summer haiku – nothing is fairer = rien n'est plus bellenothing is fairer than the vermilion rose than her blush rien n'est plus belle que la rose vermeille que son éclat Richard Vallance photo Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vermilion_Rose_PIC00007.JPG
Tag Archive: colour
summer haiku – the rainbow = l'arc-en-cielthe rainbow hues he brushes on secrets of his soul il est si zébré de l'arc-en-ciel où l'âme se cache Richard Vallance photo public domain
autumn haiku – a twirling leaf = une feuille qui tournoiea twirling leaf alights on my hand – colour sonata une feuille qui tournoie so pose dans ma main – sonate de couleurs una foglia rossa sulla mia mano - sonata di colore Richard Vallance
autumn haiku d’automne – the autumn breeze = la brise d’automne the autumn breeze vanishes – snowflakesla brise d’automne disparaît – flocons de neige Richard Vallance photo © by/ par Richard Vallance 2017
senryu – oceans of colour = océans de couleurs sorcerer moon through my photo’s filter – oceans of colourocéans de couleurs dans le filtre photo lune ensorcelante Richard Vallance
senryu – your old cat, Renoir = ton vieil chat, Renoir your old cat, Renoir I implore Renoir to sketch in midnight hueston vieil chat, Renoir, Renoir le dessine pour toi en nuances noires Richard Vallance painting, the sleeping cat (1862), by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) peinture, le chat endormi ( 1862 ), par by Pierre-Auguste Renoir ( 1841-1919 )
autumn haiku d’automne – never mind the rain = peu importe la pluie never mind the rain falling on us, fallen leaves – cherish our colourspeu importe la pluie sur nous, les feuilles tombées – chéris nos couleurs Richard Vallance
apple blossoms = pommiers en fleursapple blossoms playing on vision − colour concert pommiers en fleurs jouant à la vision − concert en couleurs Richard Vallance
The Minoan Linear A word, kuruku, almost certainly means “crocus” :
Moreover, it is more likely than not pre-Greek and not proto-Greek. This implies that the Mycenaean Linear A word, kuruku or kuroko, is also pre-Greek.
Nothing surprising there at this point.
The full range of marvelous, rich colours the Minoans at Knossos used on their stunning frescoes!![]()
We notice right away that the colours they had at their disposal ran from various shades of yellows (saffron) and oranges to blues and various shades of purple. The Minoans at Knossos, Pylos, Thera (Thira, Santorini) and elsewhere were unable to reproduce green pigment. This minor drawback had little or no perceptible effect on the splendid results they almost invariably came up with in their breathtaking frescoes, the likes of which were not reproduced anywhere else in the Occidental ancient world, except perhaps by the Romans, especially at Pompeii. The Romans were able to reproduce greens. Two lovely frescoes from Pompeii:
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Beautiful photos of some of the magnificent frescoes at Knossos, taken by Richard while he was there on May 1 2012:![]()
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The lovely soi-disant fresco “Les Parisiennes” (Knossos) original and on papyrus Original Fresco: Click to ENLARGENotice the fresh, white-washed, sun-bleached translucence of the original fresco, even after 3,500 years! My replica of the fresco on papyrus: Click to ENLARGE
Notice the warm earthen colours of the papyrus version. You can also clearly see the texture of the papyrus on my own picture above. Sadly, I dropped it once and tore it and when I put it back together, it came out a bit crooked. But it is still lovely, and that is all the matters. I though to myself, what better way to begin the month of February, when Valentine’s is just 14 days away, right in the middle of the month, and so here you have them. Enjoy them as much as I do. Richard
Minoan Frescoes & the Prevalence of Colour in Linear B Vocabulary (Click to ENLARGE):
Minoan Frescoes & The Prevalence of Colours in Linear B Vocabulary:
Despite the paucity of Linear B vocabulary on extant Mycenaean/Minoan tablets (estimated as some 2,000 words more or less), colours play a predominant rôle. What is so striking about the Linear B vocabulary for colours is its precision and richness. Linear B not only has the standard words for several colours, white, red, purple and black, it even has words for (often highly) unusual variants of the some colours, such as the colour of the yellow water lily (instead of just plain “yellow”); aquamarine (instead of plain “blue”); saffron (from the crocus); crimson, which is directly derived from the Linear B word for “Phoenician”, meaning of course that the colour we know as “crimson” is in actuality, “the Phoenican colour”; “painted/dyed red”, in addition to just plain old red; and “shell purple” as well as “purple”. Shell purple is a gorgeous marbled purple from sea shells. So to summarize, the Minoans were extremely conscious of the power and magnificence of colours, and they sure knew how to “put on the Ritz” in their generous application of them. One look at any single surviving Minoan/Mycenaean fresco speaks volumes to the exquisite taste the Minoans and Mycenaeans had for colour in art, as attested by their absolutely stunning frescoes! Few, if any, civilizations, ancient or modern, have ever attained the heights of brilliant artistry in frescoes as did the Minoans. I for one consider Minoan/Mycenaean frescoes to be far superior to the rather stiff frescoes and iconic art of the early Christian and Medieval churches. But of course I am biased.
Now, one seemingly perplexing question remains. Where is the colour green? The answer is much simpler than you might imagine. In spite of all their talent for producing a dizzying array of lustrous colours on their frescoes, the Minoans – or for that matter – none of the ancients in the Western world at that time – were unable to produce green, which is why all the trees in their frescoes are blue. But we can forgive them for this omission, considering the spectacular and enduring beauty of their frescoes.
In the next post, I will display for your delight and artistic appreciation 2 of the most magnificent frescoes from Knossos, illustrating the highly imaginative application of colours the Minoan artisans lavished on their frescoes. I will tag these frescoes with the colours applied with their Linear B, Greek and English names.
Richard