What can we take from The Mosaic

[iskander_32]

How much can we take as accurate from the Mosaic.Large bulging eyes,Brown hair,Sideburns and His brown horse.I always had and read Becephalus been Black with a white star on his head, That he was fair and fair hair is and s was not uncommon in the northen and balkan states.BUt the sideburns whats the origin of those, I draw no destinction or reasoning for those anywhere.No other pictures nor statues bare a resemblence.Could you also help with my questions, I always thought most Classical statues were a depiction of the idealistic figure of Alexander.Were Michael Angelos and Davinci Statues modeled on Alexander ?kenny

[marcus]

Some of the things you mention could be put down to artistic style - and to be honest I'm not sure what subtleties are and aren't possible in mosaic work. I haven't a clue about the sideburns, but I don't see any reason why Alexander shouldn't have had them - the way his hair falls on most of the busts and coins would hide them, anyway; and in the mosaic his hair is definitely being blown back, which would reveal them.As for his hair colour - 'fair' doesn't always mean 'blond', of course, particularly in areas where the predominant colour is black or a very dark brown - any colour that is lighter than the predominant colour could be labelled 'fair'. The other thing to take into account, of course, is that by the time people started to use Alexander symbolically, it is quite understandable that they might have started to alter his appearance to suit their own tastes, customs, etc. (you only have to look at the Persian and other eastern manuscripts, which picture Alexander as most definitely Persian). It's like Shakespeare's Roman plays being performed, during Sh's time, in Tudor dress - it would never have occurred to them to attempt to re-create Classical costume.All the bestMarcus

[xxx]

The only written descriptions of his hair color say he was blonde.The mosaics in Pella show him as blonde/red-blonde, and I am more apt to credit the artists there with his correct coloring rather than the Romans who naturally would have preferred to cast him in their own image.As for the sideburns, someone suggested a very good explanation for those - the Persians on seeing him beardless, would have thought him a eunuch. Rather than suffer that embarassment, he did a half-measure as he often did, in an attempt to apease his own liking for a bare face and to prove he was not a eunuch. Makes sense to me :-)Regards,Tre

[amyntoros]

Interestingly, the Alexander Sarcophagus also shows Alexander with light red hair. By the way, I do like that theory about the sideburns. :-)Regarding Bucephalus, can you (or anyone else) give the exact reference describing him as black with a white flash? Is this from a written source or a different pictorial representation? It drives me crazy every time this subject comes up. I found a description of Bucephalus in the book, Apelles by Paolo Moreno. There are frequent references to Pliny describing some of Apelles' original paintings, and then there's the following which may or may not be about a painting - Moreno doesn't say."They call him Bucephalas, perhaps because of his fierce appearance or else because of the brand-mark with an ox-head on his haunch." Pliny (8.154) No mention of color though...Best regards,Linda Ann

[ruthaki]

I'd say the mosaic is an artist's interpretation and perhaps they didn't have other colours available???

[xxx]

I'm not the expert on literature on Bu, but I think Arrian calls him black. But the Greeks really didn't describe colors particularly well, i.e. Cleitus the Black et al. We know that meant he was dark in complexion as opposed to the other one who was White 'fair.' It is quite likely Bu was a dark bay or brown, far more common colors than actual black. I am not aware of a historical reference to him having a white blaze. His name of course translates literally to 'ox-head,' probably more for his temperament than any brand

What say you Marcus?

[amyntoros]

The mosaic is considered to be a Roman copy of a painting by Apellesand he used only the colors red, black, yelow and white in his paintings. The mosaic utilizes an occasional splash of green, but the remainder is a broad range of about forty tones which are variants of the above colors. There are other mosaics in the same house in Pompeii where green is used liberally along with some blues, so the choice in the Issus Mosaic must have been deliberate. (See The Alexander Mosaic, Stories of Victory and Defeat, by Ada Cohen.)That said, these colors and shades certainly would have enabled the artist to portray Alexander's hair as either blonde, red, brown or black, so that doesn't answer the question as to why it is shown so dark on the mosaic. There are other wall paintings at Pompeii that are also considered to be copies of Apelles' paintings of Alexander - Alexander as Zeus enthroned, Alexander as Ares with Stateira as Aphrodite, and Alexander as Dionysus with Parysatis as Ariadne. I don't have color plates of these, but Alexander's hair appears to be "fair" though definitely not what we'd normally think of as blonde. He does, however, have sideburns again in the portrait showing him as Ares! :-)Best regards,Linda Ann

[amyntoros]

It *is* in Arrian. Thank you! He says. "His mark was an ox-head branded upon him, hence, they say, his name Bucephalas; others, however, say that he was black except for a white mark on his head, which was exactly like an ox-head." Pity that most of Alexander's horse is missing from the mosaic. If it was complete we might know if it was portrayed with a brand.Thanks again - I never thought to look in Arrian. Duh!Best regards,Linda Ann

[xxx]

He does however, in the Mosaic, have a white ear to symbolize the horns of an Ox.

[kalliston]

The mosaic is a fovorite amomg those who do not know
Alexander.It is theatrical and very exciting.It was done some
hundreds of years after Alexander. The eyes, which are out of
scale, attract Alexandrophiles,Only compare the image to The
Ankara Herme, which I, as an artist, recgonize as a portrait.The
mosaic is a fantasy.

[marcus]

Hi Tre,Well, I'm glad you were able to locate the Boukephalos colour - isn't it weird that we pick up some of these facts and then sometimes find it difficult to locate the source.Which leads me back to the 'blond' question, because for the life of me I can only find one reference to Alexander's hair colour. It's in Aelian, and unfortunately I only have a translation, which says his hair was 'fair'. So, of course, I have no idea what the original says ... was 'yellow' or 'gold' or 'red' translated as 'fair', or is it a more accurate translation which, of course, could have meant mousy brown, etc. etc.?Admittedly, Plutarch's description of Alexander's skin being quite pale and ruddy would suggest that his head was tending towards red/blond.I really want to get to the bottom of this, now! :-)All the bestMarcus

[susan]

I've got a book of Thracian treasures; one, from the 4th century BC, shows a brooch with the end ornamented with 'bukranion' - a decorative element in the form of an oxhead. These were pre-Alexander, and we've discussed before the possible links between Thracian & Macedonian arts. I think that what this implies is that the 'oxhead' motif was one that was familiar in their art; rather like 'egg-and-dart' patterns on friezes, it was a stylistic pattern rather than a reference to a real thing.Susan

[amyntoros]

As far as depictions of Alexander are concerned, the Alexander on the Mosaic is no more "fantasy" than the Azara Herm. Both are Roman copies of Greek originals by artists contemporary with (and approved) by Alexander. The mosaic is a late 2nd century BC copy of a painting by Apelles; the herm a copy of a sculpture by Lysippos. Pliny said "It is superfluous to list the number of times Apelles painted Alexander and Philip." There are ancient Roman references to the actual placement of some of Apelles' paintings in Rome, but I do not have them to hand right now. As for statues, there was a public triumph in Rome in 194 BC where "On the first day armor and weapons were exhibited, and also statues in bronze and marble, more of which were expropriated from Philip (V) than were captured from cities of Greece." Logic says that the Pompeian artist and the sculptor of the herm both had access to the originals.Just because the mosaic is a descriptive painting of an event rather than a portrait does not mean that an attempt was not made to portray Alexander with accuracy and within the constraints of the medium. I mentioned several Pompeian frescoes in a previous post and realized that there is a color representation of the one showing Alexander as Ares. It has been used on the cover of the latest edition of Dryden's translation of Plutarch's Life of Alexander the Great. This can be seen online at Amazon. Click on the book cover for an enlarged view.http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... &s=booksIt doesn't take too much imagination to see the similarities between this portrait and that of Alexander on the mosaic. Different artists, different mediums, same source - Apelles. (I was wrong in a previous post when I said that here Alexander's hair did not appear to be blonde. Black and white photographs can be deceptive. This painting shows Alexander with the inappropriate bronzed skin known to be a feature of Apelles' paintings, and the hair is definitely a dark red/blonde! I had forgotten that I own this book and the actual cover is somewhat lighter than the online version.)It should also be remembered that the Azara Herm is a portrait made without intent to portray emotion. The mosaic shows Alexander in the middle of a battle and attempts to demonstrate expression of his feelings, thus accounting for seeming variations in features. The eyes are meant to be "w

[amyntoros]

The eyes are meant to be "wide" and not overly large, but the use of small stones limits the artist's intent. To sum it all up - just because the mosaic is a recreation of a battle where neither the Roman or Greek artist were present does not mean that Alexander, as shown, is merely a creation of fantasy or imagination.Best regards,Linda DeSantisP.S. I have presumed you were writing about the Azara Herm. Apologies if I am incorrect.

[S]

Greetings,Standard browns are often perceived as "black", though they are not. Blacks do not usually sport white. Further, regarding the "white ear" of the mosaic, if I am recalling it correctly, I believe the light colour is repeated on other horses- it is more likely the indication of the interior of the ear rather than a "horn".Regards,
Sikander