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Description

Commissioned artwork in progress (2019) concerning military history as base for heroic literature
©Copyright (2019): Christos Giannopoulos

"Omnes vero se Britanni vitro inficiunt, quod caeruleum efficit colorem, atque hoc horridiores sunt in pugna aspectu" Julius Caesar : De bello Gallico - Book V

Loose translation:

"All the Britons stain (or dye) themselves with vitrum (glittering-glass like) woad, which produces a dark blue color, and thus they become a more frightening sight in the battle"

The woad plant dye used for body and face painting and described in Caesar’s texts is also known as “Isatis tinctoria” and is generally believed that the Picts of Scotland were named so after this ritual (“Picti” in Latin means “the painted ones” or “color dotted ones” or even “tattoed people” ). One thing is peculiar: Why of all islandic Atlantic Celts who painted their faces and bodies blue, only the Picts of Scotland should be named after this custom?... What’s was so interesting in the Pictish body paint art that made Romans mention this ethnic group as “painted” ones?.. Especially in such a vast territory as the British Isles where all warriors were painting themselves for battle? Some scholars believe that that the name “Pict” contains other meaning and waits still to be translated…

Anyway, long haired, blue eyed, axe and sword bearing warriors like the one depicted here were the inspiration for fanciful engravings in the 19th century and heroic fantasy literature for the early 20th century writers like Robert E. Howard who created savage characters like Pictish king Bran Mak Morn, Conan the Cimmerian, King Kull of Valusia and Njord… Primordial overmastering aboriginals, unconquerable from corrupted civilizations and deniers of slavery and fear of death, emotions that haunt, torture and subdue human kind…

Description

Commissioned artwork in progress (2019) concerning military history as base for heroic literature
©Copyright (2019): Christos Giannopoulos

"Omnes vero se Britanni vitro inficiunt, quod caeruleum efficit colorem, atque hoc horridiores sunt in pugna aspectu" Julius Caesar : De bello Gallico - Book V

Loose translation:

"All the Britons stain (or dye) themselves with vitrum (glittering-glass like) woad, which produces a dark blue color, and thus they become a more frightening sight in the battle"

The woad plant dye used for body and face painting and described in Caesar’s texts is also known as “Isatis tinctoria” and is generally believed that the Picts of Scotland were named so after this ritual (“Picti” in Latin means “the painted ones” or “color dotted ones” or even “tattoed people” ). One thing is peculiar: Why of all islandic Atlantic Celts who painted their faces and bodies blue, only the Picts of Scotland should be named after this custom?... What’s was so interesting in the Pictish body paint art that made Romans mention this ethnic group as “painted” ones?.. Especially in such a vast territory as the British Isles where all warriors were painting themselves for battle? Some scholars believe that that the name “Pict” contains other meaning and waits still to be translated…

Anyway, long haired, blue eyed, axe and sword bearing warriors like the one depicted here were the inspiration for fanciful engravings in the 19th century and heroic fantasy literature for the early 20th century writers like Robert E. Howard who created savage characters like Pictish king Bran Mak Morn, Conan the Cimmerian, King Kull of Valusia and Njord… Primordial overmastering aboriginals, unconquerable from corrupted civilizations and deniers of slavery and fear of death, emotions that haunt, torture and subdue human kind…