My goal here was to try to depict one of the King of Sparta in the most historically accurate way possible taking into account the limited artefacts we have from the period and aiming for a cohesive painting trying to break down the overall "red" appearance of the figure and limiting the use of freehand. The shield is actually based on two different vases from the era.
I was not looking for a battle beaten figure but more for a grandiose depection of this figure. A joy to paint !