The influence of historical events on Soviet art. The Greatest Works of Art Works of art reflecting the images of outstanding people
history art artistic iconology
Task number 1
1. Answer the question and quote as a quote fragments of statements that confirm your answer: what are the main directions in the development of ancient historiography laid down in the works of Herodotus and Thucydides and how did they influence the development of the methodology of art history in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance?
An integrated approach to the study of history appears in the work of Herodotus. In the narrative, he includes extensive geographical and ethnographic materials. He set himself the task of finding the cause of the beginning of the Greco-Persian wars, thus, in his description, he acts as a historian-researcher, interested both in the description and in the search for investigative connections (“... so that the deeds of people and the great and amazingly worthy deeds committed by both the Hellenes and the barbarians were not ingloriously forgotten, especially the reason why they went to war among themselves”).
Thucyditis, being a participant in the Peloponnesian War, develops a type of pragmatic historiography. Unlike Herodotus, Thucydides has a critical approach to describing the course of events: “I did not consider it agreeable with my task to write down what I learned from others, after as accurate as possible research on each fact taken separately,” Thucydides wrote, “research were difficult, because eyewitnesses of individual facts conveyed about the same thing differently, but in the way that everyone could convey, guided by sympathy for one or another of the warring parties or based on their memory. Difficulty of Critical Fact Checking modern history and made Thucydides even more distrustful of the traditions of the past. “What preceded this war and what happened in an even more early times, it was impossible, due to the prescription of time, to investigate with accuracy. Compared with Herodotus, he deepened the method of historiography, thanks to which ancient historiography acquired another sign. With Thucydides, ancient historiography not only becomes a science in the full sense of the word, but it rises to such heights that subsequent generations of ancient historians were unable to maintain. The passion for rhetorical processing of presentation, which intensified in the late classical and reached its apogee in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, led to an increase in the artistic and moralizing tendency to the detriment of the scientific one.
A feature of ancient historiography was the primary interest in local histories.
An important achievement of ancient historiography is the development of the theory of development and the concepts of regularity closely related to it.
Ancient historiography was distinguished by a limited range of sources and the individual nature of historical research. In antiquity, there was no properly organized archival service, and historians only occasionally and accidentally used documentary material. Ancient historians often used rumors, oral stories, inaccurate translations of local priests, the critical verification of which was often difficult, and sometimes impossible. However, in general, over a long period of its development, ancient historical thought reached great heights, some fundamental ideas were developed, the consideration of which can be carried out on the work of Herodotus (between 490 and 480 - ca. 425 BC), an ancient Greek historian, nicknamed " father of history.
The humanists of the Renaissance proclaimed the rejection of the medieval system of cultural values, and opposed them with antique samples. The revival of the cultural achievements of antiquity forgotten in the Middle Ages, the emphasized appeal to ancient models in art, architecture, literature and history - such was the slogan of the humanists. During this period, there is an increased interest in ancient history, especially in the works of ancient historians, an attempt to master their achievements. In general, historical science in the period from the beginning of the Renaissance in Italy in the XIV century. and to English bourgeois revolution middle of the 17th century acquires a new quality. This is the first period in the development of the historiography of antiquity - the historiography of the period of humanism.
Historiography shows how the themes, methods and techniques of research have changed from century to century, how historians, using their accumulated experience, improved the ways of studying the past from stage to stage. The starting material for historiographical research is a historiographical fact.
Historiography, as already emphasized, is organically connected with the methodology of history.
In historiography, the general methodological principles remained unchanged - historicism and objectivity.
The principle of historicism includes specific requirements. Events and phenomena in historical science are considered on the basis of observing the temporal sequence, the continuity of the change of periods and stages of its development. Each historiographical fact is analyzed in the process of origin, formation and development. The study of the events of historical science is carried out in close connection with the specific historical conditions for their appearance.
Equally important is the principle of objectivity. Its application in historiography presupposes the freedom of the historian from the “social order”, bias, an unbiased analysis of the available historical literature, the “inscription” of historiographic sources in a specific historical time, the rejection of the role of “judge” of his predecessors, and the consideration of the national historiographic tradition.
One of the most important tasks of the methodology of history is to reveal the nature, purpose and specificity of methods.
The first place, among others, is occupied by the comparative-historical method, which makes it possible to make historical comparisons, comparisons, and establish parallels. In historiography, the application of this method makes it possible to study historiographic facts both in close connection with the historical situation in which they arose and operate, and in qualitative change at various stages of development.
The comparative-historical method does not exclude, but on the contrary, presupposes the use of the method of concrete analysis in historiography. This method is focused on the study of individual historiographic phenomena and situations, taking into account the conditions for their occurrence and mutual influence, "intersections" of theoretical and factual material.
The chronological method also works in historiography. It contributes to the study of historiographical facts from the standpoint of interrelated process, in which individual stages and periods are compared in order to reveal the objective patterns of accumulation and deepening of historiographic knowledge. The chronological method of presentation sometimes turns out to be unacceptable for the analytical study of the historiographical process. In this regard, historiographers often use the problem-chronological method. This method involves the "dismemberment" of a more or less broad topic into a series of narrow issues, each of which is considered in chronological order.
The use of the method of periodization of the historical process is acquiring ever greater methodological significance. It is on this method that the allocation of civilizations, formations, epochs, periods, stages, differing from each other in the level of social development, is based. In historiography, this method has its own specifics - these "articulations" are carried out in order to discover the defining directions in the development of scientific thought at each specific segment of "historiographic time", to identify new phenomena within the existing and replacing historiographic layers.
For historiography, the retrospective (return) method has a certain value. Its essence lies in the study of the process of movement of the researcher's thought from the present to the past: the study of the elements of the old, preserved in our days, and the reconstruction on their basis of the events and phenomena that took place in the history. Retrospection in historiography allows using modern knowledge to study their state in the past.
In historiography, it is useful to use the method of actualization, which in fact means determining the value of scientific knowledge for the present, as well as the future. The actualization method makes it possible to build scientific forecasts for the future development of historical science on the basis of identifying its leading trends. It has a pragmatic value, providing an opportunity to develop practical advice for further activities of historiographers on the basis of the "lessons of history".
2. Answer the question: who is the author? world history”, “Descriptions of Hellas”, “Natural History” and what time these works belong to, explain genre specificity of these works. Give examples of how the problems of description, analysis, attribution, monuments are affected visual arts in the indicated sources
Genre specificity - description of the military and political history. Polybius puts forward the following requirements for description: history must, firstly, be universal in nature and cover in its presentation events that are simultaneously taking place both in the west and in the east, and the presentation must be synchronous. Further, the story should not be idle, entertaining, its priority is authenticity. He is against rhetoric. He paid attention to private history, the history of heroes. Polybius also gave an important role to travel, which helps the historian to create work.
The author of the Description of Hellas is Pausanias. 2nd century BC Genre periegez (Greek periaiges - "covering the earth") - "circling around". Trud is a guide to the most places of interest Ancient Greece, includes legends associated with a particular place. Description of monumental monuments based on personal impressions, the time of their creation, the study of inscriptions, temple inventory, etc. It is an important source of information on art in the field of Greek archaism. Pausanias very accurately and skillfully described architectural monuments. An example is the temple of Zeus at Olympia, the treasuries at Delphi, indicating the location, size, materials, description of small details. Wrote about orders.
The author of Natural History is Pliny the Elder. This is one of the main sources of our information about ancient art. Compiled around 77 AD. for the Roman emperor Titus encyclopedia. Books 33-36 are devoted to art, where Pliny examines bronze and marble sculpture and painting, attributing them according to the dates of the artists' activities during the years of the Olympiads. This is a kind of catalog with a description of images, materials, techniques, short biographies artists in chronological order. For example, in book 36, Pliny writes about architectural orders, gives the dimensions and proportions of Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan columns. In the same place about different techniques for stone, about types of material, etc. In books 34 and 35, he pays attention to monumental art, describes the statues of Rome, the paintings and murals of the Capitol, forums and temples, the interior decoration and furnishings of temples, and the interiors of private houses.
3. Explain the features of the genre functioning of ekphrasis in the literature of Greek archaism, classics, Hellenism and trace the influence of ancient Greek types of ekphrasis on the literature of Byzantium and Western Europe during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Ekphrasis is a verbal description of any man-made object. Early ancient ekphrasis did not represent a separate literary genre, they were deviations from the main narrative in the form of an elegy, epitaph, epigram. Ekphrasis originated in Greek temples, its origins lie in priestly rites. Then ekphrasis appears in poetic epics - here they are descriptions of famous (sometimes imaginary) works of art. A classic example of Greek ekphrasis is the shield of Achilles, in Homer's Iliad, which describes in more than 120 lines what will be depicted on the shield when Hephaestus forges it. Philosophers and poets also turned to ekphrasis: Aristotle, Plato, Sophocles, Euripides, etc. Among the Greeks, ekphrasis is a praise for an artist inspired by the gods to create beauty. With the Romans, the artist fades into the background. Ekphrasis is part of their rhetoric. Virgil in the poem "Aeneid" (29-19 BC) gives a description similar to Homer's of the legendary shield of Aeneas (book VIII), which depicts scenes from the history of Rome from its founding to the reign of Emperor Augustus. As a result, the events of the poem are correlated with the context of the sacred history. the eternal city. Thus, ekphrasis links the past, present and future, sometimes with edifying, moralizing or philosophical motives. Rhetoric with a didactic orientation also includes the ekphrasis of the Description of the Statues by Callistratus. The genre of dialectical ekphrasis is represented by the "Paintings" of Flavius Philostratus the Elder and the Younger (II-III centuries AD). In the preface to his work, Philostratus the Elder reports on a gallery in Naples, in which a certain lover of painting, a patron of the arts, collected 65 paintings - pinak (paintings on wooden boards). Most likely, this message is a literary device, a poetic fiction, but perhaps a description of a collection of paintings that actually existed. The author leads the young student through the gallery and describes each picture in detail. Before us there are classical plots known from ancient Greek myths and poetic works of the Hellenistic and Roman eras. However, the text of "Pictures" is not a description of plots, but rhetoric about works of fine art, an attempt to imagine what the (already lost by that time) paintings of the famous ancient Greek artists Apelles, Zeuxis, Parrhasius, Polygnotus should have been like. Philostratus "draws" the plots in such detail that there is a doubt whether he "saw at least one of the pictures he described in reality, whether he himself ... is their creator"
The works of Philostratus were known and popular in Byzantium as "edifying reading". They were published again during the Italian Renaissance, in 1579. It is possible that the text of the "Pictures" was reflected in the compositions of the frescoes of the Villa Farnesina in Rome, made in 1511-1520. Raphael with students. Or the 15th century Italian poet Ariosto, in Roland Furious, describes an art gallery in canto 33.
In Byzantium, the transformation of ekphrasis is taking place. Christodor Coptic, Byzantine poet of the late 5th - early 6th centuries. created ecphrases "Description of statues in a public gymnasium called Zeuxippus" from 416 hexameters. The building referred to by Christodorus was built in ancient Byzantium by the emperor Septimius Severus (193-211) and is known as the baths of Zeuxippus, burned down during the Nika revolt in 532. Christodorus's descriptions included more or less lengthy characteristics about 80 sculpted characters, in which the author widely used rhetorical clichés. A special place in the ekphrasis of Christodor of Coptic is occupied by the description of the statue of the “god-equal husband” of Homer, to whom about 50 lines are dedicated.
Procopius of Caesarea in the 6th century praised Emperor Justinian I in his work "On Buildings" as a great builder. Pavel Selintiary created the "Ekphrasis of Hagia Sophia" on the occasion of the consecration of the temple, this is an example of Byzantine court poetry. During the period of iconoclasm, ekphrasis were created in defense of icons (John of Damascus). Conclusion-ekphrasis played the role of a tool in establishing a new religious state.
In Byzantium, the genre of ekphrasis also became widespread during the period of the Macedonian Renaissance (IX-XI centuries). In the XIV century. Byzantine monk Maximus Planud collected and compiled a collection of Greek ekphrasis in the form of epigrams. At the court of the Palaiologos in Constantinople, the work of John Eugenicus "Ekphrazy" (c. 1436), written in imitation of "Pictures" by Philostratus, was valued
The ekphrasis of the Renaissance (an era focused in everything on antiquity) goes back to the Homeric epic, which was facilitated by the translations of Greek authors into Latin. Ekphrasis for the formation of a humanistic personality plays an important role of education and upbringing. It is important to note the new features that the Renaissance gave to ekphrasis. The most common form in which he was embodied was lyrics (most often they were sonnets or madrigals. An example is Petrarch). In connection with the change in the society of the social position of artists in the era of the Cinquecento, in Renaissance ekphrasis, in comparison with ancient and medieval ones, the motif of praising the master who created the work is consciously and fundamentally enhanced. Ekphrasis becomes not only a kind of ode dedicated to a specific work, but a hymn to the master and more broadly - in principle to artistic creativity, as the highest manifestation of human activity.
3. Comment on the influence of the features of geographical representations on the development of the genre of a guide to places of interest from antiquity to modern times, give examples
The topographical framework of Pausanias in the "Description of Hellas" is limited to Greek cities and regions. Pausanias is a “mythologist” geographer who pursued the goal of creating a guidebook for Greek pilgrims, routes are paths to sanctuaries with a description of the road and useful information for travelers. Practical Romans made Itineraria - "road builders", in which, apart from descriptions of roads and distances to one or another point, there was nothing else.
In the Middle Ages, prototypes of modern guidebooks were issued for pilgrims, which were divided into two types: direct guidebooks, which contained routes and practical advice, and "journeys", in which pilgrims described their travels. Literary fascinating description of ancient monuments, places of worship and antiquity. The most famous are the mirabilii, the "Miracles of the City of Rome", dating back to a fairly old time, having received their classical form in the twelfth century, in a work attributed to Benedict, canon of the cathedral of St. Peter. Changing ideas about Rome, Constantinople and Jerusalem during the period crusades 1096-1270 "Journey" by Hegumen Daniel, (XII), "Journey to Tsargrad" by Dobrynya Yadreykovich (XIII) are examples of pilgrimage literature.
During the Renaissance, guidebooks were compiled by professional publishers, topographers, and learned scholars. For example, Francesco Albertini created a topographic guide to the statues of Florence, Description of Many Statues. "The Wonderful City of Rome" (1510) adapted version of a 12th-century medieval guidebook. showing important works of art. Francesco Sansovino (1521-1586) "Dialogues on the sights of Venice" (1556), "On the origin of equestrian statues" (1566) are the most important sources on the history of art in Venice. The development of the universal guide genre: Francesco Bocchi (1548-1618) "On the beauties of the city of Florence" (1581), Leandro Alberti (1479-1552) "Description of all Italy" (1550). Giulio Mancini - "Journey through Rome", "Reflections on Painting", Carlo Giuseppe Ratti (1737-1795) "Recommendations on what can be seen beautiful in Genoa from works of painting, sculpture and architecture" (1780) - the formation of a museological approach to the description and cataloging of works of art.
Feedback from the teacher ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
To create an impressive work of art, you need to have special skills that will distinguish your creations from the work of other masters. In some cases, artists consciously or unconsciously include hidden clues in their masterpieces that can shed light on their personal lives, desires, and technique. Many of these keys are hidden in plain sight. So grab your brushes and get creative...
1. Rembrandt mirrors
Rembrandt became famous for his use of the play of light in his magnificent paintings. At that time, many artists resorted to lighting effects, like Rembrandt, but none of them could capture the beauty of the world around them on canvas the way the great master did. Over the years, researchers have tried to unlock the secret of Rembrandt's technique by carefully studying the details of his paintings.
To create the effect of almost photographic precision, Rembrandt manipulated environment with the help of mirrors and lighting - what, in fact, modern photographers are doing now. When painting self-portraits, Rembrandt used complex combinations of flat and concave mirrors, along with a camera obscura, to get the best possible likeness. During his lifetime, the great artist did not reveal his technique to anyone. And only after testing the system of mirrors, art historians learned about the secret of his greatness.
2. Music of the "Last Supper"
Leonardo da Vinci was talented not only in art, but also in other creative fields such as music and writing. One day he decided to combine his talents in order to create a very curious Easter egg in one of his most famous paintings.
The Last Supper contains an interesting feature, namely musical accompaniment. In the picture, bread, as well as the hands of Christ and the apostles, are stacked on the table in such a way that they form a five-line musical staff. If you read the notes from right to left, as Da Vinci himself liked to write in his diaries, then you can get a whole composition that foreshadows the suffering of Jesus Christ.
3. Lost portrait of Edgar Degas
Between 1876 and 1880, Edgar Degas worked on the painting known as "Portrait of a Woman". The name speaks for itself. The picture really depicted only a woman in a black robe, but over time, another portrait began to emerge on her.
In 1922, employees of the Parisian museum noticed that something strange was happening with the "Portrait of a Woman". There were discolored spots and other strange details on it. However, this was soon forgotten. And only with the help of modern X-ray technology, we finally managed to discover what Edgar Degas painted more than a century ago.
In 2016, during an examination that lasted thirty-three hours, it was found that Degas painted another woman in his mysterious painting, most likely his first model and muse, Emma Daubigny. A portrait like the one painted under "Portrait of a Woman" actually exists, but is in a private collection and is rarely exhibited. This painting was most likely another sketch that Degas later decided to sketch.
4 Michelangelo And Arthritis
Michelangelo lived to the age of 89 and died in 1564. As it became known, in old age he struggled with a very common disease today: osteoarthritis.
A few years before his death, Michelangelo stopped signing paintings with his own name, entrusting this matter to other people. He also stopped painting (by any means) and switched to a hammer and chisel to satisfy his craving for art and the desire to create beauty.
In letters to his nephew, Michelangelo complained of "gout" and stiffness of hand movements. At that time, gout was used to describe discomfort in almost all joints of the body, but Michelangelo specifically referred to pain in the hands. In the portraits, where Michelangelo is depicted in old age, it is clear that the artist suffered from arthritis.
5. Bacchus and jaundice
In 1592 the famous painter Caravaggio moved to Rome. Here he became seriously ill, so he was forced to spend six months in the hospital of Santa Maria della Consolazione, where he began to paint his famous painting "Sick Bacchus" (or "Bacchino Malato"). On it we see Bacchus with yellow skin, which is a symptom of jaundice. Apparently, it was because of this illness that Caravaggio ended up in the hospital for such a long time.
Bacchus, according to Roman mythology, was the god of wine. Knowing that the symptoms of chronic alcoholism included a yellow complexion, Caravaggio decided that the best sitter for a portrait of a god suffering from alcoholism would be himself.
The fact that Caravaggio chose to use his own suffering to depict Bacchus dying of drunkenness shows the artist's dedication to his work.
6. Andrew Wyeth and Helga
In the mid-1980s, American artist Andrew Wyeth shocked the art world with over 200 portraits of the same woman he created over the course of a decade. These paintings and drawings became known as the "Portraits of Helga". When Wyeth created them, he kept it a closely guarded secret. His wife also did not know about these portraits.
The only person Wyeth told about Helga was his girlfriend, Nancy Hoving. She swore to keep the secret entrusted to her.
According to Hoving, Wyeth "liked to create mysteries ... to solve them later." In many paintings, Helga is depicted naked.
Wyeth said that his wife did not like it when he painted nude models, so he, out of respect for her, chose not to reveal the existence of paintings with Helga until he presented them to the public.
7. The man in Picasso's Blue Room
Picasso painted The Blue Room in 1901 during the so-called Blue Period. At that time, Picasso had no money, and he was constantly depressed. The artist expressed his melancholy with the help of blue and blue paints. The painting "The Blue Room" has always attracted art critics because of the strange strokes that Picasso used.
When the researchers studied the Blue Room using infrared technology, they discovered a mysterious man in a bow tie underneath the painting. We do not know who he was or why Picasso painted him. It is possible that it was Ambroise Vollard, the Parisian art dealer who helped Picasso organize his first exhibition. We all know that Picasso, due to his poor financial situation, could not afford to buy canvases, so he decided to paint the "Blue Room" over an unfinished portrait of a man with a bow tie.
8 Turbulence And The Starry Night
One of the most striking works of Van Gogh is the painting "Starry Night", which he painted in 1889, when he was in a psychiatric hospital. This happened during one of Van Gogh's worst psychotic episodes, however, it was thanks to him that he created a work of art, which, as it turned out relatively recently, contained a scientific fact discovered only in the 1940s, many years after the death of the great artist .
Turbulence and turbulent flow are harder to describe than quantum mechanics. However, in his painting Starry Night, Van Gogh actually depicted ideal turbulence. His other paintings from this period also depict ideal turbulence. This led art historians to believe that while in a state of mental imbalance, Van Gogh was miraculously able to see and draw turbulence many decades before this phenomenon was first described.
9. Monet's cataract
One of the hallmarks of Impressionism are hazy and blurry paintings. The most famous impressionist painter is Claude Monet, whose paintings in last years his lives became more and more blurred and dull. This deterioration in his creative activity can be explained by the cataract that he developed with age.
The influence of poor eyesight is clearly seen in Monet's painting "Japanese Bridge" (1922), which was painted in unusually bright colors. Perhaps he drew it from memory, overcompensating certain colors and hues to make it sharp.
In 1923, Monet finally agreed to an operation, after which he burned most of his old paintings, as he realized how terrible his eyesight was.
10. Goya and Joseph Bonaparte
In 1823, the artist Francisco Goya created a portrait of Don Ramon Satue, a judge of the Supreme Court of Spain. However, under the layer of paint, there may be a historical figure that was much more important and famous than Satue. We are talking about Joseph Bonaparte, brother of the French Emperor Napoleon. Joseph Bonaparte was appointed by his brother King of Spain, which he ruled from 1809 to 1813.
With the help of X-rays, a painted Joseph Bonaparte in a uniform with medals was found under the portrait of Satue. The portrait was painted during his reign, and Goya did his best to hide it.
Goya survived many of the political upheavals that affected Spain in the early 1880s. After the Napoleonic troops were withdrawn from the country, it became dangerous to keep things that were associated with the regime. For this reason, Goya decided to paint judge Ramon Satue on the portrait of the former king of Spain. His secret was revealed only after 200 years.
But not all theories about the meaning of works are clearly so delusional. Some manage to be both very convincing and downright mind-blowing at the same time.
1The Satyr Weeping For A Nymph Really Shows A Brutal Murder
The painting was painted by Piero di Cosimo in 1495 and supposedly depicts a scene from Ovid's Metamorphoses. In this story, Procris was accidentally killed in the forest by her husband, the hunter Cephalus, who mistook his wife for a wild beast and speared her.
This is a typical scene choice for a renaissance artist, but there is one problem. A careful study shows that the Procris depicted in the painting by Cosimo could not have been killed by accident.
According to British professor Michael Baum, all signs indicate that the canvas depicts a brutal murder. Procris has deep lacerations on her arm, as if she was trying to fend off knife attacks. Finally, there is also a wound on the neck.
Instead of depicting a scene from the novel, Cosimo's painting shows us the aftermath of a violent knife attack. It probably wasn't done on purpose. Professor Baum suspects that Cosimo asked the local mortuary to lend him a corpse in order to sketch the murder victim.
2 Diego Rivera Testified That JD Rockefeller Jr. Had Syphilis
The work of Diego Rivera "The Man Controlling the Universe" is one of the notable creations in the Mexican art of painting. The mural was originally commissioned for Rockefeller Center but later remodeled in Mexico City after Nelson Rockefeller destroyed the mural.
He did not like that Lenin was depicted on it. The restoration of the image was also a monumental act of revenge. The mural claims that Nelson Rockefeller's father had syphilis.
One of the key elements of the painting was the episodes of the latest scientific discoveries. Galaxies, exploding stars, lots of bacteria floating above the heads of men and women...
After Nelson Rockefeller destroyed the original version, Rivera painted his father, J.D. Rockefeller, Jr., surrounded by bacteria that cause syphilis.
That's not all. Despite the fact that J. D. Rockefeller Jr. was a teetotaler throughout his life, Rivera painted him with a martini in his hand and women who looked like prostitutes. To enhance the effect, he placed Lenin in the foreground.
3. In the painting "Isabella" a man hides his erection
One of the luminaries of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, John Everett Millais, is probably best known today for the painting Ophelia. At least that was the case until 2012, when researchers discovered something unexpected in his painting Isabella. It depicts a scene from Boccaccio's Decameron, and the shadow of an erect penis is clearly visible on the banquet table.
The Decameron is one of the most erotic books ever written, and the picture is full of references to sexuality. The character's outstretched leg is a phallic symbol, and a pile of spilled salt near the shadow of a penis probably symbolizes a seed. It looks obscene, but at the same time it is not at all like ordinary pornography.
4. La Primavera expresses love for gardening
This is one of the most famous works by Botticelli in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. La Primavera is also one of the most enigmatic paintings by Botticelli. Due to the fact that it depicts a group of women who walk through the sky as if through a meadow, experts still argue that the picture has an allegorical meaning.
But there is one theory that stands out from all the rest for its evidence and strangeness, who claims the painting is about gardening.
This version looks plausible because of the breathtaking scrupulousness with which the author prescribes each plant. According to official estimates, the painting depicts at least 500 carefully rendered different plants from almost 200 different species.
Some believe that these were all plants that grew in 15th century Florence and bloomed from March to May. Others claim that Botticelli invented these plants himself, especially for this picture.
5. "Music Lesson" is filled with sexuality
Created by Johannes Vermeer in the 1660s, The Music Lesson is considered one of the greatest paintings of Dutch life in the 17th century. A young girl is taught to play the harpsichord by a handsome tutor.
This is a photorealistic depiction of a typical high society day during Vermeer's time. At least that's the standard explanation. Some believe that the picture is permeated with sex and hidden passion.
According to this theory, the painting is filled with little clues to understanding the sexual tension between the girl and her mentor. It is not surprising that the image of a girl is associated with virginity, but the mirror over the harpsichord shows that the girl is actually looking at the teacher while playing.
The wine jug is an aphrodisiac, while the tool on the floor is interpreted as a huge phallic symbol. If we consider the picture from this point of view, then it is even possible to assume that the viewer is a voyeur.
And it's not just the case with this picture. Some art historians argue that the presence of music in Vermeer's paintings always symbolizes sexuality, which makes his work very strange.
6. Cafe Terrace at Night is reminiscent of The Last Supper
Painted in 1888, "Night Café Terrace" is one of the most important works Van Gogh, fully revealing the special style of the artist. She is also one of his favorites. But some argue that it has a much deeper subtext. A recent theory is that Café Terrace at Night refers to The Last Supper.
From an early age Van Gogh was extremely religious. His father was a Protestant priest, and influential art critics claim that the artist's paintings are filled with Christian imagery.
In the case of the "Night Café Terrace", this imagery is manifested in the form of Jesus coming to eat with his disciples. If you look closely at the diners, you can see that there are twelve of them and they are sitting around the central figure with long hair.
Tellingly, there are even a number of crosses hidden in the picture, including one directly above the figure of Christ. There is other evidence to support this theory.
When Van Gogh wrote to his brother about painting, he claimed that the world was in "great need" for religion. He was also deeply fascinated by Rembrandt and expressed a desire to revive his style with subtle Christian symbolism. Café Terrace by Night may well be proof that, in the end, he succeeded.
7. "Allegory with Venus and Cupid" warns of syphilis
A picture that shows Venus and Cupid about to have sex with a bald man in the background always stirs the imagination. Even by the standards of its time, Agnolo Bronzino's painting "Allegory with Venus and Cupid" is a bit dark.
Despite rave reviews about the work as an erotic painting of "special beauty", there is a lot of evidence that this is indeed a warning about syphilis. This is evidenced by the screaming figure on the left side of the picture.
Although the classic description of the painting says that this is a metaphor for jealousy or despair, close examination reveals that she is actually very ill. The fingers of the figure are swollen, like those of patients with syphilis, they lack nails, and the hair has signs of syphilitic alopecia. Toothless gums suggest mercury poisoning, which was used to treat syphilis in Renaissance Italy.
One of the characters has a rose thorn in his leg, but he does not notice it. This lack of sensation will be the direct result of syphilitic myelopathy. In other words, the picture depicts the suffering that awaits in the future those who follow the passions.
8. El Autobus talks about a terrible accident
Mexican artist Frida Kahlo's painting El Autobus, painted in 1929, shows the life of the Mexican community. A housewife, a worker, an Indian mother, and a wealthy gringo businessman, despite social differences, are waiting for a bus next to a girl who probably means Frida herself. All the characters in this picture do not know that a terrible accident awaits them.
In 1925, Kahlo was riding a bus that crashed into a tram. The collision was so strong that Kahlo's body was pierced through with a metal handrail.
Her later work often refers to this accident, implying that she survived the crash as a miracle. El Autobus is also no exception. There is speculation that the worker in the painting is the same person who saved Kahlo's life by removing the broken handrail from her body.
9. Pictures of the Dutch school of painting - pictures in pictures
The Dutch golden age of painting is second only to the Italian Renaissance. As in other eras, this time also had its own quirks in fashion and painting, one of which was that artists painted "pictures within pictures".
These "pictures within pictures" were painted not only by Vermeer and his comrades in the brush. Some believe that such paintings contain a special character code. One example of this style is the painting "Slippers" by Samuel van Hoogstraten.
At first glance, the painting shows an empty hall with two pairs of slippers lying in the middle of it. On the wall of the hall hangs a painting by Caspar Netscher "A father reprimands his daughter."
At first glance, nothing out of the ordinary. But modern connoisseurs of Dutch art know that Netsher's painting was painted in a brothel. Apparently, these slippers belong to a man and a woman, but since the hall is empty, they may have gone to have sex.
In other cases, the code was thinner. In the paintings "Man Writing a Letter" and "Woman Reading a Letter" (pictured), Gabriel Metsu depicted a young man writing a letter to his beloved and reading it.
In the second picture, the image of a ship in a stormy sea symbolizes the stormy nature of their future connection. In the painting “Love Letter” by Vermeer, a ship under ominous clouds inspires the thought of possible bad news.
You can find hundreds of examples of these Dutch "inside the picture" paintings that subtly change the meaning of the main image.
10. The works of L. S. Lowry are full of hidden suffering.
This mid-20th century artist is known for his paintings depicting the North West of England. L. Lowry often painted huge urban scenes with crowds of "swindlers". Although he was popular, the art world did not recognize his paintings for a long time, considering them trivial. In fact, Lowry's paintings are filled with hidden human suffering.
On the canvas of 1926 "Accident" a crowd of people who have gathered near the lake and look at it is drawn. In fact, the artist was inspired by the suicide scene in this place, and the crowd gathered to gawk at the corpse of the drowned man.
Other Lowry paintings show characters watching fisticuffs, unfortunates being evicted from their homes, or simply people looking out of windows in a depressed mood.
Tragedy never sticks out in any picture. All other people continue to live their own everyday life unaware of the suffering of their neighbors. In this world, we are completely alone, and our pain means nothing to others. And this is probably the most terrible hidden message.
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Some world-famous works of art hide secrets that even modern scientists have not yet been able to unravel. In our review, ten works of art with a mysterious history, which, however, makes them even more attractive.
Girl with a pearl earring
Despite all theories, no one knows who exactly Jan Vermeer portrayed in 1665 in the famous painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring". She looks like she has no idea she's being drawn. Some said that this was Vermeer's daughter, others that this was his mistress, and still others said that this was an invented image, and in real life she never existed. The only thing that can be said for sure is that the girl is wearing a very expensive piece of jewelry. The identity of Vermeer himself remains a mystery. Very little is known about his life. Perhaps only that Jan always lived in the city of Delft and had 15 children.
Two paintings in one
While restoring a masterpiece by Robert Reid, a 20th-century American impressionist, restorer Barry Bauman was amazed to find that another canvas was hiding under the paint layer of the restored painting. This hidden painting, called "In the Garden", depicted a young woman. She sat at a table in the open air and read something while sipping tea. Many artists paint on top of part of a painting, but Reed, for completely unknown reasons, made a second painting on top of a completely finished first. All that is known about Reid is that he was an avid gambler and died before the Great Depression in America.
Love and betrayal by Wally Neusel
In the early 1900s, Wally Neusel was the mysterious muse of the Austrian painter Egon Schiele. She appeared in several of his paintings (including erotic ones) and is believed to have been his mistress. Neusel came from a poor family in Tattendorf, Austria, and met Schiele when she was only 16 years old. Over time, their relationship grew into a purely professional one. Schiele abruptly left Neusel in 1915 to marry a more respectable woman.
David's hidden weapon
It is still debated whether Michelangelo's statue of David has a hidden weapon in his right hand. Some suggest that David is holding a hidden fustibal in his hand (a throwing weapon that was a sling attached to a stick, allowing you to throw stones up to 180 meters). According to the Bible, David only had a sling and five stones when he went out to fight Goliath. Since the creation of the sculpture by Michelangelo, everyone thought that David had a sling in his hand. But some scholars today argue that the straps of the sling are attached to something in David's hand that may very well be a fustibal handle.
Statue of Jesus with real teeth
In a small Mexican town, it was accidentally discovered that a 300-year-old statue of Jesus has real human teeth with roots. No one knows where these teeth came from, because in the religious traditions of earlier times, it was customary to carve hair and teeth from statues from animal bones. Created in the 18th century, the statue of Christ was about to be restored before being X-rayed. Restorers were shocked to find perfectly preserved human teeth on x-rays.
Image of a man under the portrait of an ironer
Thanks to the use of an infrared camera during the restoration, a completely different picture was discovered under the portrait of The Ironer (Pablo Picasso, 1906). This second painting had an inverted image of a man with a mustache. Scientists still do not know who this man was and whether it was Picasso who painted him. Various versions were put forward - from a self-portrait to the fact that this is an acquaintance of the artist.
Study by candlelight
There is still debate around the painting “Study by Candlelight” - whether it belongs to the brush of Vincent van Gogh, or whether it is a fake, as his nephew claims. The painting looks like a Van Gogh self-portrait, but its bottom third is unfinished and also contains a strange image that looks like a Japanese kabuki actor. This image at the bottom of the self-portrait was completed with ink, not paint. The picture was first acquired by William Goetz, an executive at Universal Pictures, in 1948. At that time, the authenticity of the work was certified. But later, Van Gogh's nephew declared The Study by Candlelight to be a fake.
Missing ballerina
No one knows how the painting "Dancer Making Points" by Edgar Degas disappeared from the apartment of its former owner, reclusive millionaire Huguette Clark. But when the painting turned up at the home of Henry Bloch, art collector and co-founder of H&R Block, Clark filed a complaint with the FBI claiming the painting was hers. Although Clarke never claimed the painting was missing, and Bloch claimed to have acquired it legally, the painting was returned to Huguette Clarke. After that, the lawyer of the millionaire immediately transferred the painting to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Clarke received a hefty amount of compensation, and Bloch was allowed to hang the painting in his home until the time of his death, after which the painting must be re-transferred to the museum.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Robbery
In 1990, the biggest robbery in the world took place at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Two criminals disguised as policemen stole paintings by Edgar Degas, Rembrandt and Jan Vermeer worth nearly $500 million. Over 25 years, investigators have collaborated with dozens of people who allegedly spoke on behalf of informants with information about the kidnapping. But every time things came to a standstill. Now the reward for information that will lead to the return of the paintings is already as much as $ 5 million. But none of the paintings have ever been found.
Another Mona Lisa
Many people believe that there is only one "Mona Lisa" - famous painting at the Louvre. In fact, there is another portrait in the Prado Museum in Madrid, which was painted either by da Vinci himself or by one of his students. At the same time, the picture is not a copy of the one that is housed in the Louvre. Interestingly, the second painting has a slightly different perspective, which can create a 3-D effect. Also, few people know that there is another image of the same woman by Leonardo da Vinci - the Isleworth Mona Lisa painting, which is recognized by some experts as the earliest version of the canvas.
ART AND HISTORY: THE ESSENCE OF INTERACTION Semenova A. N., Tarasova M. V. SibFU, Humanitarian Institute, Faculty of Art History and Cultural Studies, Department of Art History Krasnoyarsk, Russia ART AND HISTORY: THE NATURE OF INTERRELATIONSHIP Semenova A. N., Tarasova M. V. The Siberian Federal University, the Institute of Humanities, the Art and Culture Studies Department Krasnoyarsk, Russia The fact of the influence of historical events on art on over time is irrefutable. New styles in art arose due to changes in a person's attitude to the world, which were the result of the constant running of time, significant historical events were recorded in works of artistic culture, as if illustrating the era. In addition, each person of art belongs to a certain time and, at least indirectly, reflects the current historical situation in his work. Art, thus, becomes a kind of chronicle of changing epochs, recording all the changes of time more accurately than any scientist. But does art always only follow history, sometimes catching up, sometimes lagging behind the events of modern reality? Perhaps it happens that history is forced to submit to the power of art and develop under its influence in a different way? After all, like history, art is the work of man, and it all depends only on what kind of people in a certain era will be more necessary for a person epochs in general: people who change history, or people who create ideals, works of art? This problem remains important in our time, since the mutual influence of history and art creates a picture of the world of a certain era as a whole. If we assume that the fact of reverse influence is possible, then in order to prove it, it is necessary to consider simultaneously historical and artistic processes and understand their interaction. An event so significant for history as the Hundred Years War between England and France (1337-1453) became a whole era within the European Middle Ages and the longest military conflict in the history of mankind. These times were especially difficult for France, whose territory became the scene of hostilities and internal contradictions. Despite all the difficulties, France managed to win the 116-year-old war for its freedom, which was largely brought to the country by ordinary people, raised by the calls of Joan of Arc and other patriots. art culture The time of the Hundred Years War is characterized, interestingly, not by decline, but, on the contrary, by a strong rise. In the midst of death and disease, disasters and destruction, paradoxical is the construction of “airy” Gothic temples that lift up the prayers of a suffering person for salvation to God. At the end of the XIV-beginning of the XV centuries. a transition is being made from the mature Gothic of France to the late one in connection with the desperate desire of a person to be saved among everything that is happening around, to shout to the Lord by any means. This is the time of the hardest defeats for the country, practically devoid of independence and captured by the British. Late Gothic temples became even more elongated upwards, decorative elements take on a fiery, heavenly shape. As a fire blazes in the soul of a believer, so the temple itself becomes almost completely transparent from the stained-glass windows, representing the Mountain City in the midst of earthly chaos. In addition, the development of the very type of city cathedral is indicative, accommodating (gathering) the entire population of the city and being its “heart”. Its united volumes unite believers in a single prayerful impulse, just as the popular movement united almost the entire population of France under its banners to fight for the freedom of their homeland. The temple sculpture of Gothic temples, enlivening the cathedrals, in the era of the Hundred Years War, pays great attention to the Mother of God. The strengthening of Her cult speaks of the need in the worldview of a person during the Hundred Years War to find peace with a close, human Deity. The image of the Mother of God also appears here as the image of the Mother of all mankind, ready to listen to all the sorrows of an unfortunate person and convey prayers to the Lord. The desire to change the terrible reality is observed not only in temple art, but also in folk literature, where songs appeared, compiled by ordinary people, describing the hardships of life and hopes for a brighter future. Artistic images created during the Hundred Years War helped a person realize that he is able to win, and the people, united by faith and patriotism with the power of works of art, were able to liberate their country. A person oppressed by historical events can find a way out of a spiritual crisis with the help of artistic culture. It is works of art that most strongly influence the inner world of a person, change his attitude to the world. A person exists in a certain reality, which he seeks to change. This is possible only with the help of art, where such spaces are created in which a person is surrounded by another world (temples are built during the war). Helping people find ideals, art shows the way to a new reality, pushes them to actions that can change the world around them, and, therefore, change the course of history. The process of the influence of history on art and art on history does not stop for a moment. Mutual influence enriches both developing areas, which confirms the relevance of this problem. dynamically
