Another Thamar

Thamar painting the goddess Diana. From Boccaccio, Des cleres et nobles femmes, De claris mulieribus in an anonymous French translation c. 1400-25, French (Paris). Collection of the British Library, MS Royal 20 C V f. 90

Thamar (5th century BC) was a well-known painter in ancient Greece. There are no standard spellings of names translated from ancient tongues and so you will see this same artist also referred to as Tamar, Tamara, Thamyris, Thamaris and Timarete. Her father was the painter, Micon the Younger, and she learned the painting trade from him. In those times trades and professions were traditionally kept within families. Pliny the Elder wrote of her in his famous tome Natural History (77 CE) saying, "...she scorned the duties of women, and practised her father's art." Whether or not Thamar actually scorned anything we will never know, but she was extremely good at painting and her fame lives on, although there are no known extant examples of her work. Most painting at that time was done as fresco or mural, and the majority of architectural structures of that period have been ruined by the passage of time, or demolished, or subsumed by later renovation.

This is a 15th century rendition of Thamar, which accompanies text by Bocaccio, from his book Of Noble Women written in the early 1400's. It was a runaway "best-seller" of the times! Because so many copies were made of this book there are numerous illuminations (text illustrations) of Thamar, and as was usual at the time, the artist from ancient times was dressed in the fashion of the "present" day. In this image by an unknown French artist we see Thamar painting what was probably her best-known work, a depiction of the goddess Diana. That masterwork was famous in her day and after and was long displayed in a position of reverence at the temple of Epheseus. Unfortunately, that temple was completely destroyed in 401 A.D. by a Christian mob led by St. John Chrysostom.

For more depictions of Thamar, please look in the side bar where you will see this is one of several! Click on "Thamar" to see them all! :-)


Don't forget, to enlarge this or any WAP image for better viewing pleasure, just click on it!

Portrait of Diana

Artist Unknown  "Thamar Painting Diana"  France 1400s

This is an illumination or illustration from a copy of Bocaccio's book On Famous Women which was a runaway "best seller" of the middle ages, and was copied and recopied many times. Because calligraphers and illuminators rarely signed their work we have no idea who painted this charming scene of Thamar at work painting her famous portrait of the goddess Diana.  

Despite the contemporary 15th century clothing, Thamar, also known as Timarete or Tamaris, was a 5th century BCE Greek artist. She was the daughter of another painter, Micon the elder, and Pliny wrote about her in "Natural History" (77 CE) saying of her that she"scorned the duties of women and practised her father's art."  This "scorning" was almost certainly referring to the fact that she never married and produced children, rather than the fact that she was a painter. In ancient times women practiced all kinds of crafts and trades, painting among them, usually learning from and assisting a parent or family member, as was the case with Thamar.  It was only a small percentage of upper class women who were free from the necessity to help earn money, and were what we would today typify as "typical" housewives, concerned primarily with domestic duties. In ancient times, as in most times throughout history, the vast majority of women worked at paying jobs in addition to "the duties of women" to support themselves and their families, or else were actively working to assist and support those who actually worked outside the home. Life is almost always a team effort!

Thamar was best known as the creator of a painting of Diana, or Artemis, that graced that Goddess's temple at Ephesus for many centuries. Alas, Ephesus was destroyed, either razed by the Goths in 278 CE. or burned to the ground by an anti-pagan mob in the 400s (historians disagree) and Thamar's artwork was destroyed.

Because Bocaccio's book On Famous Women was such a big hit, there are many many editions of it, all with illuminations. I'll be posting the best of such Thamar at work illustrations as come my way from time to time. Many of them are little gems! To see all the Thamar paintings I have posted to date, just look up "Thamar" in the side bar of artist and subject names, or click here.

Thamar, one more time!

Artist Unknown "Thamar Painting in Her Studio" 15th Century  location unknown 

Thamar (ca, 5th C B.C.) was a well-known painter in ancient Greece. Standard spellings of names translated from ancient tongues  are difficult, and so the artist can also be found referred to as Tamar, Thamyris, Thamaris and Timarete.  Her father was the painter, Micon the Younger, and she almost certainly learned the painting trade from him. In those times trades and professions were usually kept within families. Whether or not Thamar would have chosen to be a painter, had she lived in a time when she could have her choice, we will never know, but she was apparently extremely good at painting and her fame lives on, although there are no known extant examples of her work. Most painting at that time was done as fresco or mural, and most architectural structures of that period have been ruined by the passage of time, or demolished or subsumed by later renovation.

This is a 15th century rendition of Thamar, dressed in the garb of those days, that accompanies text by Bocaccio, from his book Of Noble Women written in the early 1400's and a runaway "best-seller" of the times. I have unfortunately not been able to trace the provenance of this particular manuscript page, my image notes, which were shorter and sketchier when I first started this project, report this as coming from from the Morgan Library, but an extensive search does not confirm that rather jaunty little notation. ;-)

At any rate, in this image by an unknown French artist we see Thamar painting what was probably her best-known work, a depiction of the goddess Diana. That masterwork was very well known in ancient times, and was held in reverence at the temple of Epheseus. Unfortunately, that temple was destroyed in 401 A.D. by a Christian mob led by St. John Chrysostom.

Don't forget, to enlarge this or any WAP image for better viewing pleasure, just click on it!

Thamar with Apprentice

artist unknown "Thamar Painting, with Apprentice"  ca. 1403
Bibliothèque nationale de France

Thamar, also known as Tamar and Thamyris and Timarete, is not a myth or a legend, but was a real person, a Greek painter who lived in the 5th century B.C. In those days, people commonly followed in the trade or practice of their parents and Thamar was the daughter of Micon the Younger of Athens, a well-known and respected painter.  She was one of six women artists mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History compendium. Of Thamar Pliny says, "she scorned the duties of women and practised her father's art."  She was best known in Pliny's time for a panel painting of the Goddess Diana (Artemis) which was displayed in the Goddess's temple at Epheseus. Unfortunately, the temple, along with Thamar's work, was destroyed in either a Goth invasion in the Third Century or  by an anti-pagan mob led by Saint John Chrysostom in the 400s A.D. (Historians disagree on who gets the credit for the destruction.)

This painting of Thamar at work is from Bocaccio's De Cleres et Nobles Femmes, an edition made specially for Philip the Bold in around 1403. It is fascinating and delightful on several counts, particularly: 

1) Thamar's clothing and setting have been modernized into that of an early 15th Century French woman. This "updating" is typical practice for medieval artists. Also contemporary to the times is her painting equipment, including the presence of an apprentice busily grinding pigment (looks like lapis lazuli) for his Mistress. If Thamar did indeed scorn the duties of women, this is probably not her son, in typical Greek family workshop tradition, but instead may depict an apprentice contracted in the more typical medieval fashion through a guild. Women artists did belong to some medieval guilds and did indeed take on apprentices and journeymen, just as their male contemporaries did, although very often a female "master" was attached in some way (even just nominally) to a male, either a Husband, Father or Uncle. Still, such an arrangement was not at all uncommon, and the unknown artist making this painting would have "placed" Thamar in the terms of his/her own times.

2) Thamar has been Christianized as well as modernized. Instead of the pagan goddess Diana, or other Greco/Roman deity, we see Thamar painting a Virgin and Child. Ironic, considering Thamar's renunciation of traditional female roles! But very charming.