Micenic

The intimate size and provocative elements of this painting draw us close to examine the world within its frame. An open matchbook and tiny bell hang from a crumbling wall. An ink pen drips from the contorted hand of a man whose flesh mutates to a glowing green. Though inexplicable, all is typical in the small, compacted compositions of Siegfried Reinhardt. The title, “Micenic,” is an obscure form of Mycenaean. The Mycenaean culture is the setting for some of the best-known ancient Greek literature and mythology, including Homer's “Iliad” and “Odyssey.” In the painting, grass roots push down through an excavated room adorned with a Greek motif, suggesting the buried remains of ancient cultures. True to Reinhardt's surrealist style, the exact relationship of the writer to his setting remains a mystery.