Tales from Other Times ~ Three Tales etched in stone and colour

 Dear Reader,

“Painting does to the illiterate what writing does to those who can read.”

--- Pope Gregory the Great

   When it comes to art, our minds flit from paintings and churches which scream grandeur with their gargantuan rose windows and their intricate etched fusion of colours. However, in my eyes, art can be anything, whether it be the bird's song we hear or the bleeding ink on paper which we bind ourselves to and call novels. We hold these treasures, rubies of our world, close and dear to our tragic human hearts as we yearn for things art in all its idealistic beauty depicts. We decorate our cities, embellish our own homes, and use each piece of painted or carved art as gateways to a life we desire, as deep down we know that our human touch is catalytic at best.

   Despite this, I like to think this is our own kind of beauty. Our own brokenness is a portal for passion we can use as our muse to paint our own lives and write them as we wish. Afterall, how do you think renowned artists like Botticelli or Canova created their masterpieces? It is through pain and blood, tragedy, and darkness that we can truly capture the essence of what it means to be in the light. And that my dear reader, is why we feel a sense of hiraeth each time we are transported into the rapport created by artists of the past. We feel the need to be a part of something as picturesque as the thing before us, we feel the need to be transported and whisked away into an embrace we know for certain our touch cannot destroy.

   That is why I like to think that it is through art that the greatest stories are truly brought to life. Here my dear reader are a few examples from centuries ago that I like to think exemplify my thoughts.

Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss by Antonio Canova

    One of my favourite pieces out there is this rejuvenating neoclassical creation by Canova which depicts the mythical tale of the God of Love, Cupid (Eros in Greek mythology) and the enrapturing mortal, Psyche.

   This tale was believed to be true by the Ancient Greeks centuries ago. What we today call myth, they called religion. In this fantastical tale, we meet the desired Psyche who is worshipped like a deity for her beauty. Caught in jealousy, the Goddess of Beauty herself, Aphrodite, commands her son Eros to strike Psyche with his arrows to make her fall in love with a monster. Unfortunately, while attempting this Eros accidentally strikes himself and falls in love with Psyche. It is then that Psyche's father visits the oracle of Delphi which proclaims that Psyche must be left at the edge of the Abyss in matrimonial attire, where she shall be whisked away by Zephyr the God of Wind, to the home of the winged creature she is to marry.

   Unfortunately, after much inner turmoil, Psyche's father still sacrifices his daughter for Zephyr, and she is taken to Eros's home where they are wed in darkness. This darkness is due to Eros forbidding Psyche from ever seeing his face as he believes that if she sees him, she will start being afraid of him. However, with Psyche's piqued curiosity, while Eros is asleep, she uses an oil lamp to see his face and in shock, drops hot oil on his chest causing him to flee in anger at his new wife's betrayal. It is through this that Psyche goes through a plethora of trials and challenges crafted by Aphrodite to win back Eros's heart. One of these trials in question was to retrieve some beauty in a box from the Goddess of the Underworld, Persephone. Once acquired, Psyche realised that all of these trials caused her to look rather tired and hence, she opens the box only to consume a black mist which kills her. It is then that Eros arrives and uses his resurrecting kiss to awaken Psyche.

   Canova delicately creates the moment when Cupid gently gives Psyche a kiss to awaken her, capturing the essence of true love and beauty in his piece. Furthermore, the intricate carvings of the two figures create an ethereal and divine quality as the two are realistic as seen through the detailed features of the faces, the dainty folds of the fabric, and the graceful contours of the bodies. The piece's details culminate to showcase the sentimentality and accentuate the realism of the scene, allowing the viewer to be transported into the moment. Furthermore, despite the complexity of the figures' positions, Canova still strikes a beautiful balance between the two as they almost form a pyramidal composition.

La Nascita di Venere (The Birth of Venus) by Sandro Botticelli

   In this painting by the great Sandro Botticelli, one is introduced to another tale imbued with mythology as it represents the birth of the goddess of love, Venus in Roman mythology. (Aphrodite in Greek mythology).

   Just how tales are told orally and written, they are too told through Botticelli's brush strokes as he uses many sinuous lines which guide the viewer across the narrative, with Venus being the central focus. The scene clearly depicts the goddess emerging from the ocean on a shell with the deity of the seasons, Hora, awaiting her on the right with a floral cloak to cover her. Similarly, on the other side, one can see the God of Wind, Zephyrus, embracing his nymph companion and blowing a breeze on Venus so she can make it safely to shore.

   Botticelli captures the goddess' beauty by idealising her in the nude, creating a divine dream-like quality to the painting. She is remarkably similar to the Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles, as Venus too has a small tummy symbolising fertility. Interestingly, even the fact that the goddess' position is in contrapposto highlights the divine balance and equilibrium that Botticelli manages to strike despite many components being present in the painting. However, if one were to look beyond the central focus to the painting's background one can see a serene marine landscape with calm waters and a forest. The fact that Botticelli eliminates the use of sharp shadows and uses a soft yet delicate colour palette contributes to an atmosphere of lightness and an idealised unreality.

   It is also crucial to note how this painting is impregnated with symbolism, with Venus being a symbol of purity and rebirth paralleling Christian baptism, and Hora being a symbol of the natural cycle entwining itself with mythology.

The Three Graces by Antonio Canova

   Mythological and always seen together, the Three Graces are daughters of the God of the Sky and Thunder (Zeus in Greek mythology and Jupiter in Roman) and are goddesses representing charm, beauty, nature, human creativity, and fertility. They were often depicted as companions of other gods and goddesses, especially Aphrodite (Venus in Roman mythology).

   In truth, the Three Graces' names were Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thalia and they individually symbolised different concepts. For example, Aglaia symbolised beauty, splendor, and adornment. On the other hand, Euphrosyne is a representation of joy, mirth, and the pleasant enjoyment of life whereas Thalia is symbolic of festivity, banquets, and rich and abundant food.

   In this masterpiece, Canova once again is inspired by mythology and sculpts the Graces in all their splendour as they are embracing, emphasising their harmonious unity and elegance. Like his previous works such as Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, Canova manages to capture true realism with the intricate hairstyles, flowing drapery and realistic S-curve which joins the Graces together showing how their fates were normally intertwined and entangled with one another.

   Therefore, my dear reader, through art whether it be carved via stone, painted with a kaleidoscope of hues and palettes, or bled onto parchment by ink, stories can still be passed on from generation to generation, century to century and most importantly, from person to person.

Yours,

Pearl's Odyssey (2025) All rights reserved ©