Spring Fresco by an Unknown Artist (16th Century BC)
Ancient Minoan Fresco
When the volcanic island of Thera in the Aegean Sea exploded in the ancient past, it was one of the most violent eruptions in recorded history. This event may have led to the collapse of the Minoan civilization – one of the dominant cultures in the eastern Mediterranean at the time – which was then at the height of its power. The explosion of Thera would affect the peoples of the region, with some theorizing that it may be the origins of the myth of Atlantis or might be connected to the Biblical Exodus. The modern Greek island of Santorini is all that is left of Thera.
Despite its power, the eruption did not completely erase the island’s civilization. It preserved some of it under layers of ash and debris like Pompeii. Spring Fresco is just one of the works of art it saved. A fresco is a painting where the colors are applied to wet plaster. When the work dries, the image becomes part of the wall itself.
Spring Fresco wraps around the room of a house and gives the viewer the impression of walking along the coast of the ancient island. It is a bright, cloudless spring day in the eastern Mediterranean. The sun shines overhead. Since Thera was a volcanic island, the rocks and cliffs are sharp, jagged, and irregular. They jut out and up into the sky. Clumps of lilies grow from the cracks. Sparrows fly overhead.
The artist created large regions of color that interlock like puzzle pieces. The blues, yellows and reds take up equal space within the landscape without clashing with one another. Inside these, the artist added jagged lines of various thicknesses to break up the flat, solid colors. This recreates the rough, sharp texture of the volcanic rocks – and I think it gives the work dimension. For example, the blue area on the left has a crag that juts into the yellow piece next to it. To me, it looks like that crag is sticking out into the ocean. There is a similar pattern in the red area on the right that mirrors it, balancing the blue piece. In my mind then, from my imagined viewpoint in this scene, these features break into my space and bring me into the work. I am now walking along the cliffs of ancient Santorini. I can hear the waves break on the rocks and feel its spray.
When rendering the flowers, the artist changed his approach. While the rocks are drawn with jagged and sharp lines and shapes, the flowers use softer, curvier lines. The colors are the same red and yellow. The artist didn’t change shades or hues, just how he applied them. The plants grow in clumps and the flowers open in the spring sunlight. While the rocks’ surfaces are meticulously detailed, the plants are not. They are also mostly yellow with red tips. I think this softens and lightens them, contrasting them to the hard rocks. The arrangement of the flowers also follows the general silhouette of the rocks against the sky, creating an overall harmony throughout the painting.
Finally, the artist added birds but kept them to a minimum. Unlike the rocks and flowers, they are drawn with outlines and colored details. This lightens them even more than the flowers. They look weightless. The viewer sees them from different angles, as one would when birdwatching. The sparrows are small, but their forms are energetic. They whiz through an empty sky with speed and grace. Because they are the most active images, there are only a small number of them. This and their outlined forms keep the sparrows from dominating the work, preserving the unity of the overall fresco. Instead of being top-heavy with a swirling swarm of sparrows, the work is anchored by the solid, heavy rocks, and the painting lightens as it ascends.
Spring Fresco is the oldest-known landscape painting in the world and is a peaceful, beautiful scene. The colors are pure, rich, and earthy, and seem to faithfully replicate the real volcanic and mineral-rich rocks which form the island, right down to their wide range of colors. The lines in the painting complement the objects they describe. The only “noise” is the crashing sea below and the twittering sparrows above. Maybe the wind whistles a bit too. The painting is alive and I enjoy looking at it.
© January 6, 2024
Lady Bison 