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Chapter 43 - Mycenaean Painting

from Part VII - Aegean Art of the Mainland Mycenaean Palatial Period

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2022

Jean-Claude Poursat
Translated by
Carl Knappett
Jean-Claude Poursat
Affiliation:
University of Clermont-Ferrand
Carl Knappett
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
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Summary

In imitation of the knossos palace, mainland Mycenaean palaces had wall paintings (Immerwahr 1990; Brecoulaki 2015). It remains unclear whether frescoes also existed in private dwellings. Beyond the palaces, the structures that are decorated are either sanctuaries or buildings directly tied to the palatial system. In total, a dozen sites have produced fresco fragments: in the Argolid, Midea, Mycenae, and Tiryns; in Messenia, Pylos and Iklaina; in Laconia, Haghios Vasileios; in Boeotia, Gla, Orchomenos, and Thebes; and in Attica, Eleusis.

Mycenaean frescoes were known even before those from the palace of Knossos, from the excavations of Mycenae (Rodenwaldt 1921) and Tiryns (Rodenwaldt 1912). Their novelty then paled by comparison with the Minoan frescoes that are more complete and lively.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Art and Archaeology of the Aegean Bronze Age
A History
 , pp. 417 - 431
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

Further Reading

Brecoulaki, 2015: Brecoulaki, H., Davis, J., Stocker, S. eds., Mycenaean Wall-Paintings in Context: New Discoveries and Old Finds Reconsidered, Athens.Google Scholar
Hirsch, 1977: Hirsch, E., Painted Decoration on the Floors of Bronze Age Structures on Crete and the Greek Mainland, Gothenburg.Google Scholar
Immerwahr, 1990: Immerwahr, S., Aegean Painting in the Bronze Age, University Park, PA.Google Scholar
Lang, 1969: Lang, M., The Palace of Nestor at Pylos in Western Messenia, II. The Frescoes, Princeton, NJ.Google Scholar
McCallum, 1987: McCallum, L., Decorative Program in the Mycenaean Palace of Pylos: The Megaron Frescoes, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania.Google Scholar
Morgan, 2005: Morgan, L. ed., Aegean Wall Painting: A Tribute to Mark Cameron, London.Google Scholar
Reusch, 1956: Reusch, H., Die zeichnerische Rekonstruktion des Frauenfrieses im böotischen Theben, Berlin.Google Scholar

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