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NEW REFLECTIONS ON ART

Jordi Rodríguez-Amat

	Presentation. With these new reflections, I allow myself to choose seven (sacred number) masterpieces of the universal history of art and, accepting the relativity of my reasoning, comment on them. Art is an exciting activity, and I would like, with my analyzes and comments, in addition to making you discover aspects of the discussed works, to entrust you with my boundless passion for art. Art, throughout history, has had a certain purpose; social, religious, etc., etc. always, but it has been the manifestation of sensitive states. This is why we cannot extrapolate works, creators, concepts or others from some historical moments to others. In order to better enjoy the art and in this case, the works that I present to you, allow me to advise you that, once you have read the text that I have accompanied each work, to, while looking at the work, reflect, not only about what I have written, but try to discover other values ??of the work by your personal reading. Each viewer makes their own reading of each work. Practicing the reading of art allows the viewer's interpretive abilities to be developed. To better enjoy art, you must try to discover the essence and characteristics of the works.

VICTORY OF SAMOTHRACE

(Greek sculpture, Hellenistic period, 190 BC)

Traditionally, Greek sculpture is divided into three periods: Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic.

Victory of Samothrace, also known as Athena Nike or Goddess of Winged Victory, belongs to the Hellenistic period.

This period is the highest exponent of ancient Greek sculpture and is the most realistic of the three periods. It is characterized by the fidelity of the proportions of the human figures. In time it is located during the last three centuries BC (before Christ).

Notice the directional force the sculpture takes on thanks to the forward tilt of the body and wings. This inclination can be synthesized by drawing an imaginary line that goes from the left breast to the lower part of the left leg. Regarding the wing, draw the line that also goes from the left breast to the middle of the rightmost part of the wing.

Note, likewise, the great realism of all the theft that seems to move by the force of the wind. What a wonder!

In this image you can see the sculpture at the top of the Daru staircase in the Louvre. Try to feel the emotions that can be felt when going up the stairs. The sensations I experienced I still relive today.

Victory of Samothrace

Athena Nike

Louvre Museum

Marble 245 cm

Fresco painting. XII century. MNAC.

PANTOCRATOR

(Sant Climent de Taüll)

Catalan Romanesque painting

The adjective "pantocrator" is a Greek word meaning "all powerful". Originally, it was attributed to Zeus and later to Christ as lord of the universe.

This painting is in the National Art Museum of Catalonia where it was moved from the church of Sant Climent of Taüll to the Vall of Boí. It is in this place in the Pyrenees that one of the most important sets of Romanesque paintings in the world is found.

In the center of the composition you see Christ in majesty surrounded by the mandorla. (oval shaped frame). His right hand blesses with two fingers and in his left hand he holds an open book with the Latin inscription EGO SUM LUX MUNDI ('I am the light of the world'). The face, elongated, shows a deep gaze and on the right and left side we find the symbols "Alpha and Omega", I am the beginning and the end.

It is a flat painting without volumes, characteristic of Romanesque art and to achieve the modeling it does so by highlighting the folds of the cloth. The whole set represents angels and the symbols of the evangelists.

One of the great paintings of Catalan Romanesque art.

	Church of Sant Climent of Taüll in the Vall of Boí where the pantocrator was before being moved to the MNAC in the National Palace in Montjuïc (Barcelona).

DAVID

Michelangelo Buonarroti. Michelangelo

It seems impossible that an artist could have sculpted this. Think the figure is 517 cm. One of the great masterpieces of the entire history of art. Great!

Every time I discover more and more values ??that allow me to enjoy this majesty.

There is a vertical axis that goes from the head through the penis and ends in the right foot. It is the axis on which rests the formal weight of the figure.

The movement of the body can be formalized through the axis of the head to the bottom of the nine and from there changing direction to the navel, continuing to the gonads and continuing to the midpoint between the two feet. The right leg is next to the lower part of this axis and the left has, in addition to the flexion, a certain inclination that gives it a great formal richness.

I leave to you to analyze the shape and movement of the two arms.

The study of anatomy allows us to see Michelangelo's knowledge of the human body and how he shaped all the parts of the body.

Don't just stand passively observing the sculpture and try to enjoy this wonder. How can a sculptor have done this?

	This is one of Michelangelo's slaves, apparently an unfinished work. Seeing this sculpture allows us to imagine how, starting from a block of marble, Michelangelo was able to go round and round to give shape to his David.

David 1501-1504

Marble 517 cm

The David in the Galleria dell'Accademia. Florence

THE CAMERA OBSCURA
		A camera obscura (pinhole camera) is a box with a small hole at one side through which an image is projected onto a surface opposite the hole. Lighted objects reflect rays of light in all directions. A small enough opening in a barrier admits only the rays that travel directly from different points in the scene on the other side, and these rays form an image of that scene where they reach a surface opposite from the opening.

THE CAMERA OBSCURA

A camera obscura (pinhole camera) is a box with a small hole at one side through which an image is projected onto a surface opposite the hole.

Lighted objects reflect rays of light in all directions. A small enough opening in a barrier admits only the rays that travel directly from different points in the scene on the other side, and these rays form an image of that scene where they reach a surface opposite from the opening.

	CANALETTO Il ritorno del Bucintoro al molo nel giorno dell’Ascensione. 1733 Oil on canvas. 77 cm x 126 cm.
	Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto, was a Venetian painter. He specialized in the representation of views of the city of Venice. Canaletto used the camera obscura in order to capture the images with absolute fidelity. In this painting the great realism is manifested throughout. Canaletto was a master of detail. In this painting he uses a frontal perspective with a single vanishing point. The left side of the Doge's Palace is the only element where the upper part is seen as the vanishing line. To the left of the picture, protruding above the Marciana library, you can see the bell tower of Sant Marc. On the right we see the famous Doge's Palace and between the two buildings the columns of San Marco and San Teodor. In the background, the Basilica of San Marco. In the foreground you can see the gondolas which, despite their size, do not distract from the importance that Canaletto gave to the buildings. This is one of Canaletto's best known works.

CANALETTO

Il ritorno del Bucintoro al molo nel giorno dell’Ascensione. 1733

Oil on canvas. 77 cm x 126 cm.

Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto, was a Venetian painter. He specialized in the representation of views of the city of Venice. Canaletto used the camera obscura in order to capture the images with absolute fidelity. In this painting the great realism is manifested throughout. Canaletto was a master of detail.

In this painting he uses a frontal perspective with a single vanishing point. The left side of the Doge's Palace is the only element where the upper part is seen as the vanishing line.

To the left of the picture, protruding above the Marciana library, you can see the bell tower of Sant Marc. On the right we see the famous Doge's Palace and between the two buildings the columns of San Marco and San Teodor. In the background, the Basilica of San Marco.

In the foreground you can see the gondolas which, despite their size, do not distract from the importance that Canaletto gave to the buildings. This is one of Canaletto's best known works.

GOYA

Between 1819 and 1823, Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Goya, painted in oil directly on the walls of his house, known as "La quinta del sordo" a series of 14 paintings that we now know as "Black Paints".

In these works, ochre, earth and black colors dominate, especially dark colors, with an almost absolute absence of primary colors.

It is speculated whether a serious illness, physical decay and psychological states, caused the realization of these paintings. They are paintings in which the themes linked to horror, witchcraft, death, all of them grotesque in nature.

According to Roman mythology, Saturn was a god, father of Jupiter, identified with agricultural culture.

The painting has all the characteristics of the black series: monstrosity, earthy colors and blacks, among others. The "Black Paintings" make Goya, the forerunner of pictorial expressionism.

Saturn devouring his son

Oil on wall, currently on canvas.

Prado Museum

	RAMÓN MARTÍ ALSINA The great day of Girona. Oil on canvas. 4.96 meters × 10.82 meters. 1864. This work represents a historical event: the sieges of Girona in 1808 and 1809 by the French.

	It is the greatest easel work in the history of Catalan painting. The creation process took almost 10 years. It is currently part of the MNAC (National Art Museum of Catalonia) collection and is on display at the old Hospital e Santa Catarina in Girona. Ramón Martí Alsina is one of the greatest representatives of Catalan and European realistic painting. His work is located before the outbreak of the Impressionist movement. Apart from the historical theme, in this artist's work we also find marines and landscapes. We observe great realism, especially in the characters. In order not to give importance to the second terms, the colors here are more faded with a predominance of blues and without the contrast or detail of the first term. At the end of the sixties, I was lucky enough to have Martí Alsina's great-grandson as a student. This allowed me to ask my student's father, grandson of the artist, to allow me to see works in the family's possession. I must confess that I was blown away. What a quantity and quantity of paintings, usually large format, that I was able to contemplate. Martí Alsina was a prolific painter and unfortunately we can only see those works that are in some museum. Pity!

	VINCENT VAN GOGH AUTOPORTRAIT
	Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1890) Dutch painter, was prolific, 800 paintings (43 self-portraits), oil paintings and watercolors, and 1600 drawings. The son of a Protestant pastor, his character and personality did not allow him to continue like his father. Thanks to his brother Theo who helped him financially, Vincent Van Gogh was able to devote himself to pictorial creation. It should be noted that Van Gogh, with all his work, moved within the Impressionist movement. His brushwork was generally free, which gives it a great vibe. Pay close attention to the depth of the gaze and the constant changes of colors through the brushstroke. His character, his personality and all kinds of difficulties first forced him to cut off an ear and, at the age of 37, to commit suicide.	Autoportrait, 1887 Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

VINCENT VAN GOGH

AUTOPORTRAIT

Vincent Van Gogh (1853 - 1890) Dutch painter, was prolific, 800 paintings (43 self-portraits), oil paintings and watercolors, and 1600 drawings.

The son of a Protestant pastor, his character and personality did not allow him to continue like his father.

Thanks to his brother Theo who helped him financially, Vincent Van Gogh was able to devote himself to pictorial creation.

It should be noted that Van Gogh, with all his work, moved within the Impressionist movement. His brushwork was generally free, which gives it a great vibe. Pay close attention to the depth of the gaze and the constant changes of colors through the brushstroke.

His character, his personality and all kinds of difficulties first forced him to cut off an ear and, at the age of 37, to commit suicide.

Autoportrait, 1887

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

I have presented you seven works taken from the wonderful world of art and made some comments about them. I hope and wish that they were to your liking and that you got a good profit from them.

The absolute dedication of a lifetime allows me, today even more, to enjoy this magnificent world of art.

Years of teaching have developed in me the pleasure of expressing my thoughts.

THE LIFE

JORDI RODRÍGUEZ-AMAT

Without any presumptuousness, but the simple desire to express myself about art, I allow myself to ask you to click on the top of the following link and be able to see and read my comment about this work of mine created in 1967:

https://www.rodriguez-amat.cat/thelife.html

The Center for Contemporary Art, Casa-Taller Rodríguez-Amat can be visited for free, and I personally do all kinds of explanations. Call 697 76 18 74 to arrange the visit and be personally available.

The art center is located in Les Olives (Garrigoles), a town located in the Baix Empordà, Catalonia, Spain.

View of one of the rooms in the gallery of the Contemporary Art Center, Casa-Taller Rodríguez-Amat where you can see the painting I titled: The Life.

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Other reflections on art

Today's art and other reflections

The space in painting

Conceptual art

Great sages of art

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