History of Western Paintings - V - Ancient Greece (Part Five)
The Greeks colonized southern Italy, where they were in contact with the indigenous Etruscan culture. An ancient Greek wall painting from the so-called “Tomb of the Diver” in Paestum, Italy, probably reveals Etruscan influences. The dive taken by the figure could be interpreted as the passage of the deceased into the otherworld. The Greeks did not build large tombs to house their dead; for them, the realm of the dead seems to have been a vaguely defined, mysterious place.
Diver. c.480 B.C.
Ceiling fresco from a Greek tomb at Paestum, Italy. Height: approx. 40″ (102cm). Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Paestum
We know that in addition to vase painting, the Greeks painted large scale compositions on panel, what have not survived the tests of time. A few mural paintings do survive, like this one from a Greek tomb in Paestum, Italy. The dive taken by the youth perhaps symbolises the passage from life to death
In the fourth century B.C., the Greek city-states were dominated by the kings of Macedon, an area to the north of Greece. The most famous of these conquerors was Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.), who also subjugated the Persian Empire and Egypt. In a Roman floor mosaic, based on a Greek painting of the battle between Alexander the Great and the Persian king Darius III, the artist has applied foreshortening and shading techniques to create an effect of three-dimensional space. The emotional and physical intensity of this image - conveyed through the facial expressions of the participants and the depiction of dramatic movement - is probably typical of late Greek wall painting.
Perhaps by Philoxenos or Helen of Egypt. Alexander the Great and Darius III at the Battle of Issos. Roman mosaic copy after a Greek painting 310 B.C.
106″ x 200″ (270cm x 510cm), Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples
The 5th century Peloponnesian War weakened Greece considerably. By the end of the fouth century B.C. the Greeks were under Macedonian rule, the most famous leader of which was Alexander the Great. This Roman floor mosaic from a house in Pompeii is a copy of a large scale Greek painting and depicts the battle between Alexander and the Persian king Darius III. Foreshortening - note in particular the horse seen from behind in three quarter view in front of Darius’ chariot - is masterfully employed here. Light is reflected from the shiny surfaces of armour and figures cast shadows. The dramatic emotionalism of this image is probably typical of 4th century Greek panel painting, none of which survives
What is RSS?