Monday, December 24, Rubenesque. Rubenesque figures Those of us this week who will be hitting the Christmas ham, cookies, eggnog, fruitcake yuck , and candies a little two hard may be well on our way to developing what has come to be known, both kindly and unkindly, as "Rubenesque" figures. My students in school used to get a hearty laugh when reviewing the work of Peter Paul Rubens and others at the "massive" proportions some of his nude female figures assumed.
First, ideals of feminine beauty are notoriously fickle, even within the span of a few years take the twelve-year period to for instance. Second, during the baroque period, and for centuries before, women with some "meat on their bones" also were women who could afford "meat on their plates". Press ESC to cancel. Ben Davis February 5, Why is Rubens one of the most influential and important Flemish artists? What art movement did Peter Paul Rubens belong to?
How did Rubens work represent the culture it was created in? Who influenced Rubens? Where does the term Rubenesque come from? In the 17 th century people were only fat if they were rich as they could afford the food, the poor were thin. If you were thin you were seen to have something wrong with you. Now cheap high calorie food is available your weight is not related to your social class. We now want to be as thin as possible. This shows how as time has changed so has our body shapes and how we are expected to look.
I am more aware now of the changes in perceptions of beauty in relation to weight over time and my work question the ideal weight of beauty in modern society. P Venus at a mirror [Oil on canvas].
Painting gall [Online]. Muscular men, most of whom are quite naked, are struggling with writhing women; arms are flailing and reaching, blood is flowing as the adults fight over the children, some of whom are already trampled or dead.
The frantic efforts of the mothers have no effect in stopping the gory carnage; they are a panicking, doomed group. Rubens' intention was to shock and unnerve the public with an outcry against the atrocities of war and violence. Some years later he remarked, as quoted by Simon Schama in Rembrandt's Eyes " We are exhausted [in Antwerp] and have endured so much that this war seems without purpose This is seen in the use of chiaroscuro, emotive dynamism, and rich color.
He also studied anatomical statues with their skin removed in order to learn even more astutely how the body was made.
Based on the Greek play Prometheus Bound , this classical mythological painting presents the demigod Prometheus who is being punished by Zeus for giving the secret of fire to man. He is permanently chained to a rock on Mount Caucasus while the ferocious eagle of Jupiter, a symbol of Zeus, feeds upon his liver every day. A painting by Titian of the giant Tityus inspired the picture's dense composition, in which Prometheus tumbles downward with his left arm almost reaching beyond the canvas.
The dynamic foreshortened muscular figure and the gigantic eagle with outstretched wings are the basis of the plan, beautifully detailed throughout, and set in an abstract landscape scene.
The enormous bird rips open Prometheus's torso but to secure its grasp on the captive's flesh, one of the eagle's talons gouges Prometheus's right eye. His left eye is locked on the predator, clearly he is fully aware of this torture, while his writhing posture and drawn up thighs, clenched fist, and tousled hair convey his abject agony.
This hulking figure, with its broad frame and dense musculature, shows the influence of Michelangelo. The masterful orchestration of heavy figures in space, the rich color palette of Italy, and the powerful eagle create an incredibly expressive work of art. The piece, which Rubens considered one of his most important works, represents the virtuoso of the artist at his absolute height.
Working in collaboration with the famed animal and still-life painter Frans Snyders, who contributed the massive eagle, Rubens rendered the brutal tale with corresponding violence. This vigorous style " This Biblical story, from the book of Matthew centers upon the Adoration of the Magi, which was one of Rubens' favorite themes; he made at least twelve paintings of this scene.
In this rendition, we see the three Magi, representing the lands and races that had heard about the birth of the Savior, bearing gifts for the Christ child. The entire group faces a placid looking Mary but the central kneeling figure in white is Gaspar, who brings frankincense, and rests on a pillow before Jesus. Melchior, who brings gold, is standing behind him and the third, the Moorish King Balthasar in green with a turban, offers myrrh.
The colorful group is shown crowded into the ruins of an ancient structure. On the right, the Virgin Mary, most likely modeled after Rubens' first wife Isabella Brant, looks adoringly at her happy child and presents him to the Magi. Symbols add depth of meaning to the entire scene. The ancient pillar or column symbolizes the ravaged palace of David from whose bloodline the Messiah was born. The peaceful ox is a symbol of faith and the tiny spider in the web, top right, symbolizes the evil, which Jesus will overcome.
The enormous painting, almost 15 by 11 feet, would be overwhelming to view without the artist's careful planning utilizing signature Baroque techniques.
Rubens' brushwork keeps the energy flowing around the many figures honoring Jesus including servants, soldiers, horses, camels, and one ox all blended into a cohesive whole by Rubens' masterful use of diagonals, color, light, and the careful placement of forms.
The bright reds and glowing light areas of the exaggerated faces, the hair, beards, and the clothing also guide the viewer's eyes. The piece remains an important signifier of the times, representing the humbling of the world before the Church. In this painting, we see Madame de' Medici, arriving to marry the French King Henry IV, ready to leave her ship via a decorated gangplank amid trumpets.
The spectacle is overseen by an angel aloft, a symbol of Fame, Poseidon, the sea god, with three of his daughters, and Neptune calming the waves. To the left, the arms of the Medici, a symbol of Marie's heritage, can be seen placed above the golden arched structure behind a Knight of Malta, the only immobile figure, in full regalia.
Accompanied by her ladies in waiting, the Queen Mother is welcomed by a personified France wearing a helmet and the royal blue mantle with golden fleur-de-lis, the national symbol as the sea and the sky rejoice. Rubens presented, to the court and subsequent generations, a visual celebration of responsible and just rule. Paris was the largest metropolitan center in Europe when the young Marie de' Medici granted Rubens a royal audience to discuss a series of 24 paintings for the gallery of the new Luxembourg Palace which would depict her personal struggles and triumphs in life.
Rubens was eager to try a secular theme and in this painting he turned the ordinary task of arriving from Italy in Marseilles into a scene of magnificence. He employed the extensive use of symbols, allegories learned in his early training, classical literature and customs in these works. The composition of the large narrative scene, 13 feet by almost 10 feet, is based on diagonals, the placement of the figures and objects, as well as on the careful use of color and light.
The golden ship intersects with the decorated gangplank to create the space for the departing guests. The rich red cloth draped over the arched structure and the plank help to draw our eyes in to find the Queen.
0コメント