Photos of the Wonderful Ancient Minoan Wall Art Fresco

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Photos of the Very Best Beautiful Ancient Minoan Wall Art Painting Fresco Museum Antiquities from the best archaeology museums. Photos by photographer Paul E Williams. (TIP – use the icons below the slideshow for thumbnail photos and info)

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Photos of Ancient Minoan Wall Art Painting Fresco

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Photos of the best Minoan wall art painted frescoes.

Many Minoan frescoes fragments have been found on Crete. The fragments are so small that they require a good deal of imaginative reconstruction. Sometimes only 5% of a reconstructed fresco is original.

Minoan frescoes were influenced by Syrian and Egyptian styles of painting. Of the frescoes that have survived many depict people. The sexes are distinguished by different skin colour that is more extreme than the equivalent in Egyptian frescoes. The men’s skin in Minoan art is reddish-brown, and the women skin tones are almost white.

Minoan Bull Leaper Fresco

Probably the most famous Minoan fresco is the bull-leaping fresco. Other well-known Minoan sections are the female fragment known as La Parisienne (from the “Camp Stool Fresco”), and the Prince of the Lilies (mostly restored), both from Knossos. A fine fresco from Akrotiri is the Boxer Fresco.

Minoan Flat Painting Style

With a very few hints of modelling, the Minoan frescos normally use “flat” pure colours with no shading, blending or attempt to represent form within painted areas.

Many Minoan wall paintings formed friezes set at eye level. Some are set 70–80 cm high above a dado with several painted parallel stripes above and below the images to frame them. Minoan fresco designs usually use large areas of plain colour as background.

All photos can be downloaded as editorial royalty free images. Property Rights belong to the relevant museums.