mythology
Iris and the RainbowFrom high up in the heavens, the Greek goddess Iris strides forward, extending her arms in both directions. The drapery of her garments, caught by a forceful wind, clings to her legs and billows behind her. Although she seems embattled by the wind, with her head titled back and her body contorted, she remains a graceful figure in the midst of a chaotic scene. Three winged putti surround her, two fending off the storm clouds with guests of divine breath, the third flying triumphantly upward. Iris’s attention, however, is not on the storm or the putti. Felice Giani, Italy, mythology, Iris, rainbow, drawing, watercolor |
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Hauntingly Beautiful: Frederic Edwin Church’s Parthenon SketchHome of the mythological goddess Athena, the Parthenon is a hauntingly sacred place where the air is ominously rife with magic. Or, at least, that is the mood evoked in Frederic Edwin Church’s (1826-1900) oil sketch of the Parthenon. To create this effect, Church chose to paint the building from below, giving the impression that it looms over the viewer. In reality, this particular view of the Parthenon does not exist, but is rather contrived from composite views and memory. The contrast of red and blue illumination was also almost certainly invented by the artist. Frederic Edwin Church, Thomas Cole, Parthenon, Hudson River School, Romanticism, artificial lighting, Greece, composite view, Metropolitan Museum of Art, American landscape, Architecture, columns, icebergs, nature, Athena, mythology, paintings |
