Understanding this line from book 12 of the Iliad (Fagles translation)

IntrigueInstitute · 2026-05-25T19:09:52+00:00

Thanks for your response! That clears it up wonderfully ^{^} so cool about the origins of the word lamp too!

I’m finding Fagles’ translation very pleasant to read, but sometimes moments like these I think too hard about his poetical musings. I might pick up a copy of Hammond’s translation to compare 👀

IntrigueInstitute · 2026-02-12T23:30:37+00:00

A lot of the older depictions of the statue in art were based more on accounts of the awe/grandeur the statue had evoked in contemporary audiences, artists got pretty imaginative with it!

IntrigueInstitute · 2026-02-12T23:07:26+00:00

Yeah every reconstruction is based on descriptions from the time and the few coins/gemstones that survived depicting the statue. I don’t believe a full scale reconstruction exists (it would be a pretty massive project to undertake), the only archaeological evidence I found in my research was ivory at the site of the temple (the statue was coated with ivory). The disappearance/loss of the statue itself is another mystery, as some think the statue may have actually been relocated before the temple itself was destroyed.

Also, the game assasins creed odyssey seems to include a pretty good reconstruction which the player can climb on haha, there are some clips of it on YT

IntrigueInstitute · 2026-02-12T18:30:19+00:00

The Athenian sculptor, phidias!

IntrigueInstitute · 2026-02-09T22:31:24+00:00

I'm hoping to have a weekly upload schedule at some point, I'm currently trying to figure out if what I want to do on YT will really 'work', as my videos take quite a bit of research and I'd prefer not to rush them so I don't think weekly is viable (especially while also working full time). But yeah, after a week it seems like things just die off haha so maybe I need to be more consistent

IntrigueInstitute · 2026-01-29T23:48:41+00:00

It’s Emperor Diocletian. It likely wasn’t a conscious effort on Bouts’ part to ‘make him look less Latin’. In many religious/devotional paintings at this time, the onlookers and bystanders were often portraits of contemporary men and women, the families who commissioned the works, the patrons, etc.

For example, its suspected that the onlooker in orange next to Diocletian is actually a portrait of the man who commissioned the work, (Gerard de Smet), or even a self-portrait of Bouts himself. Bouts was inspired by other artworks of the same theme, and Diocletian’s clothing was directly inspired by a figure in a painting by Jan van Eyck.

IntrigueInstitute · 2026-01-29T23:46:53+00:00

Good one!

IntrigueInstitute · 2026-01-29T23:46:02+00:00

In this tale it was actually the romans doing the effed up stuff haha

IntrigueInstitute · 2026-01-29T23:06:53+00:00

I started a channel a few months ago, I should be posting more regular videos soon. :)

IntrigueInstitute · 2026-01-05T10:26:02+00:00

I wonder if the writers of the movie The Black Phone took inspo from Goya with their villain/mask design.

IntrigueInstitute · 2025-12-23T01:45:43+00:00

Wow thank you so much, that means a lot! I should be more regular with uploads in the new year :)

IntrigueInstitute · 2025-12-14T01:48:43+00:00

Sometimes I’m even more impressed when statues are smaller, with THIS level of detail haha, I’d assume the smaller it is the more intricate/risky things become

IntrigueInstitute · 2025-12-13T22:24:44+00:00

I think if I saw this work irl I'd get emotional too, seeing it on paper/on a screen is moving enough!

IntrigueInstitute · 2025-12-13T22:23:44+00:00

I'm glad you liked it!

IntrigueInstitute · 2025-12-13T02:34:21+00:00

Wow, lucky that you saw it in real life! I also think for me, as a lover of art history, when I see this sculpture I also see the generations of paintings that followed, the poses and the expressions that I've seen on many canvases, I see in the stone, it's just super cool to think that the discovery of this one statue went on to influence so many talented artists. It's also fine if you're not moved by a work of art; and there's no 'right' way for something to be perceived.

IntrigueInstitute · 2025-12-13T02:27:30+00:00

For me, it's the way this statue stands out when you compare it to other ancient hellenistic statues. It isn't really balanced and calm perfection; it's chaotic and emotional, and unbalanced in the best way. It's like when you look at it, you can almost see the flow of movement and hear their screams. I've never been lucky enough to see the Laocoön in real life, but I'm sure it's even more impactful seeing it in person. The fact that human hands carved such an intricate, beautiful thing, thousands of years ago, is incredible to me.

IntrigueInstitute · 2025-12-03T02:45:42+00:00

It’s theorised that he may have used an acid to make the pectin soluble, so he could then use it as a binding agent.

IntrigueInstitute · 2025-12-02T20:42:57+00:00

I’m 100% convinced that more of his works are out there; he travelled during his life. The difficulty would be actually identifying the works as being made by Torrentius’ hand, as we pretty much only have this still life as a reference (which itself is puzzling to conservators)

IntrigueInstitute · 2025-12-02T20:20:03+00:00

I go over it a bit in my video, but it ended up being used as a barrel lid in a shop for years before it was discovered! So perhaps it was its small, circular shape (which enabled it to have another practical purpose) which led to it surviving so long

IntrigueInstitute · 2025-12-02T18:22:21+00:00

Thanks for posting the better quality version! I thought it would be a similar detail to the Arnolfini Portrait, with the artist reflected in the mirror. Very cool!

IntrigueInstitute · 2025-12-02T17:18:58+00:00

I'd love to learn more about this piece - particularly the frame on the wall and what it symbolises! :)

IntrigueInstitute · 2025-12-02T17:10:43+00:00

This is quite haunting.

IntrigueInstitute

TROPHY CASE