Gardner, Helen: Art through the ages: an introduction to its history and significance (London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd., 1927)

8o

MINOAN PERIOD

painting, the flat tones serve the purpose o£ decoration, still the
youth standing so erect, with shoulders thrown far back, is not
cold, formal, and conventional, like the Egyptian, but full of
life and keenly conscious of the pride of his race and the nobility
of the ceremony that he is performing.
The Bull-fighting Scene (Pl. 17 a) already described shows how


Fig. 50. Fragment of a Tomb Ceiling. Carved green
schist. Orchomenos. (Journal Hellenic Studies')

well these painters
could represent a
dramatic moment,
for the spirit of the
incident is shown
with remarkable
vivacity. This
quality we observe
in scenes from na-
ture which also
served as subjects
for wall decoration.
The Flying Fish
Fresco (Pl. 17 c), in
which winged fish
with rhythmic
movement are dart-
ing through the
water among the
rocks and sea plants,
is full of naturalness
and spontaneity. It
appears to be hastily
sketched, the rapid
strokes showing a
restlessness as if the

artist was eager to finish his work and turn to something new;
still that very quality gives the painting a feeling of freshness
and vitality.

SCULPTURE
Of sculpture on a large scale, very little has survived, the
notable exception being the Lion Gate at Mycenae (Pl. 2.5 b).
The triangular space left by the corbeled arch over the great lintel
is filled with a slab on which are carved, in high relief, two lions,
standing in a balanced position on either side of a shaft, on the
base of which they rest their forepaws. Holes near the top indi-