Velut Luna - A Tribute to Sibilla Cumana

[Wragg]

Vesuvius Roars

(Image hosted on DeviantArt - https://sta.sh/0jdvkz1lg9y )​

'And there, in front, all wrapped up in his purple robe and flames, reappears Vesuvius, a ghostly Caesar seated on his throne of lava and ash, splitting the sky with his flame-crowned brow, roaring horrendously.

The tree of fire rising out of his throat spreads into the heavenly dome, the sky, disappearing into the supernal abyss. Rivers of blood flow from his red gaping maw, and the earth, sky and sea all tremble with terror.'

(From 'Amica, the Slavegirl of Pompeii' by Velut Luna)

Velut Luna presented the monochrome version of Carvenaked's 'Nude against Rocks' in her story, 'The Devil in the Convent'. Having adapted this source for her avatar, it became her most self-defining image on Cruxforums, and the temptation to use it in a further illustration of the crux scene in 'Amica' was irresistible. Aubrey replaces Ana-Maria as the model in this latest variation, entitled 'Vesuvius Roars', and the background is the same as that used in my previous crux manip ('Vesuvius Shrieks').

View attachment 767844​

Aubrey's left foot is cropped out of the original photograph, and so her right foot was duplicated and flipped for the manipulation. As her hands were incorrectly positioned, these were replaced by those of Ana-Maria from Luna's own crux manip ('Vesuvioeluna'). A desaturated close-up view has been provided with transparent sepia filter treatments to produce an emulation, in the style of Luna's avatar.

View attachment 767845View attachment 767846View attachment 767847​

I think this is your best manipulation, Bob. Don't forget that I am comparing it with images such as the Alicia Judea Capta images which are widely and rightly regarded as the pinnacle of the genre.

Helpless, she hangs crucified with her back to the fire breathing monster that is about to consume her. It leaves the viewer feeling delightfully ambivalent - should I be distressed by her inability to escape the danger, or thrilled that her time on the tree of agony is about to be mercifully brought to a premature end?

Tell you what, I'll just keep looking at this magnificent image while I made up my mind.

 

[bobinder]

I think this is your best manipulation, Bob. Don't forget that I am comparing it with images such as the Alicia Judea Capta images which are widely and rightly regarded as the pinnacle of the genre.

Helpless, she hangs crucified with her back to the fire breathing monster that is about to consume her. It leaves the viewer feeling delightfully ambivalent - should I be distressed by her inability to escape the danger, or thrilled that her time on the tree of agony is about to be mercifully brought to a premature end?

Tell you what, I'll just keep looking at this magnificent image while I made up my mind.

Thanks very much for your high praise and appreciation, Wragg.
It is always good to receive feedback from fellow crux manipulators with personal experience of the challenges involved in this kind of work.

Many of the components are obviously recycled from the previous picture, but the main difference is the use of a figure chosen by Luna herself as the one with which she identified as her personal avatar. It was an inspired choice on her part, and I am very pleased with the effect it has produced in the new picture.

If this is indeed my 'best manipulation', as you have so kindly suggested, in many ways the picture owes a conscious debt to Luna's vision of crux art, and I am delighted to be presenting such an inspiring image in this tribute.

 

[hammers]

Thanks very much for your high praise and appreciation, Wragg.
It is always good to receive feedback from fellow crux manipulators with personal experience of the challenges involved in this kind of work.

Many of the components are obviously recycled from the previous picture, but the main difference is the use of a figure chosen by Luna herself as the one with which she identified as her personal avatar. It was an inspired choice on her part, and I am very pleased with the effect it has produced in the new picture.

If this is indeed my 'best manipulation', as you have so kindly suggested, in many ways the picture owes a conscious debt to Luna's vision of crux art, and I am delighted to be presenting such an inspiring image in this tribute.

Hello Bobinder! Within the limits of my little experience please let me compliment you for the wonderful manipulation feeling gratefull for technical details of your work
which, as you are aware of, have always been of great interest to me. Thanks again. Also the model's sensuality, the setting and the story's background are all irresistible elements.

 

[phlebas]

Vesuvius Roars

(Image hosted on DeviantArt - https://sta.sh/0jdvkz1lg9y )​

'And there, in front, all wrapped up in his purple robe and flames, reappears Vesuvius, a ghostly Caesar seated on his throne of lava and ash, splitting the sky with his flame-crowned brow, roaring horrendously.

The tree of fire rising out of his throat spreads into the heavenly dome, the sky, disappearing into the supernal abyss. Rivers of blood flow from his red gaping maw, and the earth, sky and sea all tremble with terror.'

(From 'Amica, the Slavegirl of Pompeii' by Velut Luna)

Velut Luna presented the monochrome version of Carvenaked's 'Nude against Rocks' in her story, 'The Devil in the Convent'. Having adapted this source for her avatar, it became her most self-defining image on Cruxforums, and the temptation to use it in a further illustration of the crux scene in 'Amica' was irresistible. Aubrey replaces Ana-Maria as the model in this latest variation, entitled 'Vesuvius Roars', and the background is the same as that used in my previous crux manip ('Vesuvius Shrieks').

View attachment 767844​

Aubrey's left foot is cropped out of the original photograph, and so her right foot was duplicated and flipped for the manipulation. As her hands were incorrectly positioned, these were replaced by those of Ana-Maria from Luna's own crux manip ('Vesuvioeluna'). A desaturated close-up view has been provided with transparent sepia filter treatments to produce an emulation, in the style of Luna's avatar.

View attachment 767845View attachment 767846View attachment 767847​

(Phlebas picks jaw up from floor before attempting speech)

Um, wow. Astounding. I'm not going to dissect the components of this image to show how clever Bob has been. Everyone can see as plain as day, this is a hell of an image, it grabs your attention, beauty and horror and spectacle all rolled into one, a masterful tour de force, I really run out of suitable words for it.

Fantastic work Bob.

 

[Migoz2]

Vesuvius Roars

(Image hosted on DeviantArt - https://sta.sh/0jdvkz1lg9y )​

'And there, in front, all wrapped up in his purple robe and flames, reappears Vesuvius, a ghostly Caesar seated on his throne of lava and ash, splitting the sky with his flame-crowned brow, roaring horrendously.

The tree of fire rising out of his throat spreads into the heavenly dome, the sky, disappearing into the supernal abyss. Rivers of blood flow from his red gaping maw, and the earth, sky and sea all tremble with terror.'

(From 'Amica, the Slavegirl of Pompeii' by Velut Luna)

Velut Luna presented the monochrome version of Carvenaked's 'Nude against Rocks' in her story, 'The Devil in the Convent'. Having adapted this source for her avatar, it became her most self-defining image on Cruxforums, and the temptation to use it in a further illustration of the crux scene in 'Amica' was irresistible. Aubrey replaces Ana-Maria as the model in this latest variation, entitled 'Vesuvius Roars', and the background is the same as that used in my previous crux manip ('Vesuvius Shrieks').

View attachment 767844​

Aubrey's left foot is cropped out of the original photograph, and so her right foot was duplicated and flipped for the manipulation. As her hands were incorrectly positioned, these were replaced by those of Ana-Maria from Luna's own crux manip ('Vesuvioeluna'). A desaturated close-up view has been provided with transparent sepia filter treatments to produce an emulation, in the style of Luna's avatar.

View attachment 767845View attachment 767846View attachment 767847​

Just incredible work!

 

[MahaShiva]

Vesuvius Roars

(Image hosted on DeviantArt - https://sta.sh/0jdvkz1lg9y )​

'And there, in front, all wrapped up in his purple robe and flames, reappears Vesuvius, a ghostly Caesar seated on his throne of lava and ash, splitting the sky with his flame-crowned brow, roaring horrendously.

The tree of fire rising out of his throat spreads into the heavenly dome, the sky, disappearing into the supernal abyss. Rivers of blood flow from his red gaping maw, and the earth, sky and sea all tremble with terror.'

(From 'Amica, the Slavegirl of Pompeii' by Velut Luna)

Velut Luna presented the monochrome version of Carvenaked's 'Nude against Rocks' in her story, 'The Devil in the Convent'. Having adapted this source for her avatar, it became her most self-defining image on Cruxforums, and the temptation to use it in a further illustration of the crux scene in 'Amica' was irresistible. Aubrey replaces Ana-Maria as the model in this latest variation, entitled 'Vesuvius Roars', and the background is the same as that used in my previous crux manip ('Vesuvius Shrieks').

View attachment 767844​

Aubrey's left foot is cropped out of the original photograph, and so her right foot was duplicated and flipped for the manipulation. As her hands were incorrectly positioned, these were replaced by those of Ana-Maria from Luna's own crux manip ('Vesuvioeluna'). A desaturated close-up view has been provided with transparent sepia filter treatments to produce an emulation, in the style of Luna's avatar.

View attachment 767845View attachment 767846View attachment 767847​

Wow, Bob! Now that's a heck of a manip! Such drama, and such power! The contrast between the delicate form twisting on the cross and the menacing scene behind her says it all. Hat off to you, ol' buddy!

 

[bobinder]

Hello Bobinder! Within the limits of my little experience please let me compliment you for the wonderful manipulation feeling gratefull for technical details of your work
which, as you are aware of, have always been of great interest to me. Thanks again. Also the model's sensuality, the setting and the story's background are all irresistible elements.

(Phlebas picks jaw up from floor before attempting speech)

Um, wow. Astounding. I'm not going to dissect the components of this image to show how clever Bob has been. Everyone can see as plain as day, this is a hell of an image, it grabs your attention, beauty and horror and spectacle all rolled into one, a masterful tour de force, I really run out of suitable words for it.

Fantastic work Bob.

Just incredible work!

Wow, Bob! Now that's a heck of a manip! Such drama, and such power! The contrast between the delicate form twisting on the cross and the menacing scene behind her says it all. Hat off to you, ol' buddy!

Many thanks to all of you for your positive responses.
This is a version of the crux scene which I really wanted to produce, since the figure is so strongly associated with, and representative of Luna.
The creative process tends to keep me absorbed in the fine detail, and when I finally took a full view of the completed picture, I was quite pleased with the result.
The high praise was unexpected but is gratefully received, thank you.

 

[bobinder]

Bedroom Scenes in 'Amica'​

L'bogo has drawn our attention to Luna's adaptations of real people and places in 'Amica'. When Amica spends a romantic interlude with Fannius at his villa, we are told that the location is somewhere between Pompeii and Herculaneum. In the story thread, Luna provides a ground plan of the house, which is identifiably the villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale, and this is where she visualised Amica and Fannius in the bedroom.

​

In an earlier post, I referred to the preserved bedroom from this very same villa, which I used as the background for 'A Painter's Model', to represent Rubio's studio in Pompeii. I have indicated this room with a red arrow on Luna's plan of the house. At the time, I assumed that this background provided an original solution to depicting Amica in a Roman domestic interior. But I have since discovered that mine is not the first manipulation to show Amica in this setting.

Madiosi had previously depicted Amica with Rectina in an intimate bedroom scene at her villa in Herculaneum, on the night of the violent storm. The background has been suitably darkened, and is illuminated only by the naked flames of a pair of oil lamps in the foreground. Dramatic lightning bolts and slanting rain are visible beyond the enlarged window, behind Amica. A careful examination of the murals in Madi's picture reveals that this is exactly the same room which I have used in my own manipulation, and which I have indicated on Luna's plan.

​

Coincidentally, two manipulations by different artists, separated by an interval of four years, both show Amica in the same bedroom. Madi's picture places the room in Herculaneum, and mine in Pompeii. And in fact, this is a bedroom in the very house in which Luna visualised Amica in Boscoreale. Notwithstanding the three different locations, it seems that for three different parts of the story, we have each placed Amica in the same house.

Having made this remarkable discovery, I am delighted to credit Madi with being the first to employ the Boscoreale bedroom scene in an illustration for 'Amica'.

 

[hammers]

The set of wall frescoes of the 'cubiculum diurnum' from the rural Villa of Publio Fannio Sinistore,
built 40-30 BC at Boscoreale the suburban site of Pompeii, are a holding of Metropolitan Art Museum New York. The paintings are said to be the highest quality Roman frescoes ever found. These paintings, along with numerous other Roman findings from excavations of Roman rural villas in Boscoreale are scattered around the world as result of auction sales by both private owners and Italian State back in 1900 and afterwards. Said findings include the 'Boscoreale Treasure' namely 108 pieces of silverware
in due course acquired by the Louvre Museum of Paris.

 

[Jollyrei]

Velut Luna presented the monochrome version of Carvenaked's 'Nude against Rocks' in her story, 'The Devil in the Convent'. Having adapted this source for her avatar, it became her most self-defining image on Cruxforums, and the temptation to use it in a further illustration of the crux scene in 'Amica' was irresistible. Aubrey replaces Ana-Maria as the model in this latest variation, entitled 'Vesuvius Roars',

This is a fantastic manip, Bob. The attention to the details around the placement of the model's hands and her overall position on the cross conveys the "passion" of the cross. The juxtaposition of the crucified Amica as Vesuvius finally overcomes her is a literal and symbolic representation of the drama of her tragedy and fate. It's a picture that one can keep looking at for a long time. It's beautiful work, which is a somewhat mundane comment for an image that is anything but.


It is a most fitting addition to this tribute thread, for those of us who were similarly captured by Luna's stories.

Tell you what, I'll just keep looking at this magnificent image while I made up my mind.

Exactly.

 

[bobinder]

This is a fantastic manip, Bob. The attention to the details around the placement of the model's hands and her overall position on the cross conveys the "passion" of the cross. The juxtaposition of the crucified Amica as Vesuvius finally overcomes her is a literal and symbolic representation of the drama of her tragedy and fate. It's a picture that one can keep looking at for a long time. It's beautiful work, which is a somewhat mundane comment for an image that is anything but.


It is a most fitting addition to this tribute thread, for those of us who were similarly captured by Luna's stories.

Thank you very much, Jolly.
I am feeling quite overwhelmed by the positive response, including so many generous comments from fellow crux manip artists.

The concept of a crucifixion during a volcanic eruption is entirely Luna's. Without her vision of Amica, my picture would simply not exist, since I would not conceivably have produced such a dramatic scenario independent of her vivid imagination and dramatic description.

Luna must also take the credit for the choice of figure in my manipulation, since this particular pose by Carvenaked's Aubrey is the one which Luna personalised as her avatar.
This is why Messaline used the figure in her own crux manips to represent Luna. In some ways, I feel as if I have simply followed a well-trodden path.

The accolades are truly a pleasant surprise, and I am delighted that my own interpretation of the theme has evidently been so successful.

 

[bobinder]

'Amica, the Slavegirl of Pompeii' contains such a rich variety of themes that the relatively small number of images presented in this thread can only provide a few samples from the story. To date, the male characters are altogether conspicuous by their absence from illustrations which depict Amica either in isolation or with her closest female friends.

Notwithstanding the substantial narrative gaps between the available pictures, I thought it would be interesting to combine these sample images in a sequential form, and the following link opens a three-minute video slideshow, featuring artwork by Velut Luna, Madiosi and myself.

Amica 1 30102019.mp4

drive.google.com

 

[Migoz2]

'Amica, the Slavegirl of Pompeii' contains such a rich variety of themes that the relatively small number of images presented in this thread can only provide a few samples from the story. To date, the male characters are altogether conspicuous by their absence from illustrations which depict Amica either in isolation or with her closest female friends.

Notwithstanding the substantial narrative gaps between the available pictures, I thought it would be interesting to combine these sample images in a sequential form, and the following link opens a three-minute video slideshow, featuring artwork by Velut Luna, Madiosi and myself.

View attachment 770500

Amica 1 30102019.mp4

drive.google.com

Really, really nice

 

[Wragg]

Really, really nice

Absolutely. I have now watched it over about eight or nine times and it gets better every time. I think it is brilliant.

 

[Jollyrei]

This is a wonderful collection of images related to Amica and Luna, beautifully curated and edited by Bobinder. As Wragg says, it is worth several viewings. Having watched it a few times now, I have a better appreciation of the complete video, especially having heard Bob's back-story related to the music. The piece, by Elgar, is nicely wistful and nostalgic. As a tribute to Luna, it pulls at the heartstrings a bit (as did Luna's stories), especially the images at the start and the video's ending. I thought at one point (as Bob and Wragg know) that a more dramatic soundtrack would have suited the crucifixion pieces better, but overall, I think the quieter music suits the overall mood of the work better. A beautiful memorial of a splendid story, and a lovely young woman, too soon gone from us.

 

[Eulalia]

I don't cry easily, but that brings me to tears - so lovely!

 

[bobinder]

Really, really nice

Absolutely. I have now watched it over about eight or nine times and it gets better every time. I think it is brilliant.

This is a wonderful collection of images related to Amica and Luna, beautifully curated and edited by Bobinder. As Wragg says, it is worth several viewings. Having watched it a few times now, I have a better appreciation of the complete video, especially having heard Bob's back-story related to the music. The piece, by Elgar, is nicely wistful and nostalgic. As a tribute to Luna, it pulls at the heartstrings a bit (as did Luna's stories), especially the images at the start and the video's ending. I thought at one point (as Bob and Wragg know) that a more dramatic soundtrack would have suited the crucifixion pieces better, but overall, I think the quieter music suits the overall mood of the work better. A beautiful memorial of a splendid story, and a lovely young woman, too soon gone from us.

I don't cry easily, but that brings me to tears - so lovely!

Thank you very much for all of your comments.

Compressing 'Amica' into a three-minute video requires the omission of significant episodes of the story, unfortunately.
The pictures illustrate a wide variety of Amica's experiences, and the choice of a soundtrack to reflect the changing moods was something of a challenge.
Ultimately, I edited the visuals around Elgar's haunting melody, and the result seems to provide the emotionally powerful atmosphere I wished to convey.

I am very glad that this latest visual interpretation of Luna's work is being well received, and I am delighted by the enthusiastic response.

 

[Eulalia]

Another beautiful tribute by Bobinder,

'So on this lonely shore
I come to meet you'​

 

[Madiosi]

 

[bobinder]

Slavegirls of Pompeii

​

This is a new manipulation showing Amica and Eulalia in the garden at Lucius' house. The models are Ana-Maria Ilinca and Alice. Both are composite figures, and with the exception of Amica's blonde hair, they have been created using authentic image components from their respective photo sessions. The slave dresses have been applied in multiple sections, courtesy of HBO's publicity images from 'Spartacus'.

Whilst Lucius' house is identified as the 'House of the Faun' in the story, the background to this manipulation shows the grand peristyle courtyard of the 'House of the Marine Venus' in Pompeii, a remarkably well preserved example of a Roman formal garden, surrounded by colonnades.