Byzantine fresco of the Nativity in the Perivleptos Monastery Katholikon at Mystra, showing the Virgin Mary reclining and the infant Jesus in a cave-like setting, surrounded by haloed figures and a rocky landscape rendered in rich, earth-toned pigments typical of 14th-century Orthodox iconography.

The Nativity Fresco of Peribleptos Monastery in Mystra

by ArchaeologyArtByzantine ArtByzantine Church ArchitectureByzantiumPowerpointsUncategorized
Byzantine fresco of the Nativity in the Perivleptos Monastery Katholikon at Mystra, showing the Virgin Mary reclining and the infant Jesus in a cave-like setting, surrounded by haloed figures and a rocky landscape rendered in rich, earth-toned pigments typical of 14th-century Orthodox iconography.
Nativity Scene, Peribleptos Monastery, circa 1348/80, Mystras, Greece
https://eclass.uoa.gr/modules/document/file.php/ARCH396/Didaktiko%20yliko/PanKal997.htm

The Nativity Fresco of Peribleptos Monastery in Mystras captures the spiritual heart of the season through the radiant artistry of Byzantine devotion. High on the slopes of Mistra, within the Monastery of Perivleptos, the Nativity scene painted across its frescoed walls unfolds as a vivid testament to Byzantine spirituality and artistic mastery. Created in the 14th century, this depiction of Christ’s birth captures both the human tenderness and divine mystery central to Orthodox faith. Beneath the soft light filtering through the dome windows, figures of Mary, Joseph, angels, and shepherds converge around the newborn Christ, embodying a theology of incarnation rendered through luminous color and sacred geometry. As we celebrate Christmas Day 2025, this fresco invites reflection on how art can transform stone and pigment into a living proclamation of hope and transcendence.

Mystras and the Late Byzantine World

Mystras, located near ancient Sparta in the Peloponnese, was one of the most significant centers of the late Byzantine Empire, flourishing between the 13th and 15th centuries. Established by the Franks in 1249 and later reclaimed by the Byzantines, it became the capital of the Despotate of the Morea, a major political, intellectual, and artistic hub during Byzantium’s final centuries. The city’s fortified acropolis, palaces, monasteries, and churches, including the Peribleptos, Pantanassa, and Hodegetria to mention just three, reveal a remarkable synthesis of political power and cultural refinement. Mystras nurtured a vibrant artistic school known for its refined frescoes and architecture, which combined classical Byzantine traditions with new stylistic developments that prefigured aspects of the Renaissance. Today, Mystras stands as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, representing the last brilliant flowering of Byzantine art and spirituality before the empire’s fall.

Exterior view of the Perivleptos Monastery Katholikon in Mystras, showing the late Byzantine stone and brick church built into the side of a cliff with its rugged masonry walls, traditional pitched roof, and adjacent tower and monastic buildings under a clear sky, reflecting its 14th-century Mystras architectural style and historic setting on the hillside.
Peribleptos Monastery, circa 1348/80, Mystras, Greece
https://www.religiousgreece.gr/en/attractions/monastery-perivleptos

Late Byzantine Frescoes of Peribleptos

Among its most notable monuments, the Katholikon (main church) of the Peribleptos (Perivleptos) Monastery was founded in the mid-14th century, most scholars attribute its patronage to the first Despot of the Morea, Manuel Kantakouzenos, and his wife Isabella (Isabelle) de Lusignan. Built into the southeast slope of the town and partly supported by a cave, the church is a two-column cross-in-square plan that exemplifies the local “Mystras style,” with squared stone and inlaid tilework that give the exterior a fortress-like appearance. Its dating is commonly placed around the 1350s–1370s, when Mystras was a lively cultural and political center of the late Byzantine Peloponnese.

The interior is celebrated for an extensive and unusually well-preserved cycle of late Byzantine frescoes (mid-14th century) that focus especially on the life of the Virgin and key Gospel scenes, paintings that art historians link stylistically to Cretan and Macedonian workshops and that show Palaeologan-era innovations in space and movement. Because these frescoes survive largely in situ, the Peribleptos Katholikon is considered crucial for understanding late Byzantine painting and the artistic renaissance in the Morea; the whole site of Mystras is protected for its outstanding medieval ensembles.

Interior view of the frescoed roof (dome) of the Katholikon at Perivléptos Monastery, showing the large central image of Christ Pantokrator (Christ as ruler of all) within the dome, painted in vivid colors on the curved vaults of this 14th-century church interior.
Peribleptos Monastery frescoes, circa 1348/80, Mystras, Greece
https://www.thebyzantinelegacy.com/peribleptos-mystras

The Nativity Fresco at Peribleptos

The Nativity scene in the Peribleptos Monastery at Mystra stands as one of the most evocative frescoes of the late Byzantine period, part of the church’s rich Christological cycle. Depicted with serene grace and otherworldly poise, the Virgin reclines beside the Christ Child in a rocky grotto, encircled by Joseph, the Magi, shepherds, and angels—each slender figure animated by elegant gestures and expressive faces. The artist achieves a vivid harmony of color and form, combining traditional Byzantine iconography with a confident, freer sense of spatial rhythm. The layered landscape, luminous tones, and effortless authority of each depiction reveal the maturity of the Mystras school, whose refinement would profoundly influence the later Cretan School of icon painters.

Aesthetically, the Nativity fresco exemplifies the serene elegance and emotional subtlety of late Byzantine art at its height. The soft modulation of color—from deep blues and warm ochres to pale rose and gold—infuses the composition with both tenderness and transcendence. Figures are modeled with a supple handling of light and shadow that departs from earlier rigidity, achieving a lyrical balance between solemnity and grace. This confident, almost Renaissance sensibility anticipates the stylistic currents that would flow from Mystras to Crete and, ultimately, to Venice. Through this luminous synthesis of theology and beauty, the Peribleptos Nativity becomes not merely a devotional image but a harbinger of artistic renewal across the Mediterranean world.

As we celebrate Christmas Day 2025, the Nativity fresco at Peribleptos reminds us that the story of Christ’s birth continues to inspire wonder, devotion, and artistic creation across the centuries. Just as the figures in the fresco gather around the newborn Savior, we too are invited to pause, reflect, and share in the warmth, hope, and light that this holy day brings. In the quiet glow of candlelight or the brilliance of a winter sunrise, the spirit of Mystra endures, connecting past and present in a timeless celebration of faith and beauty.

Explore further: Download our PowerPoint Presentation on the Byzantine Monuments of Mystras for educators, students, and art lovers… HERE!

Bibliography: analysed in detail by The Byzantine Legacy: https://churchesingreece.blogspot.com/2014/07/mystras-peribleptos.html and in Greek https://www.ime.gr/choros/mystras/gr/E/14E/14E12.html

A tired young salesgirl slumps on a stool in a department store on Christmas Eve, surrounded by gift boxes and wrapping paper, conveying holiday exhaustion through Norman Rockwell’s realistic style.

Tired Salesgirl on Christmas Eve

by 20th century ArtAmerican ArtStudent ActivitiesUncategorizedWorksheets
A tired young salesgirl slumps on a stool in a department store on Christmas Eve, surrounded by gift boxes and wrapping paper, conveying holiday exhaustion through Norman Rockwell’s realistic style.
Norman Rockwell, American Artist, 1894-1978
Tired Salesgirl on Christmas Eve, 1947, Oil on Canvas, 77.2×71.8 cm, Private Collection
https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2018/american-art-n09939/lot.19.html?locale=en

Under the soft glow of a dim shop light, Norman Rockwell captures a rare moment of quiet humanity in Tired Salesgirl on Christmas Eve. Departing from his more festive and bustling holiday scenes, Rockwell instead lingers in stillness, an ode to the unseen fatigue and quiet dignity behind the season’s glittering façade. The weary young woman, slumped in exhaustion yet imbued with humble strength, invites viewers to pause and reflect on the hidden cost of holiday cheer. Through Rockwell’s tender realism, the painting becomes not merely a portrait of fatigue but a meditation on empathy, perseverance, and the fragile beauty found in life’s most ordinary moments.

Norman Rockwell and Postwar America

Painted in 1947, Tired Salesgirl on Christmas Eve emerged during a period when Norman Rockwell’s art both comforted and gently challenged postwar America. Known for his warm, narrative depictions of American life, Rockwell was celebrated for scenes of family gatherings, civic pride, and small-town cheer. Yet beneath his accessible style lay a deep interest in the quiet realities that accompany those ideals.

The Saturday Evening Post Cover of 1947

This painting first appeared on the December 27, 1947, cover, of the The Saturday Evening Post. Rockwell’s image, however, defied the glossy optimism often associated with holiday imagery. Rather than portraying festive joy, he chose to honor the fatigue of those who made it possible, the clerks, shop assistants, and unseen workers who sustained the season’s magic. In doing so, Rockwell bridged the gap between commercial illustration and social observation, creating a moment of artful empathy within a mass-market context.

Visual Storytelling and Quiet Exhaustion

In this work, Rockwell captures the quiet exhaustion of a department store employee after the frenzy of last-minute Christmas shopping. The young woman slumps against the wall, her shoes kicked off and forgotten among scraps of wrapping paper and discarded toys. Behind her, a crooked sign announces the store’s closing at 5:00 p.m., while her watch reads 5:05 — a subtle detail that deepens the sense of fatigue. A soft amber light pools around her, isolating her from the dim surroundings and transforming a moment of weariness into one of tender humanity. The forlorn dolls that echo her pose yet wear painted smiles emphasize Rockwell’s gift for visual storytelling, revealing the bittersweet undercurrent of the holiday season.

Every surface carries evidence of touch: the texture of fabric, the gleam of glass, the faint sheen of perspiration on her brow. Yet the tone remains tender rather than pitiful. Rockwell paints her not as a figure of complaint, but of endurance, a study in quiet perseverance and human worth. The restrained palette and focused lighting draw the viewer inward, evoking a sense of stillness rarely found in his more bustling compositions.

Tired Salesgirl on Christmas Eve reveals Rockwell’s capacity to dignify the ordinary. By choosing this moment of rest, he acknowledges the hidden labor behind holiday abundance. The young woman’s weariness speaks not only to her physical fatigue but to a universal truth: that celebration often depends on invisible work.

In the context of 1940s America, a nation balancing prosperity with postwar fatigue, this image would have resonated deeply. It aligned with Rockwell’s broader humanist vision, one that sought to find beauty in effort, humor in humility, and grace in imperfection. Today, that same sensibility feels remarkably contemporary, echoing ongoing conversations about emotional labor and the value of unseen work.

Why Tired Salesgirl on Christmas Eve Still Matters

More than seventy years later, Rockwell’s salesgirl continues to move viewers not through spectacle, but through empathy. She reminds us that art can elevate even the most fleeting moments of human vulnerability into symbols of shared experience. In an era when holiday imagery still tends to idealize perfection, Rockwell’s painting invites a different kind of reflection, one grounded in compassion and authenticity.

Ultimately, Tired Salesgirl on Christmas Eve stands among Rockwell’s most introspective works. Through his careful attention to gesture, light, and narrative restraint, he transforms a common scene into an enduring meditation on care, work, and quiet resilience. The painting whispers rather than declares, yet in that whisper lies Rockwell’s deepest gift: a reminder that every moment of exhaustion carries its own quiet form of grace.

Rockwell’s art endures because it recognizes the humanity in all of us, the moments when we pause, rest, and simply are. In Tired Salesgirl on Christmas Eve, that recognition becomes both personal and universal. It is not merely a scene of fatigue, but a portrait of empathy, a testament to the dignity of effort and the quiet beauty found at the close of a long day.

For a student activity on Norman Rockwell’s painting Tired Salesgirl on Christmas Eve, please… Click HERE!

Bibliography: Sotheby’s catalogue entry for Tired Salesgirl on Christmas Eve

Rockwell’s sensitivity to everyday labor can also be seen in Freedom from Want and Happy Birthday, Miss Jones, both discussed elsewhere on Teacher Curator: https://www.teachercurator.com/20th-century-art/freedom-from-want-by-norman-rockwell/ and https://www.teachercurator.com/student-activities/happy-birthday-miss-jones-by-norman-rockwell/?fbclid=IwY2xjawN2gpVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFacmdpSHp2SEZOb3lLZWFaAR6o_s1cbQ-iJ3seOTei9EK-NSGSKJwa-goSlQRlZ0OVo3e56Vs6jHCgU9nABw_aem_D0lNpQ7pRe6EhsgcZxX9CA&brid=zUGuYS_L6hPdqRsBBliuag

Etruscan Tomb of the Jugglers fresco with dancers and musicians, 510 BC, Necropoli dei Monterozzi, Tarquinia

Tomb of the Jugglers

by ArchaeologyArtEtruscan ArtPowerpoints
Etruscan Tomb of the Jugglers fresco with dancers and musicians, 510 BC, Necropoli dei Monterozzi, Tarquinia
Etruscan Tomb of the Jugglers, 510 BC,Necropoli dei Monterozzi, near Tarquinia, Lazio, Italy – Photo Credit: Amalia Spiliakou, April 2025

Standing within the Necropoli of Monterozzi near Tarquinia, I was immediately captivated by the Tomb of the Jugglers and its vibrant celebration of Etruscan life. Dating to the 6th century BC, the tomb’s frescoes, alive with dancers, musicians, and jugglers, transform the space from a resting place into a vivid stage of movement and rhythm. Seeing these ancient figures firsthand, their gestures still brimming with energy, offered a profound reminder of the Etruscans’ belief in life’s continuity beyond death. The paintings, both elegant and exuberant, reveal a culture that embraced the afterlife not with fear, but with the same joy and artistry that animated their time on earth.

Let’s explore the ‘who,’ ‘where,’ ‘why,’ ‘how,’ ‘when,’ and ‘what’ of this remarkable Etruscan painted tomb by posing a series of guiding questions.

What is the Tomb of the Jugglers, and why is it significant among Etruscan burials? The Tomb of the Jugglers (Tomba dei Giocolieri) is one of the many richly painted chambers in the Monterozzi Necropolis near Tarquinia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Unlike more somber tombs, it celebrates life through scenes of performance and movement, showing how the Etruscans viewed death not as an end but as a continuation of joyful existence. Its focus on entertainers rather than mourners makes it a distinctive example of Etruscan humanism and optimism.

Necropoli dei Monterozzi burial mounds near Tarquinia, UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Necropoli of Monterozzi near Tarquinia, Photo Credit: Amalia Spiliakou, April 2025

Where is the tomb located, and what is the archaeological context of the Monterozzi Cemetery? The tomb lies within the Monterozzi Cemetery (Necropoli dei Monterozzi), a vast archaeological site in Tarquinia, central Italy. This necropolis contains over 6,000 tombs, many carved into the tufa rock, and more than 200 adorned with frescoes. Together, they form one of the richest sources of information about Etruscan society, illustrating how the elite commemorated their dead with elaborate architecture and vivid art reflecting social life, music, and ritual.

When was the tomb created, and what does its art tell us about that historical period? Dating to the early 6th century BC, the Tomb of the Jugglers belongs to the Archaic period of Etruscan art, when Greek influence began blending with local traditions. The movement, color, and rhythm in the frescoes reveal an evolving artistic language, one focused on human emotion, daily life, and communal festivity rather than myth alone. It reflects a society confident in its identity and in harmony with the pleasures of living.

Who were the Etruscans, and how did their beliefs shape tomb art like this? The Etruscans were a sophisticated pre-Roman civilization that flourished in central Italy from the 9th to the 3rd centuries BC. Their religion emphasized the continuity between earthly and spiritual life, and tombs were designed as eternal homes for the soul. The imagery of feasting, dancing, and games symbolized not mourning, but rebirth and ongoing celebration in the afterlife, a vision beautifully embodied in the Tomb of the Jugglers.

What scenes are depicted on the tomb’s walls, and what might they symbolize? The walls of the Tomb of the Jugglers depict funeral games and performances in honor of the deceased. These include scenes of dancers, jugglers, musicians (like a flautist and syrinx player), and even more unusual or symbolic figures such as a defecating man—interpreted as an apotropaic (protective) image meant to ward off evil. The central figure, likely the deceased himself, is shown seated in a position of honor, watching these performances. Symbolically, the scenes represent the celebration of life and the continuation of social status after death. The games and entertainment not only honor the deceased but also reflect Etruscan beliefs in a lively afterlife where joy, music, and acrobatics accompanied the soul beyond the grave.

Detail of jugglers and musicians in the Etruscan Tomb of the Jugglers, 6th century BC
Etruscan Tomb of the Jugglers, 510 BC,Necropoli dei Monterozzi, near Tarquinia, Lazio, Italy – Photo Credit: Amalia Spiliakou, April 2025
Painted figures from the Tomb of the Jugglers showing movement and performance, Tarquinia
Etruscan Tomb of the Jugglers, 510 BC,Necropoli dei Monterozzi, near Tarquinia, Lazio, Italy – Photo Credit: Amalia Spiliakou, April 2025

How were the frescoes made, and what techniques reveal the Etruscans’ artistic skill? Etruscan artists applied natural pigments directly onto fresh plaster in a method similar to true fresco, allowing the colors to bond with the wall surface. Earth tones of red, black, yellow, and white were carefully layered to create depth and motion. Despite their age, the figures remain remarkably expressive, evidence of the painters’ ability to convey rhythm and vitality through minimal, confident brushwork.

Why does the Tomb of the Jugglers still captivate visitors today? To stand before these ancient paintings is to witness the enduring human desire to celebrate life, even in the face of death. The Tomb of the Jugglers captivates not only for its artistry but for its message, a belief that joy, community, and creativity transcend mortality. Seeing the lively gestures of those figures firsthand reminds us that across millennia, the language of movement and festivity still speaks clearly to the living.

Visiting the Tomb of the Jugglers in Tarquinia is more than an encounter with ancient art, it is a meeting with a worldview that valued beauty, vitality, and continuity. Standing before its frescoes, one senses that the Etruscans sought not to escape death but to honor life through it, transforming their tombs into spaces of movement and celebration. The vivid dancers and jugglers painted over 2,500 years ago still perform their timeless ritual, reminding us that joy and creativity are among humanity’s most enduring legacies. For modern visitors, the experience is both scholarly and deeply human, a bridge between past and present, painted in rhythm and color.

For a PowerPoint Presentation of the Etruscan Tomb of the Jugglers, please… Click HERE!

If you’re interested in related Etruscan tomb painting, you may also enjoy my post on the Tomb of Hunting and Fishing… https://www.teachercurator.com/uncategorized/tomb-of-hunting-and-fishing/

Bibliography: https://tarquiniaturismo.com/tomb-of-the-jugglers/?lang=en and https://archaeology.brown.edu/native-publications/tomba-delle-leonesse-and-tomba-dei-giocolieri-tarquinia and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KkvNlESHNE

IVLIA BELLA

by 15th century Italian Renaissance ArtArtItalian Renaissance ArtRenaissanceRenaissance ArtStudent ActivitiesUncategorizedWorksheets
Iulia Bella plate, Faenza, end of 15th – beginning of 16th cent., Maiolica, Diameter: 28.2 cm, International Ceramics Museum in Faenza, Italy – Photo Credit: Amalia Spiliakou, April 2025

The IVLIA BELLA plate, housed at the Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche in Faenza, stands as a luminous example of early Renaissance maiolica and the city’s mastery of ceramic portraiture. Crafted in the late 15th or early 16th century, the plate portrays the bust of a refined young woman in profile—her name, “Iulia Bella,” inscribed gracefully on a scroll behind her. This delicate work reflects a pivotal cultural shift in Faenza’s ceramic tradition, as artists moved away from Gothic and Oriental motifs toward the celebration of human beauty and individuality. With its elegant design and rich symbolism of love and virtue, the IVLIA BELLA plate captures both the artistry and humanism that defined the Italian Renaissance.

Let’s explore the ‘who’, ‘where’, when’, ‘why’ and ‘what’ of the amazing Majolica Plate of IVLIA BELLA in theInternational Museum of Ceramics in Faenzaby posing some questions!

Who was Iulia Bella? While her exact identity remains unknown, “Iulia Bella” likely represents a young bride or an idealized figure of feminine beauty. The name inscription personalizes the plate, suggesting it may have been commissioned to celebrate marriage, virtue, or social status, reflecting Renaissance ideals of elegance and moral refinement.

What artistic techniques make this plate stand out? The plate exemplifies Faenza maiolica through its tin-glazed surface, vibrant enamel colors, and finely painted portrait in profile. The careful rendering of her hairstyle, damask dress, and the inscribed scroll demonstrates a mastery of detail and the shift from decorative patterns to human-centered imagery.

When and in what cultural context was it created? Created in the late 15th or early 16th century, the plate emerges during the Italian Renaissance, when Faenza workshops transitioned from Gothic and Oriental motifs toward portraits and figurative art. This period emphasized humanism, individuality, and the celebration of beauty in daily life.

Where would the plate have been displayed? Such plates were likely display items rather than functional tableware, placed in domestic interiors or marriage chambers to be admired. Their role was both decorative and symbolic, showcasing refinement, wealth, and cultural sophistication.

Why were ceramics chosen for commemorative or amatory portraits? Ceramics offered a durable, portable, and visually striking medium for personal or commemorative imagery. A painted plate like IVLIA BELLA combined practical elegance with social signaling, allowing patrons to celebrate beauty, virtue, and status within the home in a tangible, everyday object.

Why is the International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza considered an important institution in the world of ceramic art and history? The International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza is considered one of the most important institutions in the world of ceramic art and history due to its vast and diverse collection, its historical significance, and its role in preserving and promoting ceramic heritage. Founded in 1908, the museum houses work from ancient civilizations to contemporary ceramic art, representing cultures from across the globe. It is especially renowned for its comprehensive display of Italian Majolica, with masterpieces from key production centers like Faenza, Deruta, and Urbino. The museum also serves as a vital center for research, education, and innovation in ceramics, hosting exhibitions, workshops, and scholarly initiatives. Its presence in Faenza, a city with centuries-old ceramic traditions, further cements its role as a guardian of both local craftsmanship and international ceramic excellence.

For a Student Activity inspired by the Faenza Plate of Iulia Bella, please… Click HERE!

Bibliography: https://www.micfaenza.org/en/opera/iulia-bella-plate/ and https://lauramorelli.com/ceramics-faenza/  

Boat Fresco of Orchomenos

by Ancient Greek ArtArchaeologyArtGreek ArtMycenaean ArtStudent ActivitiesWorksheets
Wall Paintings from the Mycenaean Palace of Boeotian Orchomenos, Late Bronze Age, 13th century BC, Archaeological Museum of Thebes, Greece – Photo credit: Amalia Spiliakou, February 19, 2024

Among the fragmentary remains of the Mycenaean palace at Orchomenos, a wall painting depicting a long, narrow oared vessel offers a rare glimpse into how the rulers of Late Bronze Age Boeotia envisioned their relationship with the sea. Known as the Boat Fresco of Orchomenos, this work, now reconstructed and displayed in the Archaeological Museum of Thebes, dates to the 13th century BC, when the Mycenaean palatial system reached its zenith. Though only scattered plaster fragments survive, they reveal a striking image: a ship manned by seated oarsmen and guided by a standing helmsman at the stern. In its quiet precision and rhythm, this miniature seascape reflects a world where mastery over movement, of ships, people, and power, defined the essence of kingship.

The palace of Orchomenos stood on a low hill overlooking the fertile Boeotian plain. Excavations revealed storerooms, painted architectural façades, and fragments of richly colored wall paintings that once adorned audience halls. According to Th. Spyropoulos’s study in Mycenaean Wall Painting in Context (2015), the ship fragment formed part of a larger scene that may have included city walls and armed figures, a coastal tableau echoing Mycenaean concerns with both defense and seafaring. The linear precision of the hull and the rhythmic placement of the oars evoke balance and order, qualities also prized in palatial architecture and administration.

Wall Painting from the Mycenaean Palace of Boeotian Orchomenos, Late Bronze Age, 13th century BC, Archaeological Museum of Thebes, Greece – Photo credit: Amalia Spiliakou, February 19, 2024

In artistic terms, the Orchomenos fresco belongs to the same tradition as other Mycenaean depictions of ships, most famously the ‘naval scene’ from the Palace of Nestor at Pylos. The Pylos fresco, excavated in Hall 64, portrays a fleet of long, low ships navigating stylized waves filled with fish and dolphins. Both works share conventions such as the gently curving hull, rhythmic oars, and the figure of a helmsman guiding the vessel. Yet their atmosphere differs markedly. The Pylos composition is expansive and dynamic, ships advance across a vivid seascape, perhaps symbolizing a royal expedition or divine voyage, while the Orchomenos image feels more contained, even austere. Its minimal background and measured geometry create a quieter meditation on order and control rather than the celebration of motion.

Reconstruction of the Mycenaean Fresco of Ships from the Palace of Pylos (Rosemary Robertson, 2013)

This contrast may reflect local identity. Pylos, a coastal kingdom deeply tied to the sea, presented maritime power as spectacle, Orchomenos, though inland, still drew wealth from trade routes linking the Gulf of Euboea and central Greece. Its painters adopted the ship motif not as a literal scene but as a symbol of authority, evidence that the imagery of seafaring had become part of a shared Mycenaean visual vocabulary of kingship. The disciplined rowers and steady helmsman thus mirror the palace’s administrative ideals: hierarchy, cooperation, and the mastery of nature through collective labor.

Because the Orchomenos fragments were recovered out of context, interpretation remains cautious. Some scholars propose a decorative register celebrating the Mycenaean “thalassocracy,” others suggest a ritual or mythic voyage. Whatever the intent, the fresco’s survival, though partial, testifies to the integration of marine imagery into the artistic language of mainland Greece. Like other Mycenaean murals, it transforms daily reality into an emblem of order and power. The Orchomenos ship, with its measured rhythm of oars and its commanding helmsman, evokes a civilization that saw itself as both master of the land and heir to the sea.

Seen today in its reconstructed form, the fresco invites reflection on the fragility of artistic memory. What remains are not complete narratives but fragments, strokes of pigment, broken lines, that nonetheless preserve the pulse of the Bronze Age imagination. In those traces, the Mycenaean boat continues its journey across time, carrying with it echoes of labor, leadership, and the enduring allure of the sea.

For a Student Activity inspired by the Orchomenos fresco of a Boat, please… Click HERE!

Bibliography: Spyropoulos, Th. “Wall Paintings from the Mycenaean Palace of Boeotian Orchomenos.” In Mycenaean Wall Painting in Context: New Discoveries, Old Finds Reconsidered, eds. H. Brecoulaki, J. L. Davis & S. R. Stocker. Athens: National Hellenic Research Foundation, 2015, and Archaeological Museum of Thebes, permanent collection panels on wall paintings from Orchomenos (museum text, 2016). https://aristomenismessinios.blogspot.com/2020/04/an-unprecedented-navalscene-from-pylos.html and https://greek-museums.tumblr.com/post/149758810301/archaeological-museum-of-thebes-wall-paintings?utm_source=chatgpt.com and https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2016/2016.11.09/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Walter E. Spradbery’s Holly

by 20th century ArtArtArt of the United KingdomPowerpoints
Artist: Walter E. Spradbery, English, 1889–1969
Issued by: Underground Electric Railways Company of London Ltd
Holly, 1936, Small format Poster, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1023797/holly-poster-spradbery-walter-e/

Walter E. Spradbery’s Holly is a vibrant 1936 linocut poster commissioned by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London Ltd., embodying the festive spirit of Christmas while promoting travel on the London Underground. The artwork blends traditional holiday imagery, holly leaves, red berries, and a robin, with bold Art Deco typography and modern design sensibilities. Spradbery’s masterful use of color and composition not only celebrates seasonal joy but also reflects the company’s commitment to combining art and public transport, turning everyday journeys into opportunities for cultural enrichment.

Spradbery was an English artist, designer, and poet best known for his work as a poster artist during the early to mid-20th century. Born in London, he studied at the Walthamstow School of Art and later taught there, becoming a key figure in promoting art and design education. Spradbery served in the First World War as an official war artist, where his experiences deeply influenced his artistic outlook, emphasizing themes of resilience and beauty amid adversity. After the war, he continued to work prolifically as an illustrator, muralist, and printmaker, developing a distinctive style rooted in linocut printing and strong design principles.

Spradbery’s collaboration with major British transport companies, including the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER), Southern Railway, and London Transport (LT), played a central role in his career. His posters were part of a broader movement to use fine art to promote public travel, encouraging leisure and exploration through visually compelling imagery. For the LNER and Southern Railway, he created scenes that celebrated the beauty of the British landscape, inviting passengers to discover the countryside and coastlines by rail. For London Transport, Spradbery designed posters that combined practical information with artistic flair, often highlighting seasonal themes, gardens, and historical landmarks, thereby helping to shape the visual identity of public transport in the interwar period.

Aesthetically, Spradbery’s work is characterized by bold composition, rhythmic linework, and vibrant color contrasts, often achieved through his skilled use of the linocut technique. His designs fuse natural motifs, trees, flowers, birds, and architectural forms, with modern graphic design principles, creating images that feel both decorative and dynamic. Influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement and early modernism, Spradbery’s posters convey a sense of optimism and harmony between nature, art, and modern life. His works, including Holly, embody a timeless appeal, blending craftsmanship with a democratic vision of art accessible to the public through everyday encounters in stations and trains.

In his 1936 poster Holly, issued for the Underground Electric Railways Company of London Ltd., Walter E. Spradbery transforms a familiar seasonal motif into a striking graphic composition. Set against the stylised red ‘O’ of London Underground’s iconic roundel, a vibrant sprig of holly with lush green leaves and bright red berries encircles a singing robin at its centre. The design is executed as a bold linocut and retains the crisp simplicity of the technique, offering clear, high-contrast shapes and limited colour fields that draw the eye in. With the text ‘HOLLY CHRISTMAS GREETINGS TO ALL TRAVELLERS’ the poster functions both as a festive greeting and a visual invitation to travel, merging holiday cheer with the everyday mobility of London’s transport system. The piece is emblematic of Spradbery’s ability to unite artistic elegance with commercial purpose, turning a public-transport poster into an object of design worth preserving.

As December’s ‘Plant of the Month,’ Holly stands as a timeless symbol of resilience, renewal, and festive cheer, its evergreen leaves and bright red berries capturing the spirit of the season, Walter E. Spradbery’s Holly beautifully encapsulates these associations, blending art, nature, and celebration into a single uplifting image. Just as his 1936 poster wished ‘greetings to all travellers,’ we too can carry forward that message of warmth and goodwill. May this December bring you peace, creativity, and joy as we journey together into the festive season and the promise of a new year.

For a PowerPoint Presentation on Walter E. Spradbery’s oeuvre, please… Check HERE!

Bibliography: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1023797/holly-poster-spradbery-walter-e/ and https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/stories/design/walter-ernest-spradbery-artist-war-and-peace

Thanksgiving by Doris Lee

by 20th century ArtAmerican ArtArtPowerpoints
Doris Lee, American Artist, 1905–1983
Thanksgiving, c. 1935, Oil on Canvas, 71.3×101.8 cm, The Art Institute of Chicago, USA
https://www.artic.edu/artworks/21727/thanksgiving

As Thanksgiving 2025 arrives, we find ourselves drawn to the timeless spirit captured in Doris Lee’s Thanksgiving, a scene brimming with bustling energy, warmth, and the quiet poetry of togetherness. In her painting, every gesture, every swirl of flour, becomes an act of love and gratitude, reminding us that celebration lives in the small, shared moments of preparation and care. As we gather around our own tables this year, we can reflect on that same sense of unity and joy, where the heart of the holiday lies not in perfection, but in presence: Laughter warms the room, / Flour dusts the afternoon light / Hands share simple joy. Let’s explore 5 interesting Facts about Thanksgiving by Doris Lee

1. Created in 1935
Doris Lee painted Thanksgiving in 1935, a period marked by the Great Depression’s widespread economic hardship. During this era, many American artists turned their focus toward scenes of everyday life as a source of comfort and cultural pride. Lee’s choice to depict an ordinary family preparing for a holiday meal reflected a longing for stability, community, and tradition at a time when many families faced uncertainty. Her vibrant composition and affectionate portrayal of domestic bustle offered a hopeful vision of togetherness amidst national struggle.

2. Award-Winning Work
When Thanksgiving debuted at the Art Institute of Chicago’s annual exhibition in 1935, it won the Logan Purchase Prize, one of the most prestigious art awards in the country at the time. This recognition instantly elevated Lee’s reputation and placed her among the leading figures of American art in the 1930s. The award not only validated her artistic vision but also helped establish her as a key voice within the American Scene movement, especially as a woman artist working in a field still dominated by men.

3. Depiction of Domestic Life
Lee’s painting captures a bustling kitchen filled with figures engaged in the joyful chaos of preparing a holiday meal. From kneading dough to stirring pots, each gesture contributes to the communal energy that defines the scene. Unlike traditional depictions of idealized domestic order, Lee celebrates the humor and humanity of family life, the mess, the chatter, and the warmth. Her portrayal honors the often-overlooked labor and connection that make such gatherings meaningful, emphasizing the beauty of ordinary moments shared across generations.

4. American Scene Painting
Thanksgiving exemplifies the ideals of the American Scene, or Regionalist, art movement, which flourished during the 1930s and 1940s. Artists within this movement sought to depict familiar aspects of American life, rural communities, small-town events, and domestic rituals, as a form of cultural storytelling. In contrast to the abstract modernism emerging in Europe, artists like Lee, Grant Wood, and Thomas Hart Benton focused on accessible, narrative-based imagery. Lee’s work, with its charm and human touch, captures both the visual texture and emotional spirit of an America rooted in shared traditions.

5. Controversial Yet Beloved
When first exhibited, Thanksgiving sparked mixed reactions. While audiences were enchanted by its warmth and liveliness, some critics dismissed it as overly sentimental or “naïve.” However, over time, the very qualities that drew criticism, its sincerity, humor, and sense of community, became the reasons it endured as a beloved work of art. Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated as one of Doris Lee’s masterpieces, representing her ability to find artistry in everyday life and to portray the American experience with both honesty and affection.

Doris Lee (1905–1983) was an influential American painter best known for her warm, narrative depictions of everyday life. Born in Aledo, Illinois, she studied art at Rockford College and later in Paris, where she absorbed elements of modern European styles before developing her own distinctly American approach. Lee rose to prominence in the 1930s, particularly after winning the Logan Purchase Prize for her painting Thanksgiving in 1935. Her work reflected the ideals of the American Scene movement, celebrating domestic life, rural traditions, and community spirit with a touch of humor and affection. Throughout her career, Lee’s art evolved from detailed representational scenes to more stylized, colorful compositions influenced by folk art and modernism. She remained an active and respected artist for decades, capturing with grace and warmth the rhythms of ordinary American life.

For a PowerPoint Presentation of Doris Lee oeuvre, please… Check HERE!

Bibliography: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/21727/thanksgiving

Andrea della Robbia’s tender Portrait of a Child

by 15th century Art15th century Italian Renaissance ArtArtItalian Renaissance ArtPowerpointsRenaissanceRenaissance ArtSculpture
Andrea Della Robbia, 1435-1525
Portrait of a Child, ca 1475 – ca 1480, Glazed Terracotta, Height: 34 cm, National Museum of Bargello, Florence, Italy – Photo Credit: Amalia Spiliakou, April 2025

To mark UN World Children’s Day on November 20, a celebration of children’s rights and their place at the heart of our shared humanity, it feels fitting to turn our attention to Andrea della Robbia’s tender Portrait of a Child, housed in Florence’s Bargello Museum. Crafted in the late 15th century, this glazed terracotta bust captures the purity and quiet dignity of childhood with remarkable grace. Della Robbia’s mastery of the terracotta invetriata technique lends the work its luminous surface and soft, lifelike expression, qualities that make the child’s gentle gaze as moving today as it was five centuries ago. This piece serves as both an artistic treasure and a timeless reminder of innocence, compassion, and the enduring importance of nurturing the young. https://www.un.org/en/observances/world-childrens-day

Andrea della Robbia (1435–1525) was a prominent Florentine sculptor and a key figure in the celebrated Della Robbia family workshop, renowned for its innovative glazed terracotta sculptures. The nephew of Luca della Robbia, who first perfected the family’s distinctive enamel technique, Andrea inherited both the workshop and his uncle’s passion for combining sculpture with color. Working in Renaissance Florence during a period of extraordinary artistic flourishing, he produced devotional works, portraits, and architectural reliefs that blended religious feeling with human warmth. His works adorned churches, hospitals, and cloisters throughout Tuscany, where his serene Madonnas and angelic figures became beloved symbols of faith and tenderness.

Andrea della Robbia’s artistic legacy lies in his refinement of the terracotta invetriata technique, a process that coated clay sculptures with brightly colored, tin-based glazes to achieve both durability and visual brilliance. This innovation, first pioneered by his uncle Luca, was transformed under Andrea’s hand into a sophisticated artistic language that united practicality, beauty, and devotion. His mastery of color and form allowed him to create works that combined the sculptural depth of relief with the vibrancy of painting, resulting in pieces that glowed with a sense of divine light. The luminous surfaces of his sculptures not only protected them from weathering but also made them accessible to a broader audience, adorning churches, hospitals, and civic spaces across Tuscany. Beyond technical achievement, Andrea infused his figures with spiritual purity and emotional tenderness, particularly visible in his serene Madonnas and the famous swaddled infants of the Ospedale degli Innocenti. Through his craftsmanship and sensitivity, he elevated glazed terracotta into one of the Renaissance’s most distinctive and enduring expressions of faith, compassion, and artistic innovation.

Designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, 1377-1446
Spedale degli Innocenti, Construction: 1417-1436 – Inauguration: 1445, Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, Florence, Italy https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spedale_degli_Innocenti
Andrea della Robbia, 1435-1525
Infant in Swaddling Clothes, 1487, Glazed Terracotta, Diameter about 100 cm, Ospedale degli Innocenti, Piazza della Santissima Annunziata, Florence, Italy https://smarthistory.org/andrea-della-robbia-bambini-ospedale-degli-innocenti/

Andrea della Robbia’s Head of a Boy, housed in the Bargello Museum in Florence, is a finely modeled glazed terracotta bust that captures the quiet grace and innocence of childhood. The sculpture portrays a young boy with softly curling hair, serene features, and a gentle, introspective expression. His head is slightly turned, lending the figure a sense of naturalism and presence, while the delicate modeling of the lips and eyes reflects Andrea’s remarkable sensitivity to human emotion. The figure’s clothing, rendered in vivid blue and green glazes, contrasts beautifully with the pure white of the face, emphasizing both the luminosity and purity that the invetriata technique made possible. This harmony of color and form, combined with the lifelike modeling, embodies the Renaissance ideal of blending spiritual serenity with human warmth. The piece radiates quiet dignity and emotional restraint, standing as a testament to Andrea della Robbia’s gift for transforming humble terracotta into art of transcendent beauty.

For a PowerPoint Presentation of Andrea della Robbia’s oeuvre, please… Check HERE!

For more information on Andrea della Robbia’s contribution to the Florentine Ospedale degli Innocenti, please visit the Teacher Curator’s Blog Post… https://www.teachercurator.com/art/spedale-degli-innocenti-in-florence/

Bibliography: https://catalogo.beniculturali.it/detail/HistoricOrArtisticProperty/0900383750 and https://wahooart.com/en/artists/andrea-della-robbia-en/ and chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.nga.gov/sites/default/files/2025-06/exhibition-della-robbia.pdf

Bridges of Light

by 19th century ArtAmerican ArtArtJapanese ArtPowerpoints
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, American, 1834-1903
Nocturne in Blue and Gold: Old Battersea Bridge, 1872, Oil on canvas, 66,6×50,2 cm, TATE Gallery, UK
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/whistler-nocturne-blue-and-gold-old-battersea-bridge-n01959
Utagawa Hiroshige, Japanese,1797-1858
Bamboo Yards, Kyōbashi Bridge (12th Month, 1857), from the series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, ca. 1856–58, Color woodblock print, 36×24.1 cm, The Art Institute, Chicago, USA
https://www.artic.edu/artworks/26522/fireworks-at-ry%C5%8Dgoku-ry%C5%8Dgoku-hanabi-from-the-series-one-hundred-famous-views-of-edo-meisho-edo-hyakkei

Bridges of Light – they often symbolize connection between places, people, or moments in time. In art, they also link the visible world to the realm of mood and imagination. Two works from opposite sides of the globe, James McNeill Whistler’s Nocturne in Blue and Gold: Old Battersea Bridge (1872–75) and Utagawa Hiroshige’s Bamboo Yards, Kyōbashi Bridge (1857), both turn the humble bridge into something poetic and transcendent. Though separated by culture, medium, and intention, they share an atmospheric stillness that invites reflection on light, water, and the human gaze.

James McNeill Whistler’s Nocturne in Blue and Gold: Old Battersea Bridge captures London at night as a mysterious symphony of blue and shadow. Painted around 1872, this oil on canvas is part of Whistler’s celebrated “Nocturne” series, works that sought to translate the visual world into the language of music.

The scene is minimal: a great wooden bridge looms above the Thames, faint figures hover on its span, fireworks flicker faintly in the distance. Yet what dominates is not the structure, but the atmosphere, a veil of misty blue punctuated by golden glimmers. Whistler strips away narrative detail, emphasizing mood over subject. His soft brushwork and tonal harmony evoke a world on the edge of visibility, where city lights dissolve into the haze.

At the time, such abstraction was revolutionary. Critics like John Ruskin accused Whistler of “flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face,” prompting a famous libel trial. Yet today, this painting stands as a precursor to modernism, an early exploration of how color and composition can convey emotion without storytelling. Whistler’s bridge is not merely an urban landmark, it’s a threshold between reality and reverie.

Two decades earlier and half a world away, Utagawa Hiroshige portrayed another bridge, Kyōbashi, in the bustling city of Edo (modern Tokyo). His Bamboo Yards, Kyōbashi Bridge (12th Month, 1857) is one print from the masterful series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, now in the Brooklyn Museum’s collection.

In this woodblock print, Hiroshige depicts a tranquil night scene: a full moon floats above a canal, wooden boats drift silently, and stacked bamboo poles line the riverbank. The bridge arches gently across the upper plane, connecting neighborhoods as the water reflects the glow of the winter sky. The composition is crisp and balanced, geometric lines meet fluid curves, and the print’s limited palette of cool blues and pale whites creates a luminous serenity.

Unlike Whistler’s subjective haze, Hiroshige’s clarity celebrates the harmony between city and nature. His mastery of linear perspective and color gradation (bokashi) guides the viewer’s eye into the depth of Edo’s nocturnal calm. The work belongs to the ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”) tradition, art that captured fleeting, beautiful moments of everyday life. Yet even here, amid bamboo yards and bridges, Hiroshige evokes something timeless: the poetry of stillness.

Though born of different worlds, Meiji-era Japan and industrial London, both works share an extraordinary sensitivity to atmosphere and light. Whistler’s oil painting and Hiroshige’s woodblock print each transform an urban bridge into a site of contemplation.

Whistler’s Nocturne immerses us in ambiguity and mood. His blues blur edges and forms, inviting emotion over clarity. Hiroshige’s Kyōbashi Bridge, by contrast, sharpens detail within calm order. Yet both convey the quiet beauty of the city at rest, a pause between day and night, motion and stillness.

There is also an intriguing link between the two artists. Western painters like Whistler were profoundly influenced by Japanese art during the late 19th century, a movement known as Japonisme. Whistler himself admired Hiroshige’s prints and adopted their compositional daring: asymmetry, flattened perspective, and the focus on atmospheric tone. In a sense, Whistler’s London nocturne owes a debt to the poetic precision of Edo’s floating world.

In both images, light and water serve as mirrors, literal and symbolic. Hiroshige’s canal reflects the moon’s glow, while Whistler’s Thames glimmers with distant sparks. Each artist invites us to linger in that reflection, to sense the beauty that lies between visibility and suggestion.

The choice of medium also shapes the experience. Hiroshige’s woodblock print, with its clean contours and delicate color transitions, feels crafted, meditative, and reproducible, designed for an audience that cherished everyday beauty. Whistler’s oil painting, on the other hand, is singular and subjective, the result of layered pigment and a painter’s improvisation. Both reveal how material and method can express different kinds of intimacy with the world.

Bridges are not only physical crossings but metaphors for transition, between places, cultures, or even states of mind. In Nocturne in Blue and Gold, Whistler transforms London’s industrial river into a space of mood and mystery. In Bamboo Yards, Kyōbashi Bridge, Hiroshige turns Edo’s night into a vision of harmony and calm.

Viewed together, these two works form a quiet dialogue across continents. One whispers through mist, the other gleams under moonlight, yet both remind us that art’s greatest power lies in its ability to make the familiar shimmer anew.

For a PowerPoint Presentation on James McNeill Whistler’s art and Ukiyo-e Japanese Prints, please… Check HERE!

Bibliography: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/whistler-nocturne-blue-and-gold-old-battersea-bridge-n01959 and https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/objects/121690

Funerary Stele of Alexibola

by Ancient Greek ArtArchaeologyArtEducationGreek ArtHellenistic ArtPowerpointsSculpture
Alexibola: Funerary Stele with Scene of Greeting, early 3rd century BC, Marble, Archaeological Museum of Thera, Greece
https://www.ias.edu/ideas/2017/chaniotis-world-of-emotions

Among the treasures of the Archaeological Museum of Thera, the Funerary Stele of Alexibola stands out as a moving testament to the emotional depth of Classical Greek art. Carved in marble in the early 3rd century BC, the relief depicts Alexibola, the deceased, standing before a seated older man, probably her father, as they exchange a final, tender farewell. The woman’s gesture, gently touching the man’s beard, is met by his reciprocal touch on her arm, creating a moment of quiet intimacy and profound affection. Their calm expressions and composed postures convey sorrow and love without excess, embodying the Greek ideal of dignity even in grief.

Displayed in the acclaimed 2017 exhibition “A World of Emotions: Greece, 700 BC–AD 200” (Onassis Cultural Center, New York; Acropolis Museum, Athens), this stele beautifully illustrates how emotion was central to Greek experience. As curator Angelos Chaniotis observed, emotions shaped Greek culture no less than reason. The stele of Alexibola reveals how artists of the Classical world captured not only the likeness of individuals but also the enduring human capacity for feeling, transforming private loss into timeless art.

Funerary stelae held a vital place in ancient Greek art, serving as both commemorations of the dead and reflections of deeply personal emotion within a public setting. These marble reliefs, often depicting the deceased in moments of quiet interaction with loved ones, reveal how the Greeks balanced restraint and feeling, translating private grief into graceful, idealized form. Rather than dramatic displays of sorrow, they communicate emotion through subtle gestures: a clasped hand, a downward gaze, or a tender touch. The Stele of Alexibola exemplifies this tradition perfectly, its depiction of a final farewell between a daughter and her father transforms the pain of parting into a timeless image of love, respect, and composure. Through such works, Greek artists gave emotional depth to stone, reminding viewers that even in death, the bonds of human affection endure.

The Funerary Stele of Alexibola was discovered on the Cycladic island of Thera, modern Santorini, an island that has long held a significant place in the history of Greek art and culture. Thera was a thriving center of Aegean civilization, strategically located between Crete and mainland Greece, and its artistic legacy reflects this blend of influences. From the vivid frescoes of the prehistoric settlement at Akrotiri, which reveal a sophisticated visual culture rivaling that of Minoan Crete, to later Classical and Hellenistic sculptures such as the stele of Alexibola, Thera demonstrates the island’s continuous engagement with the broader artistic currents of the Greek world. The stele itself embodies the island’s role as both participant in and preserver of Greek aesthetic value, melding technical mastery with emotional subtlety, and reminding us that even on this volcanic outpost, art served as a bridge between personal memory and collective tradition.

Alexibola: Funerary Stele with Scene of Greeting, early 3rd century BC, Marble, Archaeological Museum of Thera, Greece
https://www.greece-is.com/millennia-tour-santorini-ages/

Today, the Funerary Stele of Alexibola continues to speak across millennia, its message as clear and touching as when it was first carved. In its quiet grace, we recognize the timeless human emotions of love, loss, and remembrance, feelings that unite us with those who lived and grieved long ago. The simplicity of the figures, their tender gestures, and the dignified calm of their farewell remind us that art can express what words often cannot. Through Alexibola’s parting moment with her father, we are invited into an intimate world where ancient stone becomes a vessel for enduring emotion, proving that even in silence, the human heart has always sought connection, beauty, and meaning.

For a PowerPoint Presentation of important ancient Greek Funerary Stele, please… Check HERE!

Bibliography: https://www.ias.edu/ideas/2017/chaniotis-world-of-emotions

More Posts on ancient Greek Funerary Stele by Teacher Curator… https://www.teachercurator.com/art/hegeso-daughter-of-proxenos/ and https://www.teachercurator.com/ancient-greek-art/telling-us-goodbye/ and https://www.teachercurator.com/ancient-greek-art/grave-stele-of-a-youth-and-a-little-girl/