Does Art Tell You About The Artist Or Yourself?
Do You Look Or Do You See?
Art is not my field of expertise, although I used art in its many forms to teach history. Art makes everything more interesting. History comes alive when using art to illustrate a point in time. If you cannot remember a date, a place, or even a theory, you can bet you will remember what you need to know if it's connected to art in some way. I discovered what interested me along my long journey and noted how art informed me about myself. It will probably do the same for you; take a look.
You will note a connection among my choices today. That's just how my brain works. Brain Waves.
The Ninth Wave is an 1850 painting by Russian-Armenian marine painter Ivan Aivazovsky. It is his most well-known work.
The title refers to an old sailing expression referring to a wave of an incredible size that comes after a succession of incrementally more giant waves.
It depicts a sea after a night storm and people facing likely death attempting to save themselves by clinging to debris. The debris, in the shape of the cross, appears to be a Christian metaphor for salvation from earthly sin. This painting shows both the destructiveness and beauty of nature.
I love this painting as it illustrates humans as having little power compared to mother nature. In modern times when it appears humans don't give a crap about the Earth, this painting shows who is really in control and who will outlast the other.
I have become ever more intrigued by Matias Alonso Revelli. He has a relatively small Facebook fanbase (Matialonsor Photo), about 1.4K, yet his photographs are remarkable. For example, this photograph is beautiful. The sun, the most potent star as far as Earth is concerned, controls the most powerful force on Earth, the sea. Yet again, an image that confirms the power and beauty of nature in one moment.
Amongst William-Adolphe Bouguereau's art, The Wave is particularly lauded for its stunning accuracy and realism. Bouguereau faithfully recreates the natural world.
While Bouguereau depicted the woman's body in incredible detail, he paid equal attention to the sea. As a result, one can almost feel the ocean's spray and foam, with the moody horizon visible in the distance.
I always look at the eyes in a painting. In this case, you can see the woman's eyes looking straight back at you with what seems to be a slight grin or smile. Her smooth skin and natural naked body contrast the rough seas that lie just feet away from her. Again in this painting, you can see the beauty and power of nature both in the woman and the sea.
Guillaume Seignac was a student of Bouguereau who painted the previous painting, The Wave. I added this painting because it is one of my favorites and because you can see so many similarities between the methodology of the student and the teacher. Although I admire the skill and the realism of the previous painting much more, I also enjoy the slightly more magical effect added to this painting. More so than in the last picture, Seignac adds sexual overtones as the wave's crest is ridden and lifts the naked woman toward ecstasy.
Preethi is an entirely self-taught and independent artist; According to Preethi, her paintings are filled with a "passion for life, my vision of this world, the nature, beautiful colors around me . . ." She continued, "I express my emotions and visions through colors on the canvas. I love the loneliness and serenity during the creation."
I enjoy this painting as it draws me deep into it. Although it is a moment caught in time, it also appears to be a moving, living, breathing, powerful image. Wherever you focus your eyes, it seems to move. The geometry of the painting and the colors force you to look over its entirety.
Girl Wave is a fantasy portrait, a combination of girl and nature as one. I love that this painting is vivid and colorful. Once more, we see the power and beauty of both woman and nature in one moment. A continuous moment.
Sue Clyne is a self-taught English artist who worked as a makeup artist for ten years. Similar to a previous article I wrote containing the painting, Evolution My Ass, this painting intrigues me. Although it may be seen as a 'fun' image, I enjoy the idea that beauty and positions in life have been socially devised over thousands of years, and through a quirk of nature, things may have turned out quite different.
So why does the royal family have a specific wave? There is some history to that question.
The way royals typically wave is a much slower, more controlled movement, which helps prevent wrist aches and pains. It also adds an air of class; according to one royal commentator, Victoria Arbiter, "You can recognise a royal wave immediately. It's a vertical hand with a slight twist from the wrist, a classy affair that oozes decorum but doesn't get too excitable."
The Great Wave off Kanagawa has been described as the most reproduced image in all art history and as a contender for the most famous artwork in Japanese history. The most eye-catching feature of the painting is the extended wave as it is about to break with the crash of its claw-like crest. The beautiful dark blue pigment used by Hokusai, Prussian Blue, was a new material imported from England through China. The wave is about to strike the three boats as if it were an enormous monster, which seems to symbolize, once more, the irresistible force of nature and the weakness of human beings.
I love the beauty and power seen on the surface and deep within this legendary block painting. When I first saw this painting about 50 years ago, it introduced me to Japan and Japanese history and culture since my bucket list contained Sumo wrestling and a Samurai museum. As an aside, this image also introduced me to the idea of tattoos at 14 years old. Two years later, I would have my first tattoo of many.
© Stephen G. Arrowsmith 2022
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