Medusa was once a beautiful maiden who was transformed by the goddess Athena into a Gorgon. Of all three Gorgons, Medusa alone was mortal. Her hair was a mass of writhing serpents and a glimpse of her face would turn you to stone. Perseus, son of Zeus and Danae, avoided Medusa’s deadly gaze by viewing her reflection in his shield,…
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- Burne-Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Atkinson Grimshaw, Maxfield Parrish, Mucha, myth, Nature, Tissot
Autumn Inspires
I find Autumn to be healing. Life takes on a distinctive flavor and the speed may be different, but the possibilities are endless. It’s an inspiring season that delights the senses with colors and smells in a way I find comforting. It’s no wonder that many artists and poets have paid homage to it in their works. James Tissot’s 1877…
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The Personification of Love
Today I have been pondering allegories of love in art. Namely, the choices artists make when representing the concept of Love in physical form. It is usually male and I assume that the root of this lies in Greek myths of Eros, god of love, or his Roman counterpart, Cupid. Seen above is Hope Comforting Love in Bondage by Sidney…
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The Horses of Neptune
Artist Walter Crane was greatly influenced by Burne-Jones and the Pre-Raphaelites. His painting The Horses of Neptune is an iconic image depicting the power of the sea. The god Neptune charges forward with his horses, who boldly rise from the waves. There’s not a specific narrative that I know of, but Neptune has long been associated with horses and…
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Burne-Jones Armor
Two of Sir Edward Burne-Jones’ largest projects were a series of paintings based on stories drawn from mythology and fairy tales: The Perseus Cycle and The Briar Rose series. In each series he created huge breathtaking panels that he worked on painstakingly for years. In this post, I’d like to focus on the armor found in both series. One of…
