PYRAMUS AND THISBE

I have an obsession with Pompeii, and try to read anything on the topic that I can get my hands on. I also believe that the painting that came from there, and that was done in the early Emperial Era of ancient Rome was the best painting that has ever been done by man. During the Renaissance, this work was discovered by observant Italians, and then emulated, but it was never topped! This is my version of Pyramus and Thisbe, the more ancient Babylonian version of Romeo and Juliet. It is included in Ovid`s Metamorphoses, Book IV. I did a sketch of the Pompeii version, when I visited the UT Art library one day, and then used the sketch to create this painting. I have not seen prints of this work anywhere except in that old book at UT. I enlarged the figures, as if you are right on top of them, so it seems as if you are right in the event. I believe I may have been influenced by Lucien Freud here, because he does that a lot. In terms of composition, I made the figures at a 90 degree angle to the horizontal/vertical grid of the canvass. I also raised the figures three-dimensionally by using some Golden molding paste, and while I could see that it is not marble, I could see where I could imbue some texture into the figures, making them more lifelike. This is not obvious by looking at the photo, but there is a sculptural aspect to it. For colors I used earthy ochres, fleshy tones, and pastel greens and blues, and thought of Cezanne romping in the French countryside. I imagined that I was holding a digital camera right up to the star-crossed lovers, even though this is a malpropism for possibly 6th or 7th century BCE action! I have never been as inspired by art as I was at the time that I went to the archaeology museum in Naples (early October 2000)! Simply put, this is why I like to paint in this style. I hope to make my future works more original, while still borrowing the organic integrity, and simplicity of these nearly lost works! The Pompeii paintings are greater than the Mona Lisa, The Madonna of the Rocks, or Guernica all combined! That is the philosophy of art of Monsieur Bovee; it has taken me many years of hard study to come to that kernel of wisdom, and I will hold on to it to my grave! * afterthought-9/20/2007-The fading frescoes in Fellini`s "Roma" keeps looping in my mind. Works of art are not eternal, but rather ephemeral, and wouldn`t it be a pity if we lost many of the paintings of Pompeii? Here is another web page with photos of Pompeii! Really, that one is not too good! The House of M. Lucretius Fronto is the very best site I have ever seen!