Saturday, March 24, 2012

charon awaits on the styx (miscellaneous 3)

continuing in this vein...connecting to greek mythology (see charon on wikipedia)

charon awaits on the styx ~ frank waaldijk
charon awaits on the styx (own work, 2011, 30 x 61 cm, click on the image for an enlargement)

(in original greek sources, the river acheron is the river across which charon ferries the dead, but the styx has taken that place in popular perception...and in mine...)

this is also a widely depicted theme in western art history. let me give an example of one of gustave doré's etchings which he made to illustrate dante's divina commedia:

charon herds the sinners onto his boat ~ gustave doré
gustave doré, charon herds the sinners onto his boat (click on the image for an enlargement)

charon on his boat ~ gustave doré
gustave doré, charon on his boat (click on the image for an enlargement)

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