Some of the strange things seen on the beach, from racing sandyachts in 1608, to mermaids and mermen three centuries later.
Corinth
From trompe l’oeil for sculpture to children making rabbits on the wall, shadows have long been popular, and most recently have featured in Surrealist paintings too.
King of Ithaca, he first feigns madness to dodge going to war against Troy, but then uses his cunning and ingenuity to design the Trojan Horse and conquer the city. Runs into trouble with Polyphemus during the return journey to Ithaca.
The story of Dibutades who painted the outline of her boyfriend’s shadow, leading to early struggles with the optics of cast shadows, their use as cues to depth and shape, and appearance in landscapes. Paintings of shadow play.
To enable Theseus to retrace his steps out of the Labyrinth, Ariadne gives him a ball of thread, in return for which he promises to marry her. Once the couple escape to the island of Naxos, Theseus abandons her and sails back to Athens.
A painting for England’s King Charles I to encourage him to make peace with Spain, left by Rubens in 1630. Its figures make clear the meaning of war, as explained here.
When you see the same face in a mirror that you presume that figure can also see, despite that being optically impossible. An exploration.
Masks as symbols of theatre and drama, in ancient times, from Noh theatre in Japonisme, in masked balls, and in carnivals.
Unusual self-portraits painted using mirrors by Courbet, Corinth, Bonnard, Gentileschi, Peeters, and Velázquez.
Pygmalion painted by Edward Burne-Jones and Gérôme, the painted frieze of the Parthenon, Eakins and the sculptor Rush, Lovis Corinth’s portrait, and a cheeky monkey by Watteau.
The Eclectic Light Company 