Twisted limbs! This was on a bedroom ceiling at Chatsworth House. Can you imagine trying to sleep under this mass of twisted bodies? Apparently it's called 'Return of the Golden Age'! It was painted by Antonio Verrio who started this in 1691.
Not quite sure how to describe this as there's so much going on, so I'll pick out a couple of figures in detail later on. Image shows a painted ceiling of a writhing mass of almost naked bodies up in the clouds. Some modesty is saved by robes or strips of fabric in reds, deep greens, navy, ochres and whites. The figures are based on myths and legends. For most of the ceiling the figures are fleeing in fear and terror, with only a small area suggesting calm and tranquility.
The bottom section includes figures falling over each other whilst wrestling a deep olive green snake. Below them is a figure in a red cape holding a caber. Apparently this is Fury and stands upon religious and absolutist symbols (if I hadn't cut him off at the knees on my photograph).
In the centre is an old, muscular, winged male wearing a crown and a strip of luxurious navy fabric just about covers his modesty. He is holding a staff in his hand. With an arm around his shoulders, held aloft is a pale female with long golden hair that Rapunzel would be proud of. A swathe of the most flimsy, transparent fabric drapes across her abdomen and she is holding a ball of light in her hand. Apparently she is Cybele who was the 'mother of all gods' and controlled every aspect of life on earth - plants, animals, people, fertility. She protected civilisation apparently by sparing some from natural disasters.
Her power seems to be working as in her wake, the figures are calmly reclined, smiling, having a chat and there's even one hugging a cloud!
Testing out the feed...(please see previous post)
Twisted Mass of Bodies
for #PalacesAndGardens theme of #Twisted
#EastCoastKin #photography #ECK #ceiling #Verrio #painting #ChatsworthHouse #Derbyshire
(iPhone camera)
