I visited a friend not too long ago and, although I don’t typically notice, I was interested by his furnishings. The style is known as steam punk, a type of futuristic Victorian, which sounded as if it came straight from Jules Verne, a a bit like Captain Nemo meets Robur the Conqueror, all shimmering brass, leather, futuristic technologies, and clockwork. My friend’s variation was much more ‘Indiana Jones’, with his steamer trunk table, assortment of intriguing artifacts, statues and intriguing ancient wall reliefs. It went along with his house, originally built in the 1920’s and made a comfortable, intriguing interior nicely suitable for his huge collection of books.
My house is rather more contemporary, so when I considered ways of furnishing my home (something I was advised was ‘up to me’) I rejected the steam punk idea. Although I am no interior designer I can see that a certain proportion between interior and outside is useful. While modern day homes tend to be open they can be really dull, then i noticed this gave me a lot more scope to be able to put my own character on the space, and that notion gave me the concept to make use of wall art and wall sculptures to provide my room some personality, but what to choose?
Ancient Greek structures were not what we understand today. Most people realize that they are wonderful structures which were standing, oftentimes for centuries, prior to suffering damage we know now, but do you know that they had been multi-colored? You probably would not think so to examine the remains inside a museum. I used to eat my lunchtime while appreciating the huge Assyrians gateways within the British Museum in London, just near room 18, home of the ‘Elgin marbles’. These famous sculptures were stripped away from the Parthenon in the early years of the 19th century by Earl of Elgin, and the Greek government continues seeking to get them returned to Greece. The sculptures are stark, white and intensely stunning, precisely what we think of whenever we consider ‘classical art’ but exactly what would the ancients have thought of them? Euripides give us a clue in his play ‘Helen of Troy’ when Helen says ‘If only I could shed my beauty and assume an uglier aspect, the way you wipe paint off a statue’. Those stunning marble statues in their sparkling white were once vibrant and multi-colored. So totally different from what we observe today and connect with the ancient world, it’s really difficult to imagine.
We view the ancient gods as abstract, consequently ancient wall sculptures like Poseidon in his chariot are ‘classical’ and also absolutely at home in the modern room. It was only at the Renaissance that, discovering ancient statues removed of their color by time, the sculptors believed they’d originally been white marble, and attempted to copy them. In antiquity the Greeks believed in living breathing Gods;their statues were painted brightly to indicate that. Although we appreciate the awesome craftsmanship of the Parthenon sculptures the ancients admired their realistic quality so much so that it had been said that at certain times during the day it was as if the gods in their friezes actually moved. The sculpture and painting techniques were made to come together and boost the three dimensional quality of the stone, bringing the subject to life. Archaeologist Vinzenz Brinkmann is working hard to analyze ancient statues and create authentic reproductions. These, complete with complex paint techniques and colors are as near as possible to those used in ancient times and the results are intriguing; the ancient world won’t ever seem the same again.
What exactly should I do? I could choose classical Greek wall art that will create a modern room, making my personal choice on a basis of meaning. Hercules wrestling the lion could remind me that even if my todo list can be a bit long, it isn’t the Labours of Hercules, while Dionysus on a donkey would certainly point out to me that the point of work is to provide for the fun to come. As an inhabitant of the New World I could use Mayan wall reliefs, but I believe my selection could be more ancient still. From Ramses who drove out the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh, to the thought of Maat, goddess of justice and order, the wall sculptures of the Ancient Egyptians hold an endless enchantment. We are much more familiar with color in relation to Egypt, and hence observe these more as they really were, bold and brilliant in the desert sun. Egyptian decor could definitely do the trick.
For my Den my primary options are clear; Thoth, the god of writing and wisdom, to keep me right all the time!
Tags: