April 21, 2011

Atlas Week: The Athena Painter's "Hercules and Atlas"

On this Day in the History of Art: Ludovido Carracci born (1555), Charlotte Brontë born (1815)

Because the Atlas Shrugged movie just came out I thought it would be fun to post a week of images of Atlas by various artists.

Nationality: Greek

Creation Date:
c. 490-480 BC
Media: Terracotta
Location: National Archeological Museum, Athens, Greece

This vase, painted by an unknown Greek given the name "the Athena Painter," depicts Hercules temporarily taking over Atlas' job, which according to mythology, is something he did. In a bizarre twist of modern-day expectations, the earth and heavens depicted here are flat!



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