#taurokathapsia

[meticulouslymindlessart]

A little anatomy-study, based on that one famous Bull-Leaping Fresco from Knossos.

This one has been sitting in my wips for a while, and I finally had the time to finish it.

I have been somewhat dissatisfied with my art lately, feeling that it has a certain constructed stiffness that I just can’t seem to get rid of. So I tried to challenge myself to paint something more dynamic and also not to use too many references since I noticed I tend to get too hung up on accuracy to consider the picture as a whole. I am still not fully satisfied with the result, but I hope to improve upon this in my future art.

(Close-ups)

[vsthepomegranate]

Minoan frescoes unearthed in 1878 at Knossos on Crete

[violetmoondaughter]

Ariadne

Ariadne, princess of Crete, daughter of Minos and Minotaur's Sister. Helped Theseus escaping the labyrinth with her magic Thread, abbandoned by the hero on the island of Naxos was rescued by Dionysus that took her as his spouse. According to the myth The God gave her a golden crown that gave origin to the constellation of the Corona Borealis, and after her death  he made her a goddess.

But underneath the Myth of Ariadne, we can find the ancient Minoan cult of the “Mistress of the labyrinth”, a powerful Great Godess connected with symbols of Snakes, Spirals and Bulls. These powerful symbols recall ancient fertility archetypes connected with the cycle of death and rebirth of the nature. The mistress of the Labyrinth was lately associated with other ancient and powerful goddesess like Aphrodite, Artemis, Demetra and Persephone. The power's legacy of this ancient godess echoes again in the many symbols that we can find in the myth of Ariadne.

[hellas-inhabitants]

''Taurokathapsia'' - Bull Leaping - Minoan Crete 1600 BCE. «Ταυροκαθάψια» Μινωική Κρήτη 1600 Π.Χ.