Paper 2 - Boston MFA

On June 9th I visited the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and spent the day enjoying their vast collection. I was taken by a painting called “Isabella and the pot of basil” by John White Alexander, which was based on a poem by Ketats which was drived by a Renaissance story by Boccaccio.

I also enjoyed “Room No V”, a textured and complex painting by Eldzier Cortor

and a ceramic Greek water jar from 520 BC that depicted the dragging of Hektor.

However, I was most drawn to the cover of one of the two Etruscan tombs on display. I’ve always been interested in history, and having grown up with a father who immigrated from Sicily I’ve been particularly fascinated with Greek and Italian history. I am familiar with the Etruscan civilization from my own research and learned even more about them through the Italian Civilization and Culture class I took here at Albertus. I remain impressed with their culture and the way in which it heavily influenced Roman culture. I knew this ancient work of art was the one I would write on when I found myself excitedly explaining the Etruscan culture and its significance to the friend who had come with me. Particularly, I am taken by the fact that Etruscan women enjoyed many rights and freedoms that have traditionally been denied to women throughout history. I found the fact that the Etruscans carefully sculpted affectionate couples on their religiously significant tombs to be a confirmation that women were both highly valued and respected in Etruscan society.

The sarcophagus is Italic, Etruscan, Late Classical or Early Hellenistic Period (350-300 BC) and was found in Vulci, Lazio Italy, one of several Etruscan burial sites. It is a tomb for a married couple, Thanchvil Tarnai and her husband Larth Tetnies, son of Arnth Tetnies and Ramtha Vishnai. The cover of the tomb depicts the couple embracing in bed.

The other images on the sides of the sarcophagus aren’t necessary symbolic, although they are mythological. This is an image of two griffins attacking a horse, and two lions fight a bull.

The long side of the sarcophageus depticts Greeks and Amazons in combat.

The Etruscans belief in the afterlife was similar to the Egyptians, so the contents of their tombs were linked to their prosperity after death. What we know of the status of women in Etruscan civilization is found in art, incriptions, artifacts and Roman and Greek literature. Art shows us that men and women sat together (unlinke in Greece and Rome) in domestic settings and sporting events, and held affection for eachother, that funeral games were held for women as well as men, and that women’s clothing was meant for use and not simply decoration. Inscriptons reveal that women held their own names and in dealth were referred to by both paternal and maternal names. Female artifacts such as mirrors were decorated with mythological design and writing giving the impression that females were literate. Finally, Greek and Roman literature concerning Etruscan woman may be critical, but nevertheless it lets us know that these women enjoyed many freedoms and held a high place in society.

The style of this sculpture is late Classical / early Hellenistic. Notable characteristics of Late Classical/early Hellenuistic sculpture is the introduction of gracefulness and sensuality in the figures, even with male subjects. On this sarcophageus, this gracefulness and sensuality can be seen in the smooth, curving form of the figures, the delacate details as well as their affectionate position. The female nude was is also introduced at this time and may have influenced this sculpture as the figures are essentialy naked except for nominal coverage by a form hugging sheet. Finally, the pieces at this time revealed improved the depth and dimension so that it could be appreciated frm each angle.

This sculpture is no exception. Although it is certainly lovely from above, as one walks around the sarcophageus, hidden details come to life and facial expressions tell a story. You can see this in the two different views of the same picture below.

This too is charastic of the time it was created as Hellenistic sculptors tended to depict realistic figures that expressed a specific emotinal or physical state.

Upon approaching the marble tomb, I saw a large rectangular object that represents a bed with the deceased couple lying on top of it. (This picture is from the MFA website...it captures the details much better than I was able to with my camera...especially because I'm only 5' 1"!!!)

There were various friezes and decorations sculpted into the sides of the sarcophageous. The bed itself is clearly defined, complete with pillows, posts and a sheet. There is a pattern to the right below the figures that seems to depict a mattress of sorts. This detail brings a warm, welcoming feel to the sculpture. The couple is life sized and they fill the bed comfortably with room to spare. They appear natural and relaxed in each others arms and truly have a human presence. So much so, it feels as though we as observers are interrupting a private moment between the two. This effect is accomplished by their realistic size, familiarity, and ease with each other as well as their emotional facial expressions. In fact, the feature my eye was most drawn to was the affectionate pose of the couple. Thanchvil’s countanence glows with an adoring smile while Larth gazes longingly in her eyes. The delecate way in which the couple holds eachother is quite touching. Especially touching is the loving manner in which Thanchvil’s hand is posed as it curls tenderly around her husband’s neck.

To me, this indicates that this was the way the couple and the society as a whole wanted to be remembered: loving, happy, and in a realistic, homey, every day situation. This reveals that Etruscan culture valued its women, home and family life. Additionally this helped me to understand why it is believed that not only were women valued, they perhaps enjoyed a position in society that is similar to that of the modern female. Certainly, their status was more similar to our position than that of any Roman, Greek, or Medieval woman.

The far end of the rectangular sarcophageus cover is framed with a three posted headboard against which two pillows rest.The couple’s heads lay upon the pillows and are very detailed. Each facial feature is full of character, suggesting that these were true representations of the deceased.

Thanchvil has shoulder length curly hair that is adorned with a circlet of some kind. An ornate earring can be seen hanging from her ear. Her husband has shorter curly hair, his face is covered with a pronounced beard and his wrist is encircled by a twisted bracelet. Neither is wearing clothing, perhaps because it had been painted on the marble at one point. As mentioned previously, the couple’s arms are wrapped around each other. There is a sheet covering their naked forms and it is close fitting, contouring to their bodies, and draping in a natural way. The sheet forms a V where their elbows bend in their embrace. This creates a life-like pose and seems to capture a moment, as though the sheet moved as they reached out toward each other.

This V also helps to create a heart shape in the upper portion of the sculpture, with the couple’s heads forming the top of the heart, and the gathered sheet the bottom.

Their legs nearly join at the knees in an hourglass shape which accentuates their intimate pose. The couple’s feet nearly touch the three posted footboard which is the exact match of the headboard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etruscan_civilization

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761561631_5/Greek_Art_and_Architechture.html

moses.creighton.edu/clark/Roman%20Women/RomanWomen1.13.05.ppt

Paper 1 - New Britain Museum of American Art

On June 2nd I visited the New Britain Museum of American Art. I had visited the museum once previously, a little less than a year ago, and was excited to return, for I had been rather taken by several works in their collection. I wandered through the museum with my mother and son, noting the sculptures and landscapes, but focusing, as I typically find myself doing, on paintings of figures and dramatic or meaningful moments. I seriously considered the lovely Cassatt on display (A Caress 1891),

Dean Cornwell for Philip Gibbs "Seargeant of Chasseurs" which had always haunted me
and The sunlight by Robert Lewis Reed.

All of these were lovely paintings, but no single one resonated with me as I had hoped. I entered the final room of the museum, and literally froze. Taking up the entire back wall of the museum was an exquisite painting that for all its beauty clearly held a more haunting message.

Although the size, classical feel and passion of the painting initially drew my eye, what froze me in place was the image of a small child holding a large model airplane against the rubble-strewn ground.

Perhaps it was the years of watching my small son smash his toy airplanes into the Lego buildings he’d constructed, or the conversation I had just the night before with my friend concerning her son’s recent animation of airplanes exploding into buildings, but one glimpse of the left side of that painting, and I not only understood its theme, but I related to it in a very personal and emotional way. September 11, 2001 has truly defined not only the foreign policy of our country, but on many levels, our collective social psyche as well. To me this is most apparent when observing children at their most unguarded moments, when they simply and purposefully attempt to make sense of this world in which they find themselves. Viewing the beauty of the innocence of childhood contrasted with the horrific reality of the world they are to inherit spoke to me on a very deep level.

According to the painting’s text plate, in 2002 Graydon Parrish, graduate of Amherst College, was asked by the New Britain Museum of Modern Art to paint a mural commemorating the bombing of the World Trade Towers on September 11, 2001. Sponsored in part by the O’Brian family in memory of Scott O’Brian who lost his life in the World Trade Center bombing, the commission that took four years to finish encompassed the artist’s vision of how the country has dealt with this tragedy from grief to apathy. This largely symbolic work offers several messages that transcend even the tragedy itself including the passage of time, the loss of love and the brevity and frailty of life. The landscape itself represents Manhattan, and the painting includes such figures as twins that represent terror and tragedy and the twin towers themselves, and three female mourners that represent the three fates. This magnificent oil painting stands 8 x 18 feet and is painted in the painstaking classical style Parish is noted for. Historically, this style has employed iconography and Parish incorporates it in this painting by using the three fates. His magnificent attention to detail in the human form, and scenery, and his use of nudes and robes is clearly classical in origin. Additionally, it is easy to see why Parish includes Raphael and Jacques Louis David as artists he admires. Reminiscent of Raphael’s school of Athens or Triumph of Galatea, and David’s Death of Socrates, Parish imbues each aspect of this work with meaning so that the very composition itself expresses the work’s significance. Each figure’s expression, position, and stance reveal both its purpose and nature and fits seamlessly as part of the whole.

When first viewing this work of art, it is difficult not to be struck by the sheer size of it. Taking up nearly the entire back wall of the room, it compels the viewer’s undivided attention and gives one the overwhelming feeling of participating in the scene. It seems fitting that a work of art dedicated to commemorating the WTC bombing would have such magnitude. It not only reflects the enormity of the tragedy, it expresses the huge impact the tragedy has had on our nation and each one of us.

The painting itself is rich and luxurious, meticulously portraying exquisitely realistic looking images in plush, velvety colors. Parish’s use of oil on canvas combined with his skilled use of layering creates a work that is smooth, silky and simply glows from within. This makes one feel as though the meaning and heart of the painting is shining through to physically touch the observer. The background of the painting is obscured by smoke and the figures in the foreground create a triangular shape across the huge canvas giving a satisfying sense of balance that is both aesthetically pleasing and helpful in conveying the artist’s message. One’s eyes are immediately drawn upward to the two identical and illuminated figures in the center. I found this to be so for several reasons including their central placement, height, posture, and facial expressions, the lighting, and, most importantly, the line of the work. The smoky background casts a somber, shaded tone to the figures in the front, but it does not detract from the vibrancy of the colors Parish employees.

When studying the painting from left to right it can be divided into three sections. The left side depicts three children standing on an island littered with debris that I believe to be words from the declaration of independence.

These children are blind folded, which seems to depict innocence, and two of them are carrying toy airplanes, one of which is nose down on the island on top of paper with the words “Secure and Liberty”.

The child without the airplane has his blindfold partially off and is staring at a figure writhing in the center of the painting. The child has seen the tragic reality of the surrounding events and his face is a study in shock and horror, while the other two are expressionless in their ignorance. Although the children are beautifully painted, their coloring, and depiction so lifelike and delicate down to the muscles and shadows in their small legs, the folds in their shirts and the textured, individual hairs on their heads, it is a chilling reminder of our naiveté as a country and how easily we were attacked. Above them, thick, cloud-like, grey smoke billows on the left and right side of the work while behind them rises the shadowy and hazy New York skyline that starkly contrasts the figures with their lack of detail.

Moving to the right, one sees the focal point of the painting, two upright identical figures, symbolizing terror and tragedy, and of course the twin towers.

This line aptly indicates that all the events below are directly linked directly relate to these figures. They are blindfolded in innocence and straining, screaming to the heavens in shock, anger, and despair. Like all the figures in this painting, these twins are remarkably realistic, and beautifully contoured and their postures and expressions evoke fear and sympathy in the observer. They are illuminated to draw attention to thier significance, and directly behind them is the distinctive wreckage of the world trade center.

The debris in between them repeats “We the people” in what I see as an attempt to remind the viewer that everyone was affected by this tragedy and to demonstrate how our independence has been threatened by these events as well.

To either side of them on the sand are figures in despair. To the left, one writhes, blinded by the horror, and to the left, the three fates kneel amidst Victorian styled roses. These roses evoke feelings of both innocence and mourning.

The final portion of the painting reveals smoke that is darker and more concentrated than that to the left. This smoke almost obscures a blurred, and almost sinking Statue of Liberty, who is almost only discernable by the speck of light in her torch.

Below that lies an old man, clearly in the final stage of life lying upon roses that partially bury a skull.

The old man is tied to a young blindfolded girl that to me represents the various stages of life, and the cycle of life and death.

http://www.sandstead.com/images/artists/parrish/parrish.html
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/neo_classical.html

http://www.artchive.com/artchive/R/raphael.html

New Britain Museum of American art - some shots

Here are some archetectural shots of the New Britain Museum... The first one is a side shot.

This is a photo of the front of the musuem. It really has a very open and modern feel on the inside and out. The archetects and landscapers really paid attention to the surrounding area and made the musuem blend into the community. I don't have a photo of it, but Chestnut Hill park is located directly behind the museum. The designers included a window that looks out to the park, adding to the general aesthetic beauty of the museum itself.

Marinella museum / photography schedule

Week 1 - Went to the New Britain Museum of American Art. What a great collection they have.

Week 2 - This weekend I will be going to Boston to visit my brother and some friends so I would like to go to the MFA. I think that trip will also coorespond well with the Downtown (urban environment) assignment for Digital Photography.

Week 3 - I am considering going to the cape to take some "by the sea" shots. I was there last weekend and took some beautiful pictures and am eager to take more. Alternatively, I may go to the Northshore and shoot there. I will try to get to the Atheneum this weekend as well.

Week 4 - I plan to go to the Met this weekend. I also think NYC will be a great place to gake some interesting shadows & light pictures to add to my collection for the week.

Week 5 - I Plan on going to the Yale Art Gallery. My father's roses should be in bloom at this time, so I may get some good macro shots of those...or perhaps I may go to Elizabeth park in W. Htfd.

Week 6 - I Plan on going to the Yale Center for British Art. For photography, I will attempt a portrait of my 9 yr old...may not work! But I have other victims in mind as back up.

Week 7 - I Plan on going to the Atheneum if I cant make it during week 3. I Can't wait to make my creation on the Atheneum site.

who me?

Hi All!

Hi Classmates,

I'm really excited to be taking this class and look forward to learning from everyone. I can't wait to get started and read about everyone's experiences.

This is my first time blogging so I'm open to any and all suggestions/tips anyone has. I think this format is great for this type of class and can't wait to get into it.

All the best,
Marinella