Horatio at the Bridge – 508 b.C. |
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Then out spake brave Horatius,?The Captain of the Gate:?"To every man upon this earth?Death cometh soon or late.?And how can man die better?Than facing fearful odds,?For the ashes of his fathers,?And the temples of his Gods." Horatius Cocles (meaning “one-eyed”) is a mythical roman hero dating from VI century BC. His brother was Marcus Horatio Pulvillus (Consul in 509 b.C.). The tradition wants them the descendants of the three legendary Horatii brothers, who saved Rome during the war with Alba Longa in VII century BC.
Horatius Cocles and the defense of the Sublicium bridge is most probably a legend, hence there are no historical sources available and over the centuries it has been represented in portraits and paintings in several ways and with different armors and weapons, often not appropriate for the century when the myth took place. Indeed, if we want to place this event in its real historical context, we have use the weapons and armors in use in the VI century BC or what is called the “Oplitic Panoply”, with some minor differences between Roman and Etruscan armies. The colors used for the Etruscan clothes, armor and shields are historically accurate colors used in that period by the Etruscan: natural earths and ochers. Moreover I chose colors that could provide a strong contrast with the colors used for the miniature of Horatio, in order to evidence the Roman hero. The colors I chose for Horatius dressing are based on a painted terracotta body of an Amazon from the pediment of a temple on the esquiline hill in Rome. Also the elements reproduced on the Roman and Etruscan shields have been accurately chosen. A big project, 200 hours work, most of the elements of the scene have been manually crafted: the bridge, the water, the river bank, some of the soldiers, some of the weapons and shields. Most of the figures have been modified to adapt to the scene (Horatio and the romans destroying the bridge, a couple of etruscan warriors) changing heads, shields and bending arms and legs). Hope you like it! |
Ultimo aggiornamento Domenica 02 Febbraio 2020 09:47 |