Sappho at the Beach

Sappho on the beach by Tony Bulmer

Lyric poet Sappho was born on the Greek island of Lesbos around 630 BC. Subsequently exiled to Sicily for her beliefs, the true nature of Sappho’s life and work has been the subject of much conjecture, as most of her work has been destroyed.

In 1877 Charles August Mengin painted Sappho as a romantic outsider. He pictured her on the beach looking wistfully homeward, with her lyre, the famed symbol of lyric poets. It is from this point that Sappho became a popular symbol of the romantic outsider. The sexuality of Sappho, from which we get the terms lesbian and sapphic, have also been the subject of much discussion.

Sappho at the Beach was inspired by the mournful Mengin and Santa Monica Beach in Los Angeles.

Sappho on the Beach by Tony Bulmer, 20"x16" Acrylic on canvas

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/sappho.html