Title: “Lapis Lazuli-Ascension.”

Heavily Textured. Mixed Media: Oil and Acrylic on Canvas

48” by 36” inches.

Lapis lazuli, is a deep blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, it was the most expensive pigment available (gold being second) and was often reserved for depicting the robes of Angels, or the Virgin Mary.  Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665) by Johannes Vermeer is painted with ultramarine, a natural pigment made from lapis lazuli.

In the Mesopotamian poem the Epic of Gilgamesh (17th-18th Century BC), one of the oldest known works of literature, lapis lazuli is mentioned several times. The Statue of Ebih-Il, a 3rd millennium BC statue found in the ancient city-state of Mari in modern-day Syria, now in the Louvre, uses lapis lazuli inlays for the irises of the eyes.

In ancient Egypt, lapis lazuli was a favorite stone for amulets and ornaments such as scarabs. Lapis jewelry has been found at excavations of the Predynastic Egyptian site Naqada (3300–3100 BC). At Karnak, the relief carvings of Thutmose III (1479-1429 BC) show fragments and barrel-shaped pieces of lapis lazuli being delivered to him as tribute. Powdered lapis was used as eyeshadow by Cleopatra. Lapis was also used in the funeral mask of Egyptian Pharaoh, Tutankhamun.

In Buddhism, Lapis lazuli is said to help bring inner peace, clear the mind of negative thought patterns and awaken the third eye, promoting a higher consciousness on paths of self-discovery.

This Painting is a visual ode to The Stone of The Gods.

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