this griffin fresco is an example of Cretan art found in the the palace pf Knossos, Crete.I was a fan of this piece from the get go because of my love for red and the design that went into it. In a way it really reminds me of my own style of drawing because the shapes and patterns within them are freely formed yet the form into the griffin in a natural way. so i thought this piece was very interesting. I couldn't find much information about how the fresco was made, originally i wanted to find out more about fresco buon, but instead i found this piece
(c) Mark Cartwright found at http://www.ancient.eu.com/image/392/
I think that what really makes this piece cool is how despite being thousands of years old, it still retains the vividness of its colors thanks to the use of buon fresco. The Minoans sure knew how to use pigments with their plaster. I also love the richness of the red, which they must have made from cinnabar. On top of that, the detailing of the griffin is amazing, considering how buon frescos had to be done all at once. Truly a great find.
ReplyDeleteHow graceful! I love the griffin. Look at the pose! He seems to be calling the heaven or waiting for something from the heaven(God) on the top of a mountain. The rich red and white pattern is like overlapping clouds and mountains as a background. Also, his tail's movement, the feather? hair? on his head, background and plants' flow are graceful. And I wonder what that is on his heart. Is it like a jewelery thing? or some symbolic thing?
ReplyDeleteThis is so wonderfully organic! The flowing lines and use of positive and negative space to place this being in space are fabulous!
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