Showing posts with label artwork. Show all posts
Showing posts with label artwork. Show all posts
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Ancient Portraits
Even while I have been with you, you have not seen my soul; you knew it was in this body because of the actions that I performed. In the future, too, my soul will remain invisible to you but you should still be able to credit its existence just as you always have.
On Old Age by Cicero
I found these expressive portraits of ancient Romans which adorned their stone caskets. I believe these were all found in Egypt. I also took the liberty of "restoring" the painting slightly, enough to eliminate the distractions but not enough to affect the wonderful detail.
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When I look into their eyes, I cannot help but feel a kind of closeness, a kinship that stretches over time. I could pass them on the streets of Izmir today.
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 | This man here, for example, looks like an angry man. Certainly a very serious person. Where did all that determination come from and where did it go? I wonder how he treated his wife and children. |
Here is the young scholar, no doubt. Imagine what kind of devastation was left behind when he died at this early age. All his father's dreams were scattered to the winds. I am not sure but I think I might have taught this young man. He looks awfully familiar but , despite appearances, I am not quite THAT old. |  |
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Exactly the kind of face you would see going to a football match on a Sunday afternoon. To me, that slight smile suggests a playful sense of humor.
Actually those colors belong to Goztepe, don't they?
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I think the texture of the damage to the paint adds a lot to the portrait. A young wife and mother, I presume. Probably not an aristocrat, she seems fairly tanned. Beloved daughter? |  |
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This is clearly a doctor you would take orders from and trust. I don't know why I thought he was a doctor but maybe it is that star-shaped head piece. Maybe he's a priest?
If you look very closely at the eyes, they seem slightly crossed. But when you stand further back- they sit perfectly in the face.
This is not a person I would want to get into an argument with.
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Even though this last portrait is probably the least realistic, I think I might like this one the most. On the other hand, look at the curls of hair on her forehead. I am curious about the shape of her neck though. |  |
Flickr Tags: Roman. Ancient Rome,Portraits
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Winter
Although it is quite cold (for Izmir) this artwork in no way is meant to depict conditions here. The worst we can expect is cold drizzle, something like late October in New England. However, out in the east of Turkey, it is reported that, due to heavy snows, the roads to 76 Turkish villages are impassable.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Portrait of Don Draper
"Mad Men" is just one of those shows that viewers either "get" or they watch one episode and, from then on, avoid at all costs. Without a doubt, the writing and the story lines ask a lot from an audience and answers are usually never given directly. Events and personalities are understood only by inference and widely varying interpretations are equally possible. Therefore, for the average television viewer, this show may be a slight challenge. Personally, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Each episode is a bit like reading a short story by Updike, Cheever or O'Hara. One is usually left with one feeling and later, upon reflection, something quite different emerges. (This makes for lively discussions at on-line forums, I assure you.) The program's loyalty to historical authenticity - in fashions alone- and the ethos of that era set a new standard for television. The creator, Matthew Weiner, skillfully reminds us that it may be a mistake to judge the past by our standards. This is where we came from and not so long ago.
Storyline follows the inner workings of an advertising agency in the early 1960s. One of the executives there, Don Draper, played by Jon Hamm, is a guy my parents would have called "slick" and that, by their definition was certainly nothing to be proud of. The writers of the show have deliberately made Draper sometimes hard to like, with his serial cheating on his wife, his brusque approach at management, and his lack of openness.
Still, with all those strikes against him, Draper has his charm and is, by no means, a villain. Draper is, like all of the characters on the show, in transition, a man under construction.
So, as fans of the show wait impatiently for the fourth season, here's a salute to Don Draper, an unheroic hero.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Monday, December 28, 2009
The Gardens of Zeus
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Bergama, Turkey
The Last King of Pergamon
Attalus III was the last Attalid king of Pergamum, ruling from 138 BC to 133 BC. He succeeded Attalus II, although their relationship, if any, is unknown. ( Some sources say he was his nephew while others state that he was his illegitimate son.) In any case, Attalus III had little interest in ruling Pergamum, devoting his time to studying medicine, botany, gardening, and other pursuits. 
However he soon exhibited that cruel and tyrannical disposition, which proved a scourge of his people, and stamped indelible infamy on his character. His nearest relatives and most faithful friends were inhumanely murdered on the most frivolous pretenses; the oldest and most judicious statesmen, with their wives and families were put to death by hired assassins; and whole kingdom was filled with carnage and desolation.
The king is said to have suspected some of the victims of having been implicated in the death of his mother and his bride Berenice. The guilty king was then tormented with all the horrors of remorse and, in a fit of melancholy sequestered himself from all mankind. He clothed himself in mean apparel, neglected his hair and beard, and cultivated a garden for the purpose of raising poisonous herbs. He mingled with such as were wholes and sent packets of them to those persons who had unfortunately roused his suspicions. At length Attalus fell into a fever, of which, he died in in 133 B.C
Being without heir, this tyrant, by his will left all his effects to Romans. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the republic seized on his kingdom and reduced it to a province under the name of Asia Propria.
The world famous library of Pergamum, which contained 200,000 books, was, afterwards, removed and transported to Alexandria by Mark Anthony as a gift of love to Cleopatra.
After his death, Asia Minor became Roman soil and incorporated as Asia province into Roman realm. The city Pergamum remained as the capital for Romans as well, until Ephesus replaced it in 29 BCE.
Sources:
Ancient history: exhibiting a summary view By John Robinsonhttp://www.ancientanatolia.com/historical/pergamum_kingdom.htmRome and the Mediterranean to 133 B.C. By A. E. Astin, F. W. Walbank, M. W. Frederiksen
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