This may seem to be an odd statement, but it's something that I find completely true. I have often said to myself that when I stop crying about art, I need to find a new career. I've been in a bit of a funk lately about a lot of things, but I've also been discouraged about my career and my future. Maybe this is normal, but it seems to come at an odd time. I just finished my first year of graduate school and did well. I have three positions this summer that will teach me a lot and look great on my CV. Still, I find myself inexplicably down in the dumps and discouraged. So tonight, rather than worry about articles I haven't written or published yet, teaching expertise I don't have, trips I haven't taken, and a future that is uncertain, I decided to utilize the Google Art Project and cry over some art.
The Google Art Project is an invaluable tool for teaching and exploring. I find that the GAP lets me feel like I'm close to the artists and works in a way that almost makes up for not being able to travel. So tonight, I revisited some of my favorites and made myself remember just why I decided to become an art historian.
Michelangelo Buonarroti, The Doni Tondo, c. 1507
Obviously, I love Michelangelo as a sculptor, but his use of color will never cease to knock me over. I really wish they had some of the Sistine Chapel frescoes or drawings on the GAP, but this tondo is still striking. The vibrancy of the colors, the folds in the draperies, the contrasting tones...I could look for ages and never get tired of it. Basically, I am going to be an emotional mess the first time I see the Sistine Chapel in person. (disclaimer: this work is in the Uffizi in Florence and not in Rome. I simply compare it to the Sistine Chapel for the purpose of the color comparison)
Balthasar Griessmann, Ivory Goblet, c. 1680
I love sculpture...usually larger marble works, but sadly those works are better experienced in person. However, I'm developing an affection for small ivory and wood carvings, and this goblet brought me to tears. The intricacy of this small scale carving just caught me by surprise and before I knew it I was tearing up. It's beautiful and sometimes that's all that's important.
Michelangelo Buonarroti, Studies for a Holy Family, 1505
With a lot of Early Modern artists (generally speaking, Renaissance and Baroque), the final works were the result of a workshop where the contribution of the artist to the final work varied widely based on commission, size, payment, etc. This was true of many of my favorite sculptors. That makes preparatory works, such as models or sketches, all the more precious and emotional to me because they are one place where I can be sure to see the hand of the artist. This sketch by Michelangelo is gorgeous and it makes me so excited to see some of his sketches in person in the very near future.
Vincent van Gogh, The Bedroom, 1888
Vincent van Gogh makes me very emotional in general. I know he is probably one of the most popular artists to the average art viewer, beginning art historians, pretty much every hipster on the planet, etc. However, van Gogh ties in to some of my personal history in a way that will always make tears threaten to fall. The tactile presence of his works just further emphasizes my emotional connections to the works. Here, in one of my favorite paintings of van Gogh's bedroom in Arles, the brushstrokes seem to leap from the canvas and declare van Gogh's authorship. Again, I will be an emotional mess when I see van Gogh's works in person.
Vincent van Gogh, Self Portrait, 1887
One of the things I love most about van Gogh are his self portraits. I can't help it...I connect with artists and I study, and I spent a semester examining van Gogh's self portraits and his letters and the sense of searching for truth and self that I personally found in both the portraits and the letters is something that resounds with me. I could spend hours staring into van Gogh's eyes in his self portraits...and sometimes I have.
I guess sometimes you just have to go back to the beginning to know why you do something. For me, that always means going back to the art and that emotional connection that I have with works, whether they be sculptures, paintings, or something else entirely. That is my motivation and that is something that I pray I will never lose, even if I don't know where I'm going from here.
I'll close with a Bible verse that my Big just posted that partially inspired this post.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11
No comments:
Post a Comment