the House of Venus in the Shell inspired me to search for Roman Poems dedicated to the Goddess of beauty… and I “stumbled” upon Lucretius’s Hymn to Venus, the goddess of pleasure. https://newepicurean.com/lucretius-hymn-to-venus-and-the-defense-of-pleasure/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuqPhR8QTZQ

**Entrance doorway, looking south, House of Venus in the Shell or House of the Marine Venus or House of D. Lucretii Satrii Valentes, Pompeii,** 2012 Photo, courtesy of Michael Binns http://pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/R2/2%2003%2003%20part%201.htm
**Ground Plan of the House of Venus in the Shell or House of the Marine Venus or House of D. Lucretii Satrii Valentes, Pompeii** http://pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/R2/2%2003%2003%20plan.htm

The Via dell’Abbondanza, one of Pompeii’s two Decumani Maximus, formed the main east-west axis which traversed the entire urban area of the city. Facing Via dell’Abbondanza, in Regio II of the city, near the Porta Sarno, the Amphitheatre and the Large Palaestra, lies a private property of particular interest, the House of Venus in the Shell (Insula 3), also known as House of the Marine Venus or House of D. Lucretii Satrii Valentes. Excavated between 1933-35, it was damaged by bombings during World War II in 1943, but was re-excavated and restored in 1952. https://sites.google.com/site/ad79eruption/pompeii/regio-ii/reg-ii-ins-3/house-of-venus-in-the-shell

**House of Venus in the Shell,** **Frescoes in Room 4,** 1^st century AD, fresco, looking towards south-east corner and south wall, Pompeii Archaeological Site, Pompeii, Italy, Photo courtesy of Buzz Ferebee. https://pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/R2/2%2003%2003%20part%202.htm

The House of Venus in the Shell has all the characteristics of a typical Pompeiian House. A narrow corridor (1) (fauces) beautifully decorated in the 3^rd Pompeiian Style opens directly onto a square atrium (2) with a central impluvium. Both areas were intricately decorated with red or yellow painted panels with small medallions in the center to enhance the visual effect. Three cubicula face the atrium, the one in the south east corner (4) is decorated in the 3^rd Pompeiian Style “with framed white panels separated by fantastic architectural views above a lower dark red frieze. The central panel of the south wall contains a badly faded mythological scene of Hermes and Dionysus. The side panels on the north wall contain floating figures while on the east are two portrait medallions.” https://sites.google.com/site/ad79eruption/pompeii/regio-ii/reg-ii-ins-3/house-of-venus-in-the-shell

**House of Venus in the Shell,** **Frescoes in Room 6,** 1^st century AD, fresco, south wall of Triclinium, Pompeii Archaeological Site, Pompeii, Italy, https://pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/R2/2%2003%2003%20part%203.htm

Two more interesting rooms open to the Atrium (2), a Triclinium (6) and a large Tablinium (5). The Triclinium (6) has vaulted ceilings and walls, painted in the 3^rd Pompeian Style, with architectural themes framing floating figures within black panels, and on the uppermost part of the room’s decoration, small scenes and still lives. The Tablinum (5), “has lost most of its decoration but still impresses with its size. The tablinum has a second doorway on its south wall which opens onto the north side of the peristyle.” https://sites.google.com/site/ad79eruption/pompeii/regio-ii/reg-ii-ins-3/house-of-venus-in-the-shell

House of Venus in the Shell, 1st century AD, looking towards the south-west corner of the Atrium, with doorway into room 11, on the left, and rooms 5 and 6, on the right, Pompeii Archaeological Site, 2017 Photo courtesy of Klaus Heese

**House of Venus in the Shell,** 1^st century AD, fresco in the Peristyle area, Pompeii Archaeological Site, Pompeii, Italy http://janzen3journeys.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-ruins-of-pompeii.html

The nicest part of the House, the Peristyle area, develops around a lovely garden with 9 fluted columns of stuccoed brickwork (11). Rooms and Porticos, sumptuously decorated, once more, with frescoes in the 3^rd Pompeiian Style, display interesting scenes that reveal almost impressionistic qualities. “On the rear wall (17) of the peristyle are three large framed frescoes each set on a blue background. The lefthand painting, is of the god Mars shown standing naked on a plinth while holding a lance and a shield. Around him the foliaged garden is teaming with birdlife. The central painting on the rear wall is of Venus lying in a conch shell with a cherub either side of her. The nymph on the left side of the painting is shown riding a dolphin while the one on the right supports the conch shell. The righthand painting is of flowers and birds drinking at a fountain. The fresco incorporates a niche painted with plants.” https://sites.google.com/site/ad79eruption/pompeii/regio-ii/reg-ii-ins-3/house-of-venus-in-the-shell

**Venus in the Shell,** 1^st century AD, fresco in the central panel of the Peristyle area South Wall, House of Venus in the Shell, Pompeii Archaeological Site, Pompeii, Italy, 2016 Photo courtesy of Buzz Ferebee https://pompeiiinpictures.com/pompeiiinpictures/R2/2%2003%2003%20part%2011.htm

**Venus in the Shell (detail depicting one of the Cherubs),** 1st century AD, Fresco, House of Venus in the Shell, Pompeii Archaeological Site, Pompeii, Italy https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Venus_Anadyomenes_in_the_House_of_Venus_(Pompeii)#/media/File:Casa_de_Venus_Pompeya_07.jpg

The star fresco in the House, after which the house, let’s not forget, was named, depicts Venus in the Shell. It portrays a large and striking depiction of the goddess Venus, naked but relaxed “giving no signs of modesty, yet no signs of overt sexuality,” reclining in a shell, swelling “sails” behind her, accompanied by a cortege of two Cherubs. This fresco may not be one of the finest discovered in Pompeii, but it is definitely eye-catching. Venus’s head of curly hair and pale skinned body, resplendent with gold jewels, “looking off into the distance seemingly without a worry in the world” create a stunning vision. The Cherubs’ look of curiosity and astonishment is a strike of ingenuity. The combination of aquamarine blue and plum-hued violet, cool and refreshing, is precious! Simply put… I love it!!! https://womeninantiquity.wordpress.com/2018/11/27/the-portrayal-of-venus-in-pompeian-frescoes/

For a student RWAP (Research-Writing-Art-Project), please… Check HERE!