Contemporary, portrait, landscape, painting, best, top ten, paintings, oil, artist, artists, gallery, life, figure, graphite, sketch, Snowdonia, drawings, pencil, Art, geometry, composition, Master, Masterpiece, Welsh, Wales.
My previous post started to outline some of the many, many, obliterations of artworks that have occurred throughout history. The reasons for these ongoing bouts of cultural destruction are many and various, and here are a few more : -
Contemporary, portrait, landscape, painting, best, top ten, paintings, oil, artist, artists, gallery, life, figure, graphite, sketch, Snowdonia, drawings, pencil, Art, geometry, composition, Master, Masterpiece, Welsh, Wales.
My previous post started to outline some of the many, many, obliterations of artworks that have occurred throughout history. The reasons for these ongoing bouts of cultural destruction are many and various, and here are a few more : -
Moral censorship :
When the English artist Turner died, the critic and art historian John Ruskin acted as the executor for his artworks. Ruskin was a tremendous champion for Turner and loved his work. However, as a strict moralising Christian, Ruskin disapproved of certain drawings and sketches of nude figures or depictions of sexual activities. He did not want Turner's reputation to be 'sullied' by these naughty artworks so he took it on himself to get rid of them. The legend has it that he had them burnt.
(Although I have seen recently that some historians dispute this destruction, so I suppose that time will tell how much truth there is in the story).
Here's one of Turner's 'life' sketches from one of his notebooks which presumably survived the Ruskin cull.
By the by, - another story about Ruskin's eccentric moralising is the one concerning his marriage. It is reported that when seeing his wives pubic hair for the first time on their wedding night, he was so shocked that the marriage was never consummated. (The delicate chap was only used to seeing naked women in paintings.......and it's interesting to recall that pubic hair was never depicted in western paintings until Gauguin came along!)
Fig leaves : Ancient greek statues usually depicted the male figure as naked. But this changed with their followers in the roman empire, who preferred to attach leaves in the vital place, (in a display of modesty which seems somewhat at odds with the other wild excess of the ancient Roman!).
From about 1530, the developing reaction to Renaissance freedoms and excesses that led to the Council of Trent also led to a number of artworks, especially in churches or public places, being altered to reduce the amount of nudity on display. Often, as in the famous case of Michelangelo's The Last Judgement, drapery or extra branches from any nearby bush was used. This has been dubbed the "fig leaf campaign". For free-standing statues this did not work well, and carved or cast fig leaves were sometimes added, such as with the plaster copy of Michelangelo's David displayed in Victorian era London. The Adam and Eve panels on the Ghent Altarpiece, already equipped with fig leaves by Jan van Eyck, were simply replaced with 19th-century panels copying the figures but clothed. Many of these alterations have since been reversed, damaging some of the statues. (Wikipedia).
Power :
In ancient Egypt it was commonplace for newly-established pharaohs to ensure that the carved statues of their predecessors were disfigured. In particular the beards of the previous pharaohs were broken off.
Beards were a symbol of kingly and divine power (to such an extent that even if a newly-selected pharaoh was a young boy, or even very occasionally a young girl, they would be obliged to wear artificial beards). These false goat's-hair beards would be worn on ceremonial occasions to emphasise the pharaoh's god-like qualities. Therefore subsequent pharaohs would only wish to see their own likeness adorned like a god.
Vanity :
In 1954 Graham Sutherland painted Sir Winston Churchill's portrait. History has it that the painting was disliked by Churchill and his wife, Clementine. 'When it was first unveiled, Sir Winston archly described it as "a remarkable example of modern art" to laughter from his audience'. It was said that after Churchill died Lady Clementine had it destroyed. Although an alternative take on the story exonerates her, and put's the 'blame' on one of her minions -
In fact, the painting was taken out in the dead of night by Lady Churchill's loyal private secretary, driven by her older brother to a country house and burned so far away from the road that nobody ever noticed.
This could be the Sutherland portrait that was destroyed (taken from a Telegraph article), although I have seen quite a few photo-reproductions of different paintings, each purporting to be the genuine one.
Insanity :
There are many examples of artworks being assaulted by individuals who happen to be unbalanced. One of the most famous of such incidents was the attack on the UK's National Gallery's Leonardo da Vinci cartoon.
The cartoon was made around 1500, using charcoal and black and white chalk on tinted paper mounted on canvas.
In 1987, the cartoon was attacked in an act of vandalism with a sawn-off shotgun from a distance of approximately seven feet. The shooter was identified as a mentally ill man by the name of Robert Cambridge who claimed he committed this act in order to bring attention to "political, social and economic conditions in Britain." The blast shattered the glass covering, causing significant damage to the artwork which has since been restored.
Whoops :
Sometimes artworks are destroyed purely by accident or by well-intentioned incompetence. Such is the case of the Fresco of Christ in a small church in the Spanish town of Borja.
In September 2012, 80-year of Cecilia Giménez decided to touch up 'Ecco Homo' (Behold the Man) by Elias Garcia Martinez which was beginning to decay. However, Cecilia was no Velasquez and her efforts made Christ resemble a primate, which prompted the nickname 'Ecce Mono' - 'behold the monkey'. Ironically, in this case the cloud did have a silver lining as the little church became a tourist hotspot, bringing 30,000 visitors to look at the painting in the first month alone.
.........So the list goes on, and unfortunately will continue into all our futures. As long as we have bigots and boneheads in our midst who are determined, for a variety of ill-conceived reasons, to stop others from creating or from enjoying artworks the destruction will continue.
Moral censorship :
Here's one of Turner's 'life' sketches from one of his notebooks which presumably survived the Ruskin cull.
By the by, - another story about Ruskin's eccentric moralising is the one concerning his marriage. It is reported that when seeing his wives pubic hair for the first time on their wedding night, he was so shocked that the marriage was never consummated. (The delicate chap was only used to seeing naked women in paintings.......and it's interesting to recall that pubic hair was never depicted in western paintings until Gauguin came along!)
Fig leaves : Ancient greek statues usually depicted the male figure as naked. But this changed with their followers in the roman empire, who preferred to attach leaves in the vital place, (in a display of modesty which seems somewhat at odds with the other wild excess of the ancient Roman!).
From about 1530, the developing reaction to Renaissance freedoms and excesses that led to the Council of Trent also led to a number of artworks, especially in churches or public places, being altered to reduce the amount of nudity on display. Often, as in the famous case of Michelangelo's The Last Judgement, drapery or extra branches from any nearby bush was used. This has been dubbed the "fig leaf campaign". For free-standing statues this did not work well, and carved or cast fig leaves were sometimes added, such as with the plaster copy of Michelangelo's David displayed in Victorian era London. The Adam and Eve panels on the Ghent Altarpiece, already equipped with fig leaves by Jan van Eyck, were simply replaced with 19th-century panels copying the figures but clothed. Many of these alterations have since been reversed, damaging some of the statues. (Wikipedia).
Power :
In ancient Egypt it was commonplace for newly-established pharaohs to ensure that the carved statues of their predecessors were disfigured. In particular the beards of the previous pharaohs were broken off.
Vanity :
In 1954 Graham Sutherland painted Sir Winston Churchill's portrait. History has it that the painting was disliked by Churchill and his wife, Clementine. 'When it was first unveiled, Sir Winston archly described it as "a remarkable example of modern art" to laughter from his audience'. It was said that after Churchill died Lady Clementine had it destroyed. Although an alternative take on the story exonerates her, and put's the 'blame' on one of her minions -
In fact, the painting was taken out in the dead of night by Lady Churchill's loyal private secretary, driven by her older brother to a country house and burned so far away from the road that nobody ever noticed.
This could be the Sutherland portrait that was destroyed (taken from a Telegraph article), although I have seen quite a few photo-reproductions of different paintings, each purporting to be the genuine one.
Insanity :
There are many examples of artworks being assaulted by individuals who happen to be unbalanced. One of the most famous of such incidents was the attack on the UK's National Gallery's Leonardo da Vinci cartoon.
The cartoon was made around 1500, using charcoal and black and white chalk on tinted paper mounted on canvas.
In 1987, the cartoon was attacked in an act of vandalism with a sawn-off shotgun from a distance of approximately seven feet. The shooter was identified as a mentally ill man by the name of Robert Cambridge who claimed he committed this act in order to bring attention to "political, social and economic conditions in Britain." The blast shattered the glass covering, causing significant damage to the artwork which has since been restored.
Whoops :
Sometimes artworks are destroyed purely by accident or by well-intentioned incompetence. Such is the case of the Fresco of Christ in a small church in the Spanish town of Borja.
In September 2012, 80-year of Cecilia Giménez decided to touch up 'Ecco Homo' (Behold the Man) by Elias Garcia Martinez which was beginning to decay. However, Cecilia was no Velasquez and her efforts made Christ resemble a primate, which prompted the nickname 'Ecce Mono' - 'behold the monkey'. Ironically, in this case the cloud did have a silver lining as the little church became a tourist hotspot, bringing 30,000 visitors to look at the painting in the first month alone.
.........So the list goes on, and unfortunately will continue into all our futures. As long as we have bigots and boneheads in our midst who are determined, for a variety of ill-conceived reasons, to stop others from creating or from enjoying artworks the destruction will continue.
When the English artist Turner died, the critic and art historian John Ruskin acted as the executor for his artworks. Ruskin was a tremendous champion for Turner and loved his work. However, as a strict moralising Christian, Ruskin disapproved of certain drawings and sketches of nude figures or depictions of sexual activities. He did not want Turner's reputation to be 'sullied' by these naughty artworks so he took it on himself to get rid of them. The legend has it that he had them burnt.
(Although I have seen recently that some historians dispute this destruction, so I suppose that time will tell how much truth there is in the story).
(Although I have seen recently that some historians dispute this destruction, so I suppose that time will tell how much truth there is in the story).
By the by, - another story about Ruskin's eccentric moralising is the one concerning his marriage. It is reported that when seeing his wives pubic hair for the first time on their wedding night, he was so shocked that the marriage was never consummated. (The delicate chap was only used to seeing naked women in paintings.......and it's interesting to recall that pubic hair was never depicted in western paintings until Gauguin came along!)
From about 1530, the developing reaction to Renaissance freedoms and excesses that led to the Council of Trent also led to a number of artworks, especially in churches or public places, being altered to reduce the amount of nudity on display. Often, as in the famous case of Michelangelo's The Last Judgement, drapery or extra branches from any nearby bush was used. This has been dubbed the "fig leaf campaign". For free-standing statues this did not work well, and carved or cast fig leaves were sometimes added, such as with the plaster copy of Michelangelo's David displayed in Victorian era London. The Adam and Eve panels on the Ghent Altarpiece, already equipped with fig leaves by Jan van Eyck, were simply replaced with 19th-century panels copying the figures but clothed. Many of these alterations have since been reversed, damaging some of the statues. (Wikipedia).
Power :
In ancient Egypt it was commonplace for newly-established pharaohs to ensure that the carved statues of their predecessors were disfigured. In particular the beards of the previous pharaohs were broken off.
Beards were a symbol of kingly and divine power (to such an extent that even if a newly-selected pharaoh was a young boy, or even very occasionally a young girl, they would be obliged to wear artificial beards). These false goat's-hair beards would be worn on ceremonial occasions to emphasise the pharaoh's god-like qualities. Therefore subsequent pharaohs would only wish to see their own likeness adorned like a god.
In 1954 Graham Sutherland painted Sir Winston Churchill's portrait. History has it that the painting was disliked by Churchill and his wife, Clementine. 'When it was first unveiled, Sir Winston archly described it as "a remarkable example of modern art" to laughter from his audience'. It was said that after Churchill died Lady Clementine had it destroyed. Although an alternative take on the story exonerates her, and put's the 'blame' on one of her minions -
In fact, the painting was taken out in the dead of night by Lady Churchill's loyal private secretary, driven by her older brother to a country house and burned so far away from the road that nobody ever noticed.
This could be the Sutherland portrait that was destroyed (taken from a Telegraph article), although I have seen quite a few photo-reproductions of different paintings, each purporting to be the genuine one.
Insanity :
There are many examples of artworks being assaulted by individuals who happen to be unbalanced. One of the most famous of such incidents was the attack on the UK's National Gallery's Leonardo da Vinci cartoon.
The cartoon was made around 1500, using charcoal and black and white chalk on tinted paper mounted on canvas.
In 1987, the cartoon was attacked in an act of vandalism with a sawn-off shotgun from a distance of approximately seven feet. The shooter was identified as a mentally ill man by the name of Robert Cambridge who claimed he committed this act in order to bring attention to "political, social and economic conditions in Britain." The blast shattered the glass covering, causing significant damage to the artwork which has since been restored.
Whoops :
Sometimes artworks are destroyed purely by accident or by well-intentioned incompetence. Such is the case of the Fresco of Christ in a small church in the Spanish town of Borja.
In September 2012, 80-year of Cecilia Giménez decided to touch up 'Ecco Homo' (Behold the Man) by Elias Garcia Martinez which was beginning to decay. However, Cecilia was no Velasquez and her efforts made Christ resemble a primate, which prompted the nickname 'Ecce Mono' - 'behold the monkey'. Ironically, in this case the cloud did have a silver lining as the little church became a tourist hotspot, bringing 30,000 visitors to look at the painting in the first month alone.
.........So the list goes on, and unfortunately will continue into all our futures. As long as we have bigots and boneheads in our midst who are determined, for a variety of ill-conceived reasons, to stop others from creating or from enjoying artworks the destruction will continue.
quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz “details, details............” quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz
Who's smoking this cigarette?
(The answer will be in the next posting.)
And here's the answer from the last posting -
'Yvette Guilbert greeting the audience'.
by Toulouse-Lautrec, 1894.
quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz “details, details............” quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz
"A man paints with his brains and not with his hands."
Michelangelo
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. . . . and now, a Recommended Read . . . .
War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy
After watching the BBC production of War and Peace, I thought I'd have another run at it. I've read it twice before, although a long time age, and enjoyed it immensely both times. I'm enjoying it again. One of the things that vaguely depresses me is the constant cry one hears that this book is difficult (and the parallel cry that no one has actually read it, but only claim, for showing off purposes, that they have). Well at the risk of being thought a show-off, I would like to encourage anyone who has been put off by these silly complaints to have a go. Don't miss out because of some dopey scaredy-cats. I think you'll find it to be a really entertaining read, and one that you will wish, for all it's famed length, was even longer!
At a glittering society party in St Petersburg in 1805, conversations are dominated by the prospect of war. Terror swiftly engulfs the country as Napoleon's army marches on Russia, and the lives of three young people are changed forever. The stories of quixotic Pierre, cynical Andrey and impetuous Natasha interweave with a huge cast, from aristocrats and peasants to soldiers and Napoleon himself. In War and Peace, Tolstoy entwines grand themes - conflict and love, birth and death, free will and faith - with unforgettable scenes of nineteenth-century Russia, to create a magnificent epic of human life in all its imperfection and grandeur.
Anthony Briggs's superb translation combines stirring, accessible prose with fidelity to Tolstoy's original, while Orlando Figes's afterword discusses the novel's vast scope and depiction of Russian identity. This edition also contains appendices, notes, a list of prominent characters and maps. (Amazon review).
Published on Penguin Classics
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