Most of the old stuff doesn't do too much for me, but I do really love Hieronymus Bosch. He painted during the 15th and 16th centuries and is famous for his complex and bizarre depictions of demons, magical-looking creatures, and fantasy worlds. (A sort of Dante-esque hell.) Somehow, this is all supposed to make the viewer fearful of his own evil tendencies. I just think I'd like to have some of the animals as pets.
One other interesting painting from the same era is Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Icarus of course is the character from Greek mythology who got a little too flight-happy, disobeyed his father, and let his homemade wings melt in the sun. First check out the painting, then read this fantastic little poem by William Carlos Williams (one of my favorites):
According to Brueghel
when Icarus fell
it was spring
a farmer was ploughing
his field
the whole pageantry
of the year was
awake tingling
near
the edge of the sea
concerned
with itself
sweating in the sun
that melted
the wings' wax
unsignificantly
off the coast
there was
a splash quite unnoticed
this was
Icarus drowning
(W.H. Auden has a somewhat different take on this painting in his poem "Musée des Beaux Arts.")
Oh wait! One more. Jacques-Louis David's The Death of Marat is the city's pride and joy. It was painted in Paris in 1793 during the Reign of Terror, the months of the French Revolution when the guillotine was busiest. It shows the liberal propagandist Marat murdered by Charlotte Corday, a moderate from Normandy who afterward ran through the streets waving her bloody weapon for all to see. Marat had a skin condition (possibly a symptom of celiac disease) that kept him lingering in the tub for hours every day, quite vulnerable to sneaky Corday. The painter, David, was chummy with Marat, and banged out this painting four months after the murder as a memorial and a political statement. But David was also chummy with Robespierre, a leader of the French Revolution who fell out of public favor when he began decapitating folks too ruthlessly. Robespierre was sent to the guillotine in 1794, and by that time David had already peaced out to Brussels, hoping to keep his tête intact. He took this painting with him, and after his death it was donated to the city.
Okay, so, on y va! Onto the modern stuff. During the 19th century, Belgian and Dutch artists dabbled in all sorts of movements, including realism, naturalism, impressionism, pointillism, post-impressionism, and symbolism. I don't feel like writing about those.
I'm more into the 20th century stuff, from surrealist painters like René Magritte and Salvador Dali. Brussels is home to The Empire of Lights, Magritte's tricky painting that makes you think hmm, something's fishy here.
Okay, well, I wanted to give you more to read today, but I'm all tuckered out and I've only covered one museum! So check back soon for my thoughts on:
The Groeninge Museum
The Van Gogh Museum
The Rijksmuseum
The Mauritshuis
Le Louvre
Le Musée d'Orsay
2 comments:
I looked at that Magritte what you said.
It's not a very good picture because it's night on the ground but day in the sky. I like your sister's Princess Lucy pictures better.
--Papa
The Icarus painting made me think of "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man," the young artist being named Stephen Daedelaus. The final line of the book is "Old father, old artificer, stand me now and ever in good stead." I read it in high school, so that's all I remember. Must have made an impression since I still remember the line. Not sure if the father stood him in good stead since he didn't remind him incessantly that wax melts. I guess that's what mothers do.
Mama
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