Antelope and Birds
Antelope of Akrotiri
Blue Bird
Swallows With Lillies No. 5
THE ANTELOPE OF AKROTIRI
Inspired by the mural from the west wall of Room Beta 1 at Akrotiri, a Bronze Age settlement on the Aegean island of Thera. Late Bronze Age (Late Minoan/Early Mycenaean) c. 1500 B.C.
The middle zone on the west, north and east walls of Room Beta 1 were devoted to a study of the antelope. Though the antelope are rendered in outline only, the artist revealed the strength of his talent, giving them expression and depicting them in an amorous converse, as is shown by the movements of the heads, of the lips and the tails.
SWALLOWS WITH LILIES
Inspired from the Fresco of the Lilies in room 2 at Akrotiri, a Bronze Age settlement on the Aegean island of Thera, c. 1500 B.C.
Situated on the ground floor of room 2, the original fresco adorned 3 walls from floor to ceiling. Swallows fly amid stalks of red lilies. The slight bend of the stalks implies a gentle breeze. It is believed that the artist was attempting to express the beginning of spring. Because a millstone and sickle were discovered in room 2, the room is thought to have been a shrine where rites were practiced in relation to a harvest festival and/or the processing of grain.
BLUE BIRD
Inspired by detail from the Blue Bird fresco, a garden fresco from the “House of the Frescoes” on the “Royal Road,” north of the Palace of Minos at Knossos. (Late Bronze Age [Late Minoan / Early Mycenaean] c. 1500 B.C.).
A blue bird is shown in a tranquil setting amongst vegetation.
Here, Bogdanoff’s interpretation has incorporated the similarities between Crete and the Orient as reflected in his foliage design.
