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Jason and the Golden Fleece 2
In the first of these two articles, I looked at paintings telling the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece up to the moment that the hero has taken possession of his prize, which he needed to win a...
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In memoriam Francisco Pradilla Ortiz 2
One hundred years ago today, on 1 November 1921, the great Spanish artist Francisco Pradilla Ortiz (1848–1921) died. In the first article about his career and paintings, I looked at his work up to...
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Don Quixote 32: What happened in the cave
In the previous episode, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza rose early and went into the village where huge quantities of food were being cooked for the wedding feast. As the knight watched displays in...
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Homer’s Odyssey in paintings: 1 Polyphemus and Circe
The third epic ‘Quest’ of the classical world is one of the oldest and greatest of all extant stories, Homer’s account of the return of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, following the Trojan War. This journey...
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Homer’s Odyssey in paintings: 2 The Sirens, Calypso and Nausicaä
At the end of the previous article in this series, Circe had helpfully advised Odysseus that he would have to sail past the Sirens, two to five creatures who lured men to their death with their...
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Homer’s Odyssey in paintings: 3 Return to Ithaca
In the previous article, Odysseus was just about to complete the last leg of his ten-year journey from the Trojan War back to his kingdom of Ithaca, and his wife Penelope. Claude Lorrain...
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Don Quixote 33: The village of braying, and a performing ape
In the previous episode, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza were entertained by the newly married couple for three days, during which the knight arranged himself a guide to take them on to the Cave of...
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Characters in Painted Stories: 4 The Quest
In this series looking at how characters in stories are portrayed, in the context of Christopher Booker’s analysis of literary narratives into The Seven Basic Plots, I have reached the third of his...
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Characters in Painted Stories: 5 Voyage and Return, Orpheus and Eurydice
In this series looking at how characters in stories are portrayed, in the context of Christopher Booker’s analysis of literary narratives into The Seven Basic Plots, I have reached the fourth of his...
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Don Quixote 34: The puppet massacre and a retreat
In the previous episode, Don Quixote, Sancho Panza and their guide were on their way to an inn near the Cave of Montesinos after its descent by the knight. They were passed by a man hurrying along a...
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Don Quixote 35: By boat on the Ebro
In the previous episode, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza were staying at an inn, when Don Pedro the puppeteer with a performing ape turned up. They went to a performance of his puppet theatre, and when...
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Characters in Painted Stories: 6 Comedy, the tale of Demodocus
In this series looking at how characters in stories are portrayed, in the context of Christopher Booker’s analysis of literary narratives into The Seven Basic Plots, I have reached the fifth of his...
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Good knights in paintings 1
The great majority of European narrative paintings draw on classical myth and Christian religious books for their literary sources. This weekend I look at those which instead rely on more recent...
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Good knights in paintings 2
In the first of these two articles, I showed a selection of paintings of European knights made from 1500 to 1870. With the dawn of the new art of photography, it’s not surprising that it too started...
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Don Quixote 36: Guests of the Duke and Duchess
In the previous episode, Sancho Panza was in pain after he had been beaten by the villagers who brayed, but Don Quixote just told him off for upsetting them. A couple of days later the pair reached the...
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Characters in Painted Stories: 7 Tragedy, Orestes 1
In this series looking at how characters in stories are portrayed, in the context of Christopher Booker’s analysis of literary narratives into The Seven Basic Plots, I have reached the sixth and most...
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Characters in Painted Stories: 8 Tragedy, Orestes 2
In the first of these two articles looking at the story of Orestes, in the context of Booker’s archetypal plot for tragedy, I looked at paintings showing the background leading to Orestes’ matricide...
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Don Quixote 37: The washing of beards
In the previous episode, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza came across a group of falconers, including a Duke and Duchess who already knew of the knight and his squire from reading the book of their...
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Characters in Painted Stories: 9 Rebirth in folk tales
In this series looking at how characters in stories are portrayed, in the context of Christopher Booker’s analysis of literary narratives into The Seven Basic Plots, I have reached the seventh and last...
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Paintings of 1921: 1 People
Each year I take a look back at some of the many fine and fascinating paintings from a century ago. They serve as a reminder of how rich and varied art has been, and how distorted a view we can get...
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