I visited Knossos on three occasions and every time I returned I found it even more enchanting and evocative. Not only does it speak of a fascinating flourishing Bronze Age civilization which could be said to be, via the Greco-Roman, the grandmother of Western civilization, but also because it speaks just as loudly of another time of flourishing arts, this time much more recent, of all those artists mentioned in the article, and more besides.
Evans clearly wasn't perfect, nor his restoration (confabulation? reinvention?) work, but I think they are also better than what the critics claim. For better or worse, he really did give new life to those old stones. Sure, he might well have exaggerated Minoan pacifism (and proto-feminism) to make a point, but didn't completely make it up either.
Talking about Minoan art, here's [1] an article about a jaw-droppingly exquisite seal stone only recently discovered. Also related to the article in that it depicts a bloody war scene. It was found in a Mycenaean tomb, they were known to be much more war-like, so maybe a commission. What's most remarkable though it the anatomical precision which took a thousand years to be rediscovered/reinvented again, this time in Classical Greece. The same type of work stunningly modern-looking musculature depiction can be seen in a couple of fragments at the highly recommended Heraklion Archeological Museum in the capital of Crete. Worth checking out in the same museum, mind-bendingly playful yet refined pottery, called Kamares Ware.
Evans clearly wasn't perfect, nor his restoration (confabulation? reinvention?) work, but I think they are also better than what the critics claim. For better or worse, he really did give new life to those old stones. Sure, he might well have exaggerated Minoan pacifism (and proto-feminism) to make a point, but didn't completely make it up either.
Talking about Minoan art, here's [1] an article about a jaw-droppingly exquisite seal stone only recently discovered. Also related to the article in that it depicts a bloody war scene. It was found in a Mycenaean tomb, they were known to be much more war-like, so maybe a commission. What's most remarkable though it the anatomical precision which took a thousand years to be rediscovered/reinvented again, this time in Classical Greece. The same type of work stunningly modern-looking musculature depiction can be seen in a couple of fragments at the highly recommended Heraklion Archeological Museum in the capital of Crete. Worth checking out in the same museum, mind-bendingly playful yet refined pottery, called Kamares Ware.