STATEMENT
The world of Ancient Rome, especially the Roman army, has held my fascination since I was a small child. It has only been since 2011, however, that this passion for Ancient Rome has translated into a new visual language to be explored in my painting.
These works celebrate the majesty, colour and beauty of Ancient Roman architecture, ornament, armour and representations of emperors and generals. These are underscored by the archaic and sublime nature of Middle Eastern desert landscapes which have long served as the foundation of my painting and in these works serve as a vast stage for the various Ancient Roman elements.
These works hark back to the grand neoclassical paintings of the 19th century by artists such as Lionel Royer, Henri-Paul Motte, Edwin Blashfield, Jacques-Louis David, Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Jean-Leon Gerome and others. As with these artists’ work I aim to bring an emphasis onto the scope of human history and epic drama as well as detail and dense compositional arrangement. Unlike these artists, however, I do not aim to convey a specific narrative moment but to speak of something broader: the resonance of past lives, relationships, actions and tragedies permeate the supposed emptiness of the desert and lead to a contemplation on the themes of love, hope, loss, isolation, euphoria, tragedy, triumph, melancholy and reflection.
As much as these works celebrate the aforementioned themes so are they a focus on Roman armour and its almost exotic, colourful, highly ornamental quality. There is an immense variety of Roman armour and weapons, coupled with architecture, sculptures and busts that can be utilized to seek to establish interesting compositional arrangements. The range of gleaming and colourful cuirasses, helmets, swords, standards and shields become ornamental objects whose form, compactness, detail and colour contrast with the grittiness, earthy tones and horizontal scope of the desert landscape and become triggers for a range of potential narratives.
The world of Ancient Rome, especially the Roman army, has held my fascination since I was a small child. It has only been since 2011, however, that this passion for Ancient Rome has translated into a new visual language to be explored in my painting.
These works celebrate the majesty, colour and beauty of Ancient Roman architecture, ornament, armour and representations of emperors and generals. These are underscored by the archaic and sublime nature of Middle Eastern desert landscapes which have long served as the foundation of my painting and in these works serve as a vast stage for the various Ancient Roman elements.
These works hark back to the grand neoclassical paintings of the 19th century by artists such as Lionel Royer, Henri-Paul Motte, Edwin Blashfield, Jacques-Louis David, Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Jean-Leon Gerome and others. As with these artists’ work I aim to bring an emphasis onto the scope of human history and epic drama as well as detail and dense compositional arrangement. Unlike these artists, however, I do not aim to convey a specific narrative moment but to speak of something broader: the resonance of past lives, relationships, actions and tragedies permeate the supposed emptiness of the desert and lead to a contemplation on the themes of love, hope, loss, isolation, euphoria, tragedy, triumph, melancholy and reflection.
As much as these works celebrate the aforementioned themes so are they a focus on Roman armour and its almost exotic, colourful, highly ornamental quality. There is an immense variety of Roman armour and weapons, coupled with architecture, sculptures and busts that can be utilized to seek to establish interesting compositional arrangements. The range of gleaming and colourful cuirasses, helmets, swords, standards and shields become ornamental objects whose form, compactness, detail and colour contrast with the grittiness, earthy tones and horizontal scope of the desert landscape and become triggers for a range of potential narratives.