Art Mythology Themes

_________________________________________________________________________________________________ Exploring Themes in Art Histories: Mythology AVI 3M1: Grade 11 Visual Art

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Through out history we see many art including paintings and structures dedicated to their set beliefs. Mythology is “one belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition.” Mythology can be a controversial topic because the topic may be based on someone’s belief and religion. Myths can also be about creation and magical
creatures people believed in or still believe in. Throughout the world there are many beliefs and overtime there were artists like Titan, who was an Italian artist but created art about Greek Mythology. We also see different interpretations and views artists have of a myth. An example would be Francisco Goya who created Saturn in a very disproportioned way, which differed from Peter Paul Ruben’s Saturn who looked very strong and heroic. Mythology is something people view differently; some may believe it religiously however some may think it is imaginary. The art works that I picked are, “Saturn Devouring his Children”, “Bacchus and Ariadne”, “Nymph of the Luo River”, “Orpheus “and “Kittigazuit”. The artworks come from, Roman, Greek, Chinese and Aboriginal mythology.

“Saturn Devouring his Children” (1819-1923) was painted by a Spanish artist named Francisco Goya.
“Saturn Devouring his Children” was an oil mural, transferred to a 143cm x 81 cm canvas. Saturn was a God in the ancient Roman religion. He was the God of agriculture. A lot of Raman mythology was based upon and borrowed from Greek mythology. In Greek mythology Saturn is equivalent to the Greek God Cronus and therefore the two have a very similar story. It is said in Roman mythology that Saturn seizes power and overthrows his father Uranus. One day Saturn is told a prophecy that one day his own powerful son would overthrow him. To prevent this Saturn devoured all his children when they were born. Saturn’s wife Ops hid their sixth child named Jupiter on an island and gave Saturn a large stone wrapped in swaddling clothes; replacing Jupiter and Saturn devoured it. Jupiter grows older and eventually overthrows his father Saturn and the other Titans. It is believed the Goya was inspired by Peter Paul Rubens’ painting “Saturn Devouring His Son”. Goya purchased a house in 1819 named Villa of the Deaf Mann. The house was named after a previous occupant however Goya related he was also deaf after a fever in 1792. Goya painted the mural directly on his walls of his home. He produced fourteen other works, which were also painted directly on the walls of his home. The series of paintings on his wall are called the Black Paintings which all portray terrible, mythological and morbid
imagery. It is believed the paintings relate to Goya’s then mental state, which was dark during that time because of his illness, deafness and the strife in Spain. “Saturn Devouring His Children” was painted on the walls of his dining room. Goya at the age of 73 survived from two life-threatening diseases and it is believed he was worried about his mortality and also the civil strife happening in Spain. “Saturn Devouring His Children” is a painting with very dark emotion. The darkness is not only portrayed by the subject of the painting but the mood, which is created by colour, and the deformation of Saturn. Goya’s version of Saturn differs from Peter Paul Ruben’s version of Saturn. In Ruben’s version Saturn is portrayed as a strong person and looks almost heroic. However in Goya’s version wee see Saturn deformed, his eyes popping out, very frail, skinny and very weak. This shows that the artist’s had very two different perspectives of Saturn. The emphasis of the artwork it Saturn’s child, its upper body looks like it has been mixed with more white paint which makes it seems that light is coming toward that direction. The child is also the emphasis because it is centered and the red catches the viewer’s eyes.

“Bacchus and Ariadne” (1520-1523) was an oil painting with the dimensions of 1.75m x 1.90m, painted by artist Titan. Tiziano Vecelli was an Italian artist and is known as Titan. Born in Pieve di Cadore, Titan went to Venice, which was one of the wealthiest cities in the world, when he was only 10- years old. He was part oh the high renaissance movement and was trained by Giovanni Bellni. Titan was one of the most versatile artists in Italy. His portraits would consist of landscapes, mythological and religious subjects. “ Titan’s style changed throughout the years but during his final years he developed a freer use of the brush and a less descriptive representation of reality. Bacchus and Ariadne” is a mythological painting that he made for Alfonso d’Este. The artwork is about Bacchus’s and Ariadne’s first acquaintance. Bacchus is the God of wine. The artwork shows Bacchus arriving to the landscape (island) from the right. He sees Ariadne who had been abandoned in the island (Greek Island of Naxox) by Theseus whose ship is shown in the portrait in a distance and falls in love with her on sight. Ariadne is initially in fear of Bacchus however; he raised her to heaven and turned her into a constellation, which is represented by the stars above her head. The painting has a very happy mood and that is portrayed by colour and symbolism. The stars and Bacchus facial expression represents the love at first sight, Bacchus felt for Ariadne. The artwork has a lot of symbolism and portrays their love.

“Nymph of the Luo River” (mid-12th to mid-13th century) was made with the mediums ink and colour on silk with dimensions of H: 24,2 and W: 310.9 cm. Chinese artist Gu Kaizhi created the artwork. The artwork is an illustration of the prose poem written by Prince Cao Zhi. In the poem Prince Cao Zhi writes about his romantic encounter with a Nymph. It is also said she might have been a Goddess of the Luo River in central China. A nymph is a mythological spirit. Is portrayed as a beautiful young woman who habitats in rivers, woods and or other nature locations. In the artwork the figures are disproportioned compared to the landscape representing the beginning of Chinese landscape painting. Gu Kaizhi is a famous and one of the most celebrated Chinese artists from ancient China. Kaizhi was a royal officer, talented officer and calligrapher. There is not much background about Cao Zhi’s encounter with the nymph and whether it was his imagination or it was an actual encounter, However the artwork portrays a love that was beautiful and that was symbolized by the by the size disproportion of the figures. It shows that their love defies everything.

“Orpheus (Mare Chagall)” (1969) is an oil painting with dimensions of 97 x 146 cm and painted by Marc Chagall.
Marc Chagall was a Russian born French artist born on July 7,1887 in Vitebk (Russian Empire). He was a surrealism and expressionism artist who lived through both world wars. Chagall was raised as a devoted Jew who was degraded and discriminated during World War 2. The Nazi officials mocked his art. During the Nazi campaigns against modern art Chagall was in France working on Bible illustrations. Nazi’s soon invaded France. Chagall and his family decided to stay believing things would go better, however it didn’t and they decided to get a refugee at New York. He returned to France in 1948. Throughout Chagall’s life he created many paintings of Orpheus including Orphee, 1913; Orphee jouant, 1970 and The Myth of Orpheus, 1917. All the artworks about Orpheus are represented in a very positive and happy way. Orpheus was a mythical, legendary poet and musician. When he was young he was gifted a lyre and got taught how to play it. He became the Prince of Thrace and became one of the greatest musicians in the ancient world. His wife Eurydice whom he dearly loved died after a snake bit her. This devastated Orpheus and decided to go to the underworld to get his wife back. The leaders of the underworld were so moved by his music, they decided to return Eurydice to the Upper world. However, there condition was that Orpheus could not turn around to look at his wife as
they were led to the Upper world. Orpheus agreed however, as they were being escorted to the Upper world he could not resist turning back to look at his wife. As he stepped into to the Upper world, Eurydice vanished before his eyes. In the grief for his wife he never looked, touched nor married another woman and it is believed he introduced homosexuality to the world. His hate for woman cost him his life because the wild female devotees of Dinoysus were upset and angry that he was no longer interested in woman. At night they tore him angry and threw his bits into the sea. His head was buried in the Island of Lesbos. The artwork “Orpheus” is very mythical. It looks almost surreal and the figures look like they are almost glowing. The artwork portrays Orpheus ‘s beauty; and the bright colours represent it. Orpheus was highly respected for his poems and music. The painting portrays the respect and the, awe people felt for Orpheus’s works. In the artwork we see Orpheus playing his lyre and the people and animals around him look like they are in amazement and awe. In Myths about Orpheus it is said everyone was awed by his music even those from the underworld Chagall uses bright colour which creates a unity however, it also shows the feeling s of those who heard Orpheus’s music. The colours symbolized the happiness and the facial expressions showed the peace and amazement.

“Kittigazuit” (2000) is an Inuit sculpture by Abraham Anghik Ruben. The sculpture is 51” high and is made from and eight-foot wide section of the skull of a bowhead whale. In the aboriginal culture there are many stories of shape shifting into animals. The sculpture portrays the human figure shape shifting into many animals. In the aboriginal culture there are myths that say that everyone is a specific animal. The people who do not respect what they received will get cursed and become that animal. Only until they learn their lesson will they be able to transform. Animals are very important in the aboriginal culture and represent many things. Ruben’s sculpture has a lot of details and we can see the gradual transformations. Abraham Anghik Ruben is a Canadian Inuit artist/ sculptor. Ruben was born in Paulatuk, Northwest Territories in 1951. He is one of the most influential sculptors and is a major innovative force among Inuit sculptors. Ruben used to identify himself as a contemporary sculptor however; throughout the years he has strayed away from it without losing his Inuit culture. He tends to use non-traditional mediums/materials because he wants to represent and show tales and legends in anew light and way. All of Ruben’s artworks are inspired by stories that came directly from his own Native American culture and also stories from his ancestors and other cultures. Many of Ruben’s sculptures include animals, human shape shifters and animals interacting with humans.

All the artworks presented have a mythology theme however there are similarities and contrasts between them. “Saturn Devouring His Children” is based on Roman mythology however; many of Roman myths were based on Greek mythology. Saturn is the Greek equivalent to the God Cronus. “Saturn Devouring His Children”, “Bacchus and Ariadne” and “Orpheus” are all based on Greek mythology. We see that Greek mythology was popular throughout art history. We see different views of mythology through the artist’s eyes. Francisco Goya’s mythology art had a very dark perspective and point of view, which, represents his dark mental state in life. Titan ‘s work represented a lot more beauty and love, which can be seen in “Bacchus and Ariadne”. Although Marc Chagall had a tough life, going through both wars, his works were portrayed as very happy, bright and calming. This shows the difference between Goya and Chagall who expressed the distress in different ways. Goya was in a dark state and showed that in his paintings however, it is almost as if Chagall tried to make life positive. All the works are portrayed in different ways. “Saturn Devouring His Children” was drawn quite realistically but slightly looked deformed. In Titans work it was the renaissance movement and we can see that because the figure look quite realistic and the full figured Ariadne represents that the ideal beauty was then. In Orpheus we see surrealism and expressionism with little detail compared to the other works and more colour to express the mood and feelings. “The Nymph of Luo River” is very different from the rest of the work. The mediums used were ink and colour on silk. Unlike the other artworks “The Nymph of Luo River” is based on Chinese mythology. It’s similar to Titan’s work, that there is a landscape and that the figures are not very proportional to the landscape. “Kittigazuit” is the most different and recent compared to the other works. Unlike the other paintings, “Kittigazuit” is a sculpture and it is based on Aboriginal mythology. The work is based of shape shifting. There are many different myths throughout the world, some do believe in theses myth’s like a religion and therefore can be a sensitive topic.

Bibliography:

1. "Titan Bacchus and Ariadne ." The National Gallery. The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN, n.d. Web. 26 Jan 2013.