As Previously Mentioned, I Am Kinda Going Through A Greek Mythology Phase Right Now, Which Led Me To

As previously mentioned, I am kinda going through a Greek Mythology Phase™ right now, which led me to creating this painting depicting Klytaimnestra after the murder of her husband, Agamemnon. The snake is in reference to a dream she had, in which she gave birth to and nursed a venomous snake/dragon instead of a child, which is seen as a prophecy of her death at the hands of her own son, Orestes.

I decided to do a bit of research into historical Mycenaean Greek dress, seeing as the Epic Cycle and the events directly thereafter are most likely set in the mid to late Bronze Age and as such the style of clothing and architecture would differ considerably from that of the later Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic Periods that is often associated with Greco-Roman mythology.

Then again, I'm not a Historian, Classicist, or anything of the sort, I'm just some random sixteen year old with too much free time on their hands, so I make no promises of accuracy. There are also certain elements that I deliberately left inaccurate, either because it didn't fit the colour scheme, such as the fresco on the wall, which should have had several yellow elements that just looked a bit muddy when I tried to add them, or because I was too lazy to paint them in intricate detail, such as the skirt, which should consist of several layers of different fabric atop each other, but I didn't want to paint all that.

Said skirt is inspired by John Colliers painting also depicting Klytaimnestra after the murder.

Anyway, sorry for the long, nerdy ramble of text, I hope you like the painting and have a nice day :)

(a couple of close ups in case Tumblr fries the quality)

Happy dictator-perforation-day to those who celebrate 🗡️🗡️🗡️

I pulled an all-nighter to get this out on time, because I consistently underestimate the time it takes me to paint, but I am quite pleased with the finished image

As a sidenote, whilst I did skim over the account of the assassination given by Suetonius in his biography of Caesar, I didn’t pay all to much attention to historical accuracy, deciding to prioritise composition instead (Not that my usual artwork is particularly historically accurate, since whilst I do make an effort at research before starting a piece, I still am just some 19-year-old with barely any qualifications in  the relevant fields lol)

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close-ups:

This took me a while to finish, oddly enough not because of the central figure ir the foliage, but rather because I just couldn't make the colours work out the way I wanted them to. Even now it look a bit dull to me. I guess that's what I get for not planning out a proper colour scheme. It also feels a bit weird to work in a different format if you, like me, usually paint on a 1x1 canvas. You do get used to it in a short amount of time, however.

But, putting all that aside, I do like the way the central figure especially turned out in regards to shading and anatomy. Also, the plants look kinda nice.

(Close-ups)

All that remains

Close ups:

Daphne, the Nymph, amidst her (infamous) transformation into a laurel tree 🌿

(Close Ups:)

„Oedipus coming upon the dead body of his mother Iocaste” After first watching the 1957 production by Tyrone Guthrie and subsequently reading a translation of the play as written by Sophocles, I felt like painting something related to this story and the scene of Oedipus seeing his mothers corpse (although not outright shown in the actual play, but relayed by a messenger) struck me as particularly affecting.

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Close-Ups:

+ Bonus Snake: