Paintings with characters from ancient Greek and Roman mythology. Mythology in painting Rating and commenting

AENEAS
(Greek, Roman) - king of the Dardans, son of Anchises and Aphrodite, relative of the Trojan king Priam. Aeneas was born on Mount Ida and raised by mountain nymphs. At first he did not take part in the defense of Troy and came out on the side of the Trojans only after Achilles attacked the lands of the Dardans. Aeneas fought with Achilles and Diomedes, but was defeated and was saved only thanks to the help of Aphrodite and Apollo. Aeneas was also patronized by Poseidon, who saved the wounded Aeneas from Achilles in order to preserve the royal family of Dardan. On the night of the capture of Troy, Aeneas tried to fight, but was ordered by the gods to leave the city. He left with his son Ascanius (Yul), his wife Creusa, who died shortly after fleeing Troy, and carried his elderly father Anchises on his shoulders. With the remains of the Trojans and sacred images of the Trojan gods, E. sailed on 20 ships in search of a new place of residence. During the journey, he visited Thrace, Macedonia, Crete, Peloponnese and Sicily, where Anchises died, and from there he headed to Italy, but Hera sent a terrible storm, and his ships were thrown back to Carthage. Here Queen Dido, the founder of Carthage, fell in love with the hero. Hera and Aphrodite tried to arrange the marriage of Aeneas and Dido, but Zeus ordered the hero to leave Carthage. Aeneas again headed to the shores of Sicily, and then arrived in Cumae and, with the help of the Cumaean Sibyl, descended into the underworld. There, the shadow of Anchises predicted his fate and the future of his descendants. After this, Aeneas arrived in Latium, where he was warmly received by King Latinus, who gave the hero land to build a city. The king promised Aeneas the hand of his daughter Lavinia, who was already betrothed to the king of the Rutuli, Turnus. The offended Turnus started a war and died in a duel with Aeneas. Having married Lavinia, Aeneas founded a city named after her and united the locals and Trojans into a single nation of Latins. At the end of his life, Aeneas was ascended to heaven and became a god. Representatives of the Yuli family considered themselves descendants of his son Askania (Yula).

COURT OF PARIS

This mythological plot was repeated many times by the artist in many paintings throughout his creative life. Mercury, whose scarlet cloak gently flutters in the wind, brought three goddesses to Paris: Juno with a peacock, Venus with Cupid, and Minerva, who can be recognized by her helmet and shield with the head of a Gorgon. Decorated with jewels and almost naked, the women stand before the shepherd Paris, holding a golden apple, which he, at the behest of the gods, must award to the most beautiful of the three goddesses. In this early painting, Rubens depicted one of the most popular mythological subjects with the brilliance and splendor typical of the Baroque style. (Rubens was among its brightest representatives.) Luxurious colors and tremulous, wave-like movements of the brush convey the sensual beauty of the female body. Later, when repeating versions of the plot of “The Judgment of Paris,” Rubens used a rich color scheme, inspired by the Venetian masters, Titian and Veronese, to convey the sensual thrill of life. The fluid brush strokes, rich colors and heightened emotionality of his compositions gave him a reputation as the greatest Baroque painter north of the Alps.

Hero and Leander

Peter Paul Rubens

Hero, in Greek mythology, the priestess of Aphrodite (option: Artemis) in the city of Sest on the shores of the Hellespont, with whom the young man Leander from Abydos (on the opposite bank of the strait) fell in love. Every night Leander swam across the strait to meet his beloved, Gero lit a fire on the tower in Sesta, and Leander sailed across the dark sea, looking at the flame of the lighthouse. One day the fire went out and Leander drowned. When in the morning Gero saw the corpse of a young man washed up on the shore, she threw herself into the sea in despair.

SAMSON AND DELILA
Peter Paul Rubens

When the angel told Samson's mother that she would finally give birth to a child, she was overjoyed. He will be a “Nazarite of God” - he will never drink wine, nor shave or cut his hair. God gave Samson supernatural power to deliver Israel from their enemies, the Philistines. Unfortunately, Samson turned out to be a bad leader.

Samson mercilessly killed 30 Philistines from the city of Ashkelon and destroyed their harvest, for which the Philistines burned his wife. Samson took revenge on them by killing them all, and at the same time brutally killed another thousand people with the help of a donkey's jaw.

When one day Samson was in Gaza and came to a harlot, his enemies locked the gates of the city, planning to kill him. But Samson tore the gate out of the ground and took it to the top of the mountain opposite Hebron, which is 65 kilometers from Gaza.

Finally, the Philistine leaders bribed Delilah, Samson's mistress, to learn the secret of his extraordinary strength. Samson deceived her three times, but then, irritated by Delilah’s grumbling, he revealed the truth: “If you cut my hair, my strength will depart from me.” When Samson fell asleep, the treacherous woman cut off his hair. The Philistines captured him, blinded him, and then forced him to grind grain in a mill in Gaza. In captivity, Samson's hair grew back again. During a festival in honor of the Philistine god Dagon, Samson did not tolerate ridicule and showed his strength for the last time. With God's help, he brought down the columns of the temple and died under the rubble along with everyone else.

Did Samson really exist? He is reminiscent of other supernaturally powerful mythical figures - the Babylonian hero Gilgamesh and the Greek Hercules. However, all his exploits were dictated more by vengeance than by religious feelings. Perhaps his life story is just a cautionary tale.

Birth of Venus

BOTTICELLI Sandro (born Alessandro Filipepi, Filipepi) (1445-1510), Italian painter. Representative of the Early Renaissance

Beautiful, like an ancient Greek marble statue and with the face of the Madonna, Botticelli’s Venus is a symbol of ideal and spiritualized beauty. She emerged from the sea and is carried to the shore on a large shell by the breath of Zephyr and Chloe, while Ora, the personification of spring, approaches her to envelop her in a cover embroidered with flowers. As noted by some researchers, the relationship between the poses and gestures of the goddess and Ora refers us to the iconography of the baptism of Christ by John the Baptist and gives the mythological plot a symbolic meaning. Thus, Botticelli shows that he is closely familiar with the cultural environment of his era and, in particular, with Neoplatonism, which saw in ancient myths a foreshadowing of the ideas of Christianity. The most plausible hypothesis is that all four paintings were painted on the occasion of a wedding. They are the most remarkable surviving works of this genre of painting, which glorifies marriage and the virtues associated with the birth of love in the soul of an immaculate and beautiful bride. The same ideas are central to four compositions illustrating G. Boccaccio’s story “Nastagio degli Onesti” (located in different collections), and two frescoes (Louvre), painted around 1486 on the occasion of the marriage of the son of one of the closest associates of the Medici.

With one hand slightly covering her chest and the other on her bosom, the pose of Venus is reminiscent of the ancient statue of Venus Pudica (from Latin - modest, chaste, bashful), which is also known as the statue of Venus de Medici (Medicean), as it comes from the collection Medici. The white dress of Ora, a nymph who personifies spring here, the time of flowering and renewal, is covered with live and decorated with embroidered lilies, with a belt of roses, like Flora’s in “Spring”; around her neck is a garland of myrtle, dedicated to Venus and a symbol of eternal love. On the right in the picture are orange trees in bloom (orange is a symbol of the divine origin of Venus and the flower of marriage). In the picture, another attribute of Venus is pale pink flowers that fly in the wind: according to myth, white roses were turned red by drops of the blood of the goddess, who injured her legs while searching for her dead lover Adonis.

Although the painting is traditionally called “The Birth of Venus,” it does not show the birth itself. According to Greek myth, Venus arose from the foam of the sea, formed from the fall into the sea of ​​the genital organ of Uranus, cut off by Zeus. Most likely, Botticelli was inspired here by A. Poliziano’s contemporary poem “Dancing for the Tournament,” which says that Venus sailed to the shore on a large shell.

Spring

BOTTICELLI Sandro

The exact design of Botticelli's "Spring" (circa 1482) has always been the subject of an infinite number of hypotheses, although the characters here are quite identifiable: on the right - Zephyr (the warm west wind) pursues the nymph, the goddess of flowers Flora scatters flowers throughout the earth; on the left, the three Graces, intertwining their hands, begin to dance; Mercury disperses the clouds with his winged rod; in the center of the picture - Venus and Cupid are watching what is happening. The subtle symbolic subtext in the picture is partly readable: here again there are orange trees in the background (a symbol of marriage), Flora is an image of the flowering and fruiting of nature, Mercury is the god of the planet of the same name, visible in the sky in the spring months, Graces are the nymphs of harmony, beauty, and feminine virtues , Venus is the true queen of the world, the law of which is love itself (Cupid throws arrows of love).

Perhaps the painting should be interpreted in the light of Neoplatonic philosophy. In this vein, Venus can be seen as the personification of humanistic thought, which distinguishes sensual love (Zephyrus persistently pursuing the nymph) from spiritual love, represented by the Graces and Mercury.

Mars and Venus

BOTTICELLI Sandro

Another painting from Botticelli’s mythological “series” - “Mars and Venus” (London, National Gallery) - may have been commissioned from the artist by the Vespucci family, close to the Medici, since several wasps are visible on the very edge on the right (“vespa” in Italian - wasp, she is the heraldic symbol of the family). The plot of the triumph of love was often played out in art, and such paintings were often given as gifts on the occasion of betrothal. While Mars is resting, little satyrs play with his weapons and armor - now they are completely safe. Perhaps this painting also adorned the head of the marriage bed or adorned the wall of the wedding cassone. One can also see an allegory in the picture: Venus (humanistic thought) has a beneficial effect on strife and uncontrollable elements, pacifying rough nature (Mars). In addition, in accordance with humanistic views, Harmony is born from the union of Venus and Mars - love and struggle.

Laocoon, El Greco. 1604-1614, Collection de Orléans Sanlúcar, Cadiz

Laocoön is a priest of Apollo in Troy. He objected and tried to prevent the Trojans from dragging the wooden horse left by the Achaeans into the city, since he foresaw the danger lurking in it. “I’m afraid of the Danaans who bring gifts!” exclaimed Laocoon. The gods sent two huge snakes across the sea, which strangled him along with his two sons Antiphantus and Fimbrey.

Sophocles wrote the tragedy Laocoon. The Rhodes sculptors Agesander, Polydorus and Athenodorus created the famous group "Laocoon". Now this work is in the Vatican in the Pius Clement Museum.

1899, oil on canvas, 124x106
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

This painting opens a series of Vrubel’s “nocturnes” (it also included “The Swan Princess”, “Lilac”, “Towards the Night”).

Pan is a character from ancient Greek mythology, but on the presented canvas he has noticeably “Russified”, and this is unusually characteristic of the then Vrubel, who fell in love with Russian folklore. At the same time, his night here becomes typically “symbolist” and in this sense is a “window” into the unknown, into other worlds inaccessible to daytime consciousness. Pan, the deity of forests and fields, is its symbol. Let us note that Vrubel himself called the impression made on him by A. France’s story “The Holy Satyr” as the main reason for the appearance of this work.

Pan is painted against the background of a typical Russian landscape - a field, enchanting with its discreet beauty, a river and birches, as if asleep in the silence of the night. God himself in this context seems to grow before our eyes from a mossy stump.

The flute migrated into this work from Greek mythology. According to myths, it is a constant attribute of Pan - he acts as a judge in shepherd competitions in playing the flute.

Pan's face has a strange appeal. Particularly striking are his bottomless blue eyes, glowing from their sockets.

The half-horn of the moon fills the space of the picture with fantastic light, simultaneously echoing the horns of the deity.

"Pipe"

Apollon Maikov

Here is a dry and ringing reed...
Good sir! bandage it
Carefully use a thin thread
And put it in a pipe!
Share art with me
To sort out the trills in it,
Revive them with thought, feeling,
Lower and raise
So that in the heat of half a golden day I
Groves, mountains to sleep
And from the waves of a forest stream
Lure the naiad into the grotto.

Pan (Faun) - god of forests, fields, herds. Son of Hermes and the nymph Dryope. Born with horns, a beard, a tail and goat hooves, all in hair. Seeing the child, the mother was horrified and abandoned him, and Hermes took Pan to Olympus. The gods were touched by the boy and named him Pan (i.e. “loved by everyone”). Pan was part of Dionysus's retinue, had fun, wandered through forests and mountains, played the pipe he invented, fell passionately in love and pursued nymphs.

Pan challenged Apollo to compete in playing the pipe. Midas awarded the victory to Pan and was punished for this by the angry Apollo: he grew donkey ears.

As the deity of elemental forces, Pan could instill strong fear in people without obvious reasons (i.e., panic fear).

PAN AND SCREENING

Nicolas Poussin

Pan fell in love with the beautiful nymph Syringa. But the proud nymph rejected his love. One day Pan saw Syringa and wanted to approach her. The nymph looked at Pan and fled in fear. Pan could barely keep up with her, trying to catch up with her. But then the river crossed the nymph’s path. Where to run? Siringa stretched out her hands to the river and began to pray to the god of the river to save her. The river god heeded the nymph's pleas and turned her into a reed. Pan ran up and wanted to hug Syringa, but he only hugged the flexible, quietly rustling reed. Pan stands, sighing sadly, and in the gentle rustling of the reeds he hears the farewell greetings of the beautiful Syringa. Pan cut several reeds and made a sweet-sounding pipe from them. In memory of the nymph, Pan named the pipe syringa. Since then, the great Pan loves to play the syringa pipe in the solitude of the forests, resounding with its gentle sounds in the surrounding mountains.

France Floris("Apollo and Pan")

Competition between Pan and Apollo. Pan was proud of his flute playing. One day he challenged Apollo himself to a competition. It was on the slopes of Mount Tmol. The judge was the god of this mountain. In a purple cloak, with a golden cithara in his hands and a laurel wreath, Apollo appeared at the competition. Pan was the first to start the competition. The simple sounds of his shepherd's pipe were heard, they rushed vaguely along the slopes of Tmol. Pan finished. When the echoes of his pipe fell silent, Apollo struck the golden strings of his cithara. Majestic sounds poured out. Everyone standing around, enchanted, listened to Apollo’s music. All nature plunged into deep silence, and in the midst of the silence a melody full of wondrous beauty flowed in a wide wave. Apollo finished, the last sounds of his lyre died away. The god of Mount Tmol awarded Apollo victory. Everyone praised the kifared god. Only Midas did not admire the game of Apollo, but praised the simple game of Pan. Apollo became angry, grabbed Midas by the ears and pulled them out. Since then, Midas has donkey ears, which he diligently hides under a large turban. And the saddened Pan, defeated by Apollo, retired into the thicket of the forests; The tender sounds of his pipe are often heard there, full of sadness, and young nymphs listen to them with love.

Introduction

A myth is a legend that embodies the ideas of ancient peoples about the origin of the world and various natural phenomena. Myths tell stories about gods, spirits, deified heroes and ancestors. They arose during primitive society, at the dawn of human existence. Ancient man could not understand the reasons for the occurrence of various natural phenomena. Many questions arose in his head: how did people appear on earth? Why does it thunder and rain? for what reason does the wind blow? etc. Not being able to approach these questions from a scientific point of view, people came up with their own answers that were understandable to him. These answers became myths.

This work is relevant because myths and art are an integral part of culture. The purpose of the work is to prove the statement that myths are an inexhaustible source of creativity for artists of different times and eras. Research objectives: to reveal the concept of myth, to show the history of the development of myth in art, to prove the hypothesis. Objects: Sandro Botticelli “Birth of Venus”, Santi Raphael “Vision of Izzekiel”, Nicolas Poussin “Kingdom of Flora”, Francois Boucher “Jupiter and Callisto”, Karl Bryullov “The Last Day of Pompeii”.

1. Main part

Myth is not only historically the first form of culture, but also changes the mental life of a person. The essence of myth is that it represents the twinning of man with the forces of existence of nature or society. Everything becomes animated, and nature appears as a world of formidable, but related to man, mythological creatures - demons and gods.

In parallel with myth, art existed and operated in the history of culture. Art is an expression of a person’s need for figurative and symbolic expression and experiencing significant moments in his life. Art creates a “second reality” for a person. Involvement in this world, self-expression and self-knowledge in it constitute one of the most important needs of the human soul.

Artists of different eras and styles did not ignore ancient Greek mythology. And although in the Middle Ages painting focused mainly on Christian subjects, during the Renaissance, painters with great enthusiasm began to depict mythological subjects on their canvases. In the modern era, against the backdrop of general changes in the fine arts, interest in classical mythological subjects somewhat dried up, but interest in mythical monsters, whose images are actively used in modern art, has revived. Russian painters traditionally turned to the theme of Slavic mythology, depicting in their paintings both epic heroes and mythical creatures of Slavic mythology.

First, let's look at a painting from the 15th century. The famous painting by artist Sandro Botticelli “The Birth of Venus”. Botticelli is an Italian painter of the early Renaissance, a representative of the Florentine school, one of the most prominent artists of the Italian Renaissance. The artist wrote “The Birth of Venus” for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco Medici. The plot of this picture is based on the myth of how the goddess of love was born from the foam of the sea.

Venus, standing in a shell, floats, urged on by Zephyr and Chloris, and Ora, one of the goddess’s companions, comes towards her, holding a veil to envelop her. The whimsical folds of bedspreads and clothes fluttering in the wind, the waves on the sea, the broken line of the shore, the “corrugated” shell of the shell, and finally the flying hair of Venus - all this sets off the smooth outlines of the goddess’s body and enhances the feeling of supreme harmony that her appearance evokes. The characters’ hands almost close above Venus’s head, and it seems as if an arch is overshadowing her, echoed by the rounded bottom of the shell. Thus, the figure of the goddess is closed into an imaginary oval. Venus here is the center to which everything strives.

The beautiful face of the heroine is reminiscent of the faces of Madonnas in Botticelli’s paintings, and therefore in this work the Christian theme sounds through the ancient theme, it was this combination of ancient humanism and Christianity that gave rise to the phenomenon of the Italian Renaissance.

The next painting by Raphael Santi, “The Vision of Ezekiel,” dates back to the 16th century. This small canvas was painted for a private customer. The background of the picture fully corresponds to the biblical description of this vision: “...a stormy wind came from the north, a great cloud and swirling fire, and a brightness around it” (Ezekiel 1:4). In the vision itself, God is depicted floating through the air, supported by “the likenesses of four animals.” tradition with their four winged creatures: a man or angel, a lion, a bull and an eagle, which symbolize in the visual arts the four Evangelists. It was this Christian tradition, and not the actual description of Ezekiel’s vision, that Raphael followed when painting this picture. The painting is small in size, but it gives an idea of ​​Raphael’s skill in solving such a complex composition. In it, the artist develops a task that is exceptional in its difficulty - to show rapid flight. The figure of the God of Hosts himself is given from a very complex perspective. The pictorial image of God is full of such titanic power, and the movement is conveyed so perfectly that it seems to the viewer as if “The Vision of Ezekiel” is a large canvas, and not a tiny painting, the dimensions of which are barely larger than a miniature. The picture is based on one of the most rich in mythical symbolism biblical subjects.

Next up is a 17th century painting, namely “The Kingdom of Flora” by the famous French artist Nicolas Poussin. The master depicted antiquity as he imagined it. On his canvases, the heroes of antiquity came to life again to perform feats, go against the will of the gods, or simply sing and have fun. Poussin's painting "The Kingdom of Flora" was created based on an ancient legend told by the Roman poet Ovid. This is a poetic allegory of the origin of flowers, which depicts heroes of ancient myths turned into flowers

Heroes who die in the prime of life turn into flowers after death and find themselves in the kingdom of Flora. Human life is interpreted in its inseparability with the life of nature. Strict order reigns in the universe, its laws are reasonable. This is also felt in Poussin’s painting, which is distinguished by the balance of its composition and the beauty of its characters, inspired by images of ancient sculpture. Logic and poetry coexist harmoniously on this canvas. Here he depicts his ideal - a person living a single happy life with nature.

In all his works, Poussin expressed the aesthetic ideal of classicism, which is based on the imitation of “decorated nature.” This means that the artist reflected only the sublime, beautiful and perfect in man and life, while ignoring the base, ugly and ugly.

"The Kingdom of Flora" is one of Poussin's paintings, distinguished by its subtle and rich development of color.

An example of mythological subjects in 18th century painting is Francois Boucher’s canvas “Jupiter and Callisto”. In the painting, the artist turned to the “Metamorphoses” of the Roman writer Ovid, who retold the myth of the god Jupiter, who, having fallen in love with the nymph Callisto and wanting to seduce her, took the form of the goddess Diana. The artist interpreted a sensual episode of ancient mythology in a superficial, playful spirit. Graceful, graceful figures of his ancient heroines look like porcelain figurines. Boucher loved light painting and preferred elegant blue, pink and green tones. In the works of Boucher himself, nymphs and Venus appear every now and then. And the names of the works speak for themselves - “The Triumph of Venus”, “The Toilet of Venus”, “The Bathing of Diana”. He knew how to enjoy the beauty of life and encouraged others to do the same. The Rococo style was his native element, here he felt like a fish in water - natural and organic. Decorativeness, graceful intimacy, a boudoir atmosphere, pastel colors - these are the main features of Francois Boucher's artistic style.

And finally, one of the most famous paintings of the 19th century, Karl Pavlovich Bryullov’s painting “The Last Day of Pompeii”, also belongs to the mythological genre of painting. Karl Bryullov is a famous painter, watercolorist, and draftsman. Studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. His work introduced the freshness of romance, vitality, and passion for the beauty of reality into the painting of academic classicism, and this contributed to the development of realism in Russian painting. The painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” brought worldwide fame to the artist. The death of Pompeii in Bryullov’s view is the death of the entire ancient world, the symbol of which becomes the most central figure of the canvas - a beautiful woman who fell to her death by falling from a chariot. Bryullov is shocked by the inner beauty and dedication of these people, who do not lose human dignity in the face of an inevitable catastrophe. In these terrible moments, they do not think about themselves, but strive to help their loved ones, to protect them from danger. The artist sees himself among the inhabitants of Pompeii with a box of paints and brushes on his head. He is here next to them to help, to support their spirit. But even before his death, the artist’s keen observation does not leave him - he clearly sees human figures perfect in their plastic beauty in the flashes of lightning. They are beautiful not only because of the extraordinary lighting, but also because they themselves seem to radiate the light of spiritual nobility and greatness. Almost six years have passed since that memorable day when, on the streets of lifeless Pompeii, Bryullov had the idea to paint a picture about the death of this ancient city. In the last year, the artist worked so furiously that he was more than once carried out of the studio in a state of complete exhaustion.

Conclusion

myth art painting Bryullov

The work we have done confirms the hypothesis that myths are an inexhaustible source for the creativity of artists of different centuries and eras. For this purpose, the works of masters from different centuries were examined. A survey was also conducted.

List of information sources

• · http://citaty.su/
• · http://muzei-mira.com
• · http://jivopis.org
• · http://www.mifyrima.ru/
• · https://ru.wikipedia.org

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ANCIENT GREECE- territory in the south of the Balkan Peninsula (see also the articles Antiquity, Greece). The history of D.G. covers the period from the beginning. II millennium BC to the beginning I millennium AD Geography and ethnography Phaistos disc. XVII century BC (Archaeological Museum in Heraklion, ... ... Orthodox Encyclopedia

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“Civilization of Crete” - Probably on Crete there was a state similar to the ancient Eastern despotisms. Antiquity. From the 11th century there was a period of dark ages. Cretan civilization. The centers of life were palaces. Died in the 15th century BC. from a volcanic eruption. Crete. The palaces were equipped with running water and sewerage. Dark Ages 11th - 9th centuries BC

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There are 29 presentations in total

The myths of Ancient Greece are the exciting adventures of gods, heroes and evil creatures. They are interesting in every way.

This is entertainment worse than Hollywood blockbusters. And the opportunity to understand the completely different worldview of people of pre-Christian civilization.

We know about myths not only thanks to ancient authors.

Artists who lived before our era also actively created frescoes with mythological subjects. And some of them have survived to this day.

But for almost 1.5 thousand years, myths disappeared from art.

They reappeared in painting only in . In the 15th century, sculptures from the times of the Roman Empire (copies of works by ancient Greek masters) began to be dug up in Rome. Interest in Ancient Greece began to grow. It became fashionable and then mandatory to read ancient authors.

And already in the 16th and 17th centuries, myths were one of the most popular subjects in painting.

Mythological paintings for the modern viewer

When you are in a museum, you are unlikely to linger for long in front of paintings with mythological subjects. For one simple reason.

We are little familiar with the myths of Ancient Greece.

Yes, we know Hercules. Have you heard about Perseus and Andromeda? And let’s name a couple of ancient gods like Zeus and Athena.

But who now can boast that they have read at least Homer’s Odyssey? I read it myself only when I was 30 years old.

And if you don’t understand the plot of the picture, it will be difficult to enjoy it. Because a barrier will arise in the form of bewilderment, “Who are all these people?”

But if the plot is clear, then the picturesque features of the picture are immediately revealed before our clear-eyed eyes.

This article is a small collection of mythological paintings.

I will help you first understand their heroes and symbols. And then we will enjoy all the advantages of these masterpieces together.

Botticelli was the first in the history of European painting (after the ancient Greeks and Romans) to depict mythological heroes.

Botticelli's mythological paintings are sometimes unflatteringly called pictorial comics. The heroes stand in a row. They don't interact with each other. All that remains is to add speech bubbles.

But it was Botticelli who was the first, 1.5 thousand years later, to depict myths. So he can.

Moreover, this arrangement in a row does not prevent the same “Spring” by Botticelli from being one of the most beautiful paintings in the world.

“Spring” is also one of the most mysterious paintings. There are many interpretations of it. I chose the one that personally seems most plausible to me. And she supplemented it with her own thoughts.

2. Titian. Bacchus and Ariadne

After Botticelli, many artists depicted myths during the Renaissance. But the most prolific was Titian.

His myths are completely different. These are already specific stories, like “The Meeting of Bacchus and Andromeda on the island of Naxos.”

These are also impetuous movements, like the leap of the god of wine from a chariot to the feet of a beauty. These are emotions expressed in poses, such as Andromeda's surprise and fear. And also a realistic landscape, which is the background for the heroes.

3. Rubens. Perseus and Andromeda

After Titian, mythological paintings finally came into fashion. The artists of subsequent generations learned all the lessons of the great master. But they made the compositions much more complicated.

The same Rubens literally “pushed” his heroes’ bodies together. And before us is an incredible interweaving of arms, heads and legs.

This is why it is so difficult for us to enjoy mythological paintings of the 17th century. Not only are the plots not always known, but all the characters also need to be seen.

So, the golden time of mythological paintings is the 16th-17th centuries.

In the 18th century, they were slightly displaced by the quite earthly and sweet beauties of Rococo.

And by the end of the 19th century they were replaced by realism and impressionism. Myths have finally gone out of fashion.

But mythological paintings still hang in museums. After all, they are a very important cultural layer. And only small gaps in our knowledge prevent us from fully enjoying them.