The motif
The Colosseum was the great arena of ancient Rome. Today's gladiators wear helmets with face masks, and their arenas shine under floodlights. The fight has stayed the same.
After the game, silence. A shattered helmet in brilliant blue lies in the sand, beside it a torn-open ball. Around the helmet sits the victor's laurel wreath in cadmium yellow – three of its leaves lie on the ground before it. Quinacridone magenta runs from helmet and ball, flows forward and spills over the edge of the picture. The arches of the arena stay black, grey and white; only a torch still burns, and embers glow behind the helmet. The colour names come from the pigments David paints his originals with.
