Andare, Partire, Tornare
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paintingmania
I'm putting on a small selection of pictures to aid in Dichroic's question. But I want to know - are we identifying ourself with a particular painting? With an artist and his/her typical style? What if you don't like the artist personally but like the work? Hmm, questions to ponder. My next entry will be pictureless, because it will be devoted to the debate as to whether or not I really came close to getting shot by the Secret Service today. (As Dave Barry sez, "I am not making this up.")
Here are a few pictures to aid your thinking:
The mistress of maternal love and affection, without being soppy. This is "Maternal Caress."
Ah, surrealism. Magritte and his dreamworld. This is "Empire of Light," one of my most favoritest paintings in the world.
More surrealism? Here's another, by Ernst - surrealism really is one of my favorite genres. It's called "The Robing of the Bride."
Frieda Kahlo was considered a surrealist, but for our purposes, we'll put her down as somebody interested in intense self-examination, even to the point of portraying herself unflatteringly.
Ooh, how about another tough female? She was raped, and although she lost her suit against her rapist in court, she was one of the few early women artists to survive *as* an artist. Most of her paintings were attributed to her father for a long time. Artemesia Gentileschi, and "Judith and Holofernes" :
Titian? This is early - I couldn't find one of his tortured, raw, almost monochomatic later works, where his style has become so brushy that it resembles something far more postmodern. Here, he's still glorying in color and beauty.
Van Gogh?
How about Leonardo Da Vinci? This is Ginevra di Benci, my occasional namesake.
John Singer Sargent? This is, if I'm remembering correctly, titled "Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose."
Obviously, this isn't even close to the paintings people could pick - it's just meant to flash a few ideas in front of people and make 'em go hmmmmmm.
As for me, I'm either Artemesis Gentileschi or maybe Frieda Kahlo...on most days.
5:38 p.m. - 2002-07-10
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