Persephone tomb
The Persephone tomb is located in the necropolis of Vergina in what is now northern Greece . The grave dates to the middle of the 4th century BC and is of great art historical importance, especially because of its relatively well-preserved wall paintings.
The tomb was found by the Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos , who built the tomb around 350 BC using a few ceramic remains. Dated. The looted chamber is about 3 x 4.5 m and contained the skeletons of a woman, a man and a child. The north, east and south walls of the chamber are painted. The grave goods were once placed on the west wall. The lower part of the walls has a plinth area painted red, above which are the actual scenes, which are about 1 m high, on a white background. Between the two zones is a blue band on which chimeras and griffins are painted. The paintings were painted on the dry plaster.
The most important and eponymous scene of the grave can be found on the north wall. The underworld god Pluton is shown kidnapping Persephone on a chariot . In front you can see Hermes , behind Persephone you see a frightened woman crouching on the floor. On the east wall you can see a woman sitting in a wide robe. It may be Demeter . On the south wall you can see three seated figures, perhaps the goddesses of fate.
The color palette is reduced to different shades of red and ocher. There is no green. Blue occurs only sporadically. This makes the paintings appear monochrome. The figures are mostly drawn with lines, although there are hints of light and shadow, the figures seem rather flat overall.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dimitris Plantzos: The Art of Painting in Ancient Greece , Athens, 2018, ISBN 978-618-5209-20-9 , pp. 189–196
- ↑ Plantzos: The Art of Painting in Ancient Greece , Athens, 2018, ISBN 978-618-5209-20-9 , p. 191
- ↑ Plantzos: The Art of Painting in Ancient Greece , Athens, 2018, ISBN 978-618-5209-20-9 , p. 192
- ↑ Plantzos: The Art of Painting in Ancient Greece , Athens, 2018, ISBN 978-618-5209-20-9 , p. 193