Category Archives: Art

Venus and Anchises

03 Sunday May 2015

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William-Blake-Richmond-Venus-and-AnchisesWilliam Blake Richmond’s Venus and Anchises (1889 or 1890).

Anchises major claim to fame in Greek mythology is that he was a mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite (and in Roman mythology, the lover of Venus). One version is that Aphrodite pretended to be a Phrygian princess and seduced him for nearly two weeks of lovemaking. Anchises learned that his lover was a goddess only nine months later, when she revealed herself and presented him with the infant Aeneas. Aphrodite had warned him that if he boasted of the affair, he would be blasted by the thunderbolt of Zeus. He did and was scorched and/or crippled.

The storm spirits

24 Saturday Jan 2015

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the storm spirits-Evelyn De Morgan

the storm spirits by Evelyn De Morgan (1900)

Evelyn De Morgan often chose to portray the elements within her work. Here, Rain, Lighting and Thunder are personified as strong, beautiful women with billowing drapery.

To the left, dressed in yellow, is the spirit of Rain pouring grey water from a never-ending vial. To the right, Lightning – a red-winged figure with winged feet, hurls lightning bolts into the storm.  At the top centre is the spirit of the Thunderclouds, dressed in dark blue with her dark wings and draperies merging into the thunderclouds around her. In the centre is a small oasis of calm, showing a seashore not yet affected by the storm that these spirits are raising and offering hope for a calmer future.