UNKNOWN ARTIST/S: “Fresco of the dolphins”, c.1800-1400 b.c. - Mural, Knossos Palace, Crete (Greece)

The restoration of the frescoes from the Knossos Palace made by E. Gillieron and Piet de Jong at the beginning of the last century received many critics by the excessively bright colours employed, but the true is that the final result is probably not very far from the aspect of the paintings at the heat of Minoan splendour.

This fresco is a fabulous example of the early Minoan painting, interested in the precise representation of the nature without any human presence. Located in the Bath Hall - where the aquatic motifs were very suitable- the fresco called “of the dolphins” is, as the “fresco of the partridges”, an authentic masterpiece for its undeniable decorative value and its excellent effect of movement.