Eos was thought to be the Greek Goddess and Titaness of the dawn, and sibling of Selene. At the start of each day, Eos rose from her home Oceanus to bring light to the sky. Selene was the goddess of the moon, and their brother, Helios, of the sun. The three for them, alongside Nyx, represent how the Greeks believed Time and times of day came to Earth. Her Roman name is Aurora, and perhaps what most people are familiar with in terms of the Goddess' name. I think that Eos will be a great addition to the Goddess' that I will inhabit as she ties in well with the others that I have shot or have planned to shoot. When shown together, they will depict the night, the day, the sun and the moon.
"In the Homeric poems Eos not only announces the coming Helios, but accompanies him throughout the day, and her career is not complete till the evening" - Theoi.com
Eos is thought to be responsible for the aurora in the sky, now known as the Aurora Borealis (northern lights) or Aurora Australis (southern lights).
"According to Apollodorus (i. 4. § 4) Eos carried Orion to Delos" - Delos being the island that Asteria turned herself into.
"When her son Memnon was going to fight against Achilles, she asked Hephaestus to give her arms for him, and when Memnon was killed, her tears fell down in the form of morning dew."
Family:
This is an ancient Greek depiction of Eos and Tithonus, painted on a vase. It shows Eos holding on to Tithonus, one of the men she was cured to fall in love with by Aphrodite, while he holds a lyre. It's interesting to see how the ancient Greeks imagined the Goddess of the Dawn, and has likely been a reference for many painters creating their own versions of such a Goddess.
This 470 - 460 B.C. vase now sits within the British Museum. It shows how the Greeks documented their beliefs, the myths that surrounded them and inscribed them into objects for all to admire, but most of all to worship their Gods. Ancient Greek pottery was a way for them to feel accepted by the Gods, and if they did not worship them they could be cursed. This explains why even today we have over 100,000 examples of such pottery. The technique used here is called red-figure pottery, which is painting red over a black base. The paint is applied on an unfired vase or another piece of pottery, once it has mostly air-dried. The red figures are actually the unfired red clay base, and the black is the part that is painted on. This allowed for the potter to gain greater detail, as they would not have to scrape parts out of the pot as they would with black-figure pottery. This makes for a very clean looking painting.
Eos herself wears a flowy dress, with a spotted pattern on it. Its shape is not dissimilar to the dress in the painting by De Morgan. This flow gives the image a sense of movement and action, whereas the pre-raphaelite painting above seems more stationary and posed. A large element of this depiction, while not completely within the painted frame, is the wings that sit upon Eos' back, a feature that is continuous throughout the depictions of her.
This painting by Francesco de Mura shows Aurora (Roman equivalent of Eos) and her lover Tithonus. Tithonus is shown as an old man to reflect the story of the love between the two of them, and how Aurora begged Jupiter (Zeus) to make the man immortal. Jupiter (Zeus) obliged, and yet Aurora forgot to ask for eternal youth. Tithonus grew old, and eventually she fell out of love with him, and turned him into a cicada. This painting shows Tithonus as an old man, and Aurora ass the ever-youthful goddess she will always be. Around her are her maidens who scatter flowers around her and crown her with a floral wreath - the plants being symbols of nature and youth.
The painter has placed Tithonus below the Goddess and those that surround her, perhaps implying his rightful place below the powerful and the beautiful. The bright image has its source of light from the torch that one of the winged figures holds. This torch is perhaps the torch of the morning light. This is strengthened by the fact that he shields his old eyes with his hand while attempting to look at Aurora. This pose alone shows his weakness, as everybody else in the frame is unbothered by the dawn.
In 2017 there was a poetry series called the Bridge Poetry Series that took inspiration from, and was a response to the works of Francesco de Mura. One poem, by James. P. Roberts, goes as follows;
AURORA: GODDESS OF DAWN & TITHONUS, PRINCE OF TROY, A SCENE
Aurora: "O Father Jupiter, see this noble man,
The Prince of Troy, who rules over these lands.
I would that he never die, this boon I ask.
But wait! He ages still! How piteous a mask!"
Angels/Cherubs: "Aurora has locked him away!
Tithonus moans in sorrow night and day.
But hist! He stirs!"
Tithonus: "What is this vision I see?
What fell dream has awakened me?
I must shade my eyes, it shines so bright!
Glorious flame! It burns in my sight!"
Aurora: "My Tithonus, I have done you a great wrong.
Given immortality, but youth is gone.
Your body still shows its wondrous strength
But your hair and beard have grayed all its length."
Both: "O Lord forgive us, our innocent sin.
In this bower we lie amidst angels' din."
Angels/Cherubs: "We will watch over you
And place our blessings on you.
On sturdy wings, around you we fly.
The flame of purity will never die."
Tithonus: "I dreamt I was a creature small:
A grasshopper -- that is all.
I leapt to the heavens to see your fair face.
I place there my destiny in hopes of your grace."
Aurora: "The Dawn of Time will soon be here.
Arise, Tithonus! There's nothing to fear.
A crown of roses be placed on my head . . . "
Angels/Cherubs: "She's one with the light! See how it spreads!"
Tithonus: "Though age may yet claim my bones,
Our union is great enough to shatter stones."
Aurora: "The world awaits a brilliant savior who now walks alone . . ."
All: "To show us the path to our eternal home!"
--James P. Roberts
This interpretation of the painting reflects Aurora and Tithonus as having a coninuous strong bond, and that the cherubs and winged maidens are there to help the both of them. They suffer together. while this poem depicts the story well, I personally don't think that this is reflected within the paintings, as they seem rather seperate. This seperation is emphasised by the lighting, the cooler tones used on Tithonus in comparison to the warm tones on Aurora, and Aurora's relaxed pose in contrast to Tithonus' uncomfortable looking position.
The dissymetry reflects a typical late-baroque period style painting.
Oil on canvas 128 x 154 cm [HxW]
Overall, I think the first painting is the most impactful and beautiful in my opinion. I think the clean lines and clarity make the painting really pop and would also be most realistic for me to be able to cerate in my own style.
"In the Homeric poems Eos not only announces the coming Helios, but accompanies him throughout the day, and her career is not complete till the evening" - Theoi.com
Eos is thought to be responsible for the aurora in the sky, now known as the Aurora Borealis (northern lights) or Aurora Australis (southern lights).
"According to Apollodorus (i. 4. § 4) Eos carried Orion to Delos" - Delos being the island that Asteria turned herself into.
"When her son Memnon was going to fight against Achilles, she asked Hephaestus to give her arms for him, and when Memnon was killed, her tears fell down in the form of morning dew."
Family:
- Parents: Theia (Titan Goddess of sight and the shining ether of the bright) and Hyperion (Titan God of heavenly light)
- Boreas (God of the North Wind)
- Zephyros (God of the West Wind)
- Notos (God of the South Wind)
- Euros (God of the East Wind)
- The Astra (the Gods of the five wandering stars, Phainon (Saturn), Phaethon (Jupiter), Pyroeis (Mars), Eosphoros (Venus) and Stilbon (Mercury))
- Astraia (Goddess of justice)
- Memnon (Ethiopian king and son of Tithonus and Eos)
Hesiod, Theogony 378 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) :
"And Eos (Dawn) bare to Astraios (Astraeus, the Starry) the strong-hearted Anemoi (Winds), brightening Zephyros (Zephyrus, West Wind), and Boreas (North Wind), headlong in his course, and Notos (Notus, South Wind),--a goddess mating in love with a god. And after these Erigenia (the Early-Born) [Eos] bare the star Eosphoros (Dawn-bringer) [the planet Venus], and the gleaming Astra (Stars) with which heaven is crowned."
Appearance:
Homer, Iliad 19. 1 ff :
"Eos (Dawn) the yellow-robed arose from the river of Okeanos (Oceanus) to carry her light to men and to immortals."
Homer, Odyssey Odyssey 2. 1, et al (trans. Shewring) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"Eos (Dawn) comes early, with rosy fingers." [N.B. This phrase occurs a number of times in the Odyssey.]
Homer, Odyssey 6. 48 ff :
"Forthwith came Eos (Dawn) in her flowery garment."
Homer, Odyssey 10. 540, et. al. :
"Eos (Dawn) appeared in her flowery cloth of gold."
Sappho, Fragment 103 :
"Golden-sandaled (khrysopedillos) Auos (Eos)."
Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 1. 48 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic C4th A.D.) :
"As when descends Eos (Dawn) from Olympos' crest of adamant, Eos, heart-exultant in her radiant steeds amidst the bright-haired Horai (Horae, Hours); and o'er them all, how flawless-fair soever these may be, her splendour of beauty glows pre-eminent."
These descriptions often mention gold, yellow and floral robes, a sign of wealth and superiority, elegance and beauty.
Evelyn De Morgan, Eos, (1895)
This pre-raphaelite painting by Evelyn De Morgan shows Eos, the goddess of Dawn standing by the sea, and pouring water from a jug. She is depicted with golden and copper wings, perhaps a reference to how the Goddess brought the bawn across the sky and the earth. Evelyn De Morgan was a British painter who was influenced by Pre-Raphaelist Edward Burne-Jones, which is evident in the nature around thee Goddess. One of the four doctrines for the pre-raphaelite brotherhood was to study and know nature and how to use it to express it within paintings. Eros is by the sea, and is surrounded by daisies and roses and seagulls. Daisies in pre-raphaelite paintings are a symbol of innocence and purity. The rose is a symbol of love, something that is fitting for such a Goddess as Aphrodite cursed her for sleeping with Ares, and so Eos fell in love with Orion, Phaethon, Kephalos (Cephalus) and Tithonos.
The goddess makes direct eye contact with the viewer, but she doesn't seem challenging or confrontational. The gaze is more of a kind type, working harmoniously with the soft tones and textures within the painting. Her embellishments on her outfit and head claim her as a higher, important being. It is very clear that she is supposed to be the centre of the image and that a relationship is to be formed between the viewer and the subject.
Overall, the image is warm in tone, making it feel welcoming and pleasant to look at. The body of the Goddess is delicately beautiful in the hands and feet, with long fingers and graceful poses. The flowy dress compliments this in order to depict Eos as an elegant figure. The sharp brush strokes make this feeling of elegance and importance even stronger as they bring clarity to the image, making the figure very bold to the eye.
This 470 - 460 B.C. vase now sits within the British Museum. It shows how the Greeks documented their beliefs, the myths that surrounded them and inscribed them into objects for all to admire, but most of all to worship their Gods. Ancient Greek pottery was a way for them to feel accepted by the Gods, and if they did not worship them they could be cursed. This explains why even today we have over 100,000 examples of such pottery. The technique used here is called red-figure pottery, which is painting red over a black base. The paint is applied on an unfired vase or another piece of pottery, once it has mostly air-dried. The red figures are actually the unfired red clay base, and the black is the part that is painted on. This allowed for the potter to gain greater detail, as they would not have to scrape parts out of the pot as they would with black-figure pottery. This makes for a very clean looking painting.
Eos herself wears a flowy dress, with a spotted pattern on it. Its shape is not dissimilar to the dress in the painting by De Morgan. This flow gives the image a sense of movement and action, whereas the pre-raphaelite painting above seems more stationary and posed. A large element of this depiction, while not completely within the painted frame, is the wings that sit upon Eos' back, a feature that is continuous throughout the depictions of her.
Francesco de Mura, L'Aurora e Tito (1763/1768)
The painter has placed Tithonus below the Goddess and those that surround her, perhaps implying his rightful place below the powerful and the beautiful. The bright image has its source of light from the torch that one of the winged figures holds. This torch is perhaps the torch of the morning light. This is strengthened by the fact that he shields his old eyes with his hand while attempting to look at Aurora. This pose alone shows his weakness, as everybody else in the frame is unbothered by the dawn.
In 2017 there was a poetry series called the Bridge Poetry Series that took inspiration from, and was a response to the works of Francesco de Mura. One poem, by James. P. Roberts, goes as follows;
AURORA: GODDESS OF DAWN & TITHONUS, PRINCE OF TROY, A SCENE
Aurora: "O Father Jupiter, see this noble man,
The Prince of Troy, who rules over these lands.
I would that he never die, this boon I ask.
But wait! He ages still! How piteous a mask!"
Angels/Cherubs: "Aurora has locked him away!
Tithonus moans in sorrow night and day.
But hist! He stirs!"
Tithonus: "What is this vision I see?
What fell dream has awakened me?
I must shade my eyes, it shines so bright!
Glorious flame! It burns in my sight!"
Aurora: "My Tithonus, I have done you a great wrong.
Given immortality, but youth is gone.
Your body still shows its wondrous strength
But your hair and beard have grayed all its length."
Both: "O Lord forgive us, our innocent sin.
In this bower we lie amidst angels' din."
Angels/Cherubs: "We will watch over you
And place our blessings on you.
On sturdy wings, around you we fly.
The flame of purity will never die."
Tithonus: "I dreamt I was a creature small:
A grasshopper -- that is all.
I leapt to the heavens to see your fair face.
I place there my destiny in hopes of your grace."
Aurora: "The Dawn of Time will soon be here.
Arise, Tithonus! There's nothing to fear.
A crown of roses be placed on my head . . . "
Angels/Cherubs: "She's one with the light! See how it spreads!"
Tithonus: "Though age may yet claim my bones,
Our union is great enough to shatter stones."
Aurora: "The world awaits a brilliant savior who now walks alone . . ."
All: "To show us the path to our eternal home!"
--James P. Roberts
This interpretation of the painting reflects Aurora and Tithonus as having a coninuous strong bond, and that the cherubs and winged maidens are there to help the both of them. They suffer together. while this poem depicts the story well, I personally don't think that this is reflected within the paintings, as they seem rather seperate. This seperation is emphasised by the lighting, the cooler tones used on Tithonus in comparison to the warm tones on Aurora, and Aurora's relaxed pose in contrast to Tithonus' uncomfortable looking position.
The dissymetry reflects a typical late-baroque period style painting.
Oil on canvas 128 x 154 cm [HxW]
Overall, I think the first painting is the most impactful and beautiful in my opinion. I think the clean lines and clarity make the painting really pop and would also be most realistic for me to be able to cerate in my own style.
Eos - Titaness of the Dawn
Reviewed by BethCorbett
on
March 25, 2020
Rating:
Reviewed by BethCorbett
on
March 25, 2020
Rating:
No comments: