Francisco de Goya y Lucientes is a Spanish artist who was most prominent during the time of the Spanish Enlightenment, between the years 1759 to 1788, when Spain underwent extreme economic, industrial, and agricultural reform. This occurred during rule of Bourbon king Charles III, who began his reign by appointing radical-minded ministers with an aim of inducing change. Goya’s work can hardly be generalized due to the drastic differences within his own creation; however, there are stylistic tendencies of his art that makes it distinct. Most of Goya’s pieces include at least one person, and the style by which he depicts their face, specifically its micro-expressions and structure, is extremely detailed and effectively portrays symbolism throughout each piece.
“Porque esconderlos?”, translated into English as “Why hide them?”, clearly illustrates Goya’s revolutionary style of adding symbolism through detail in the faces of his artwork. “Porque esconderlos?”, currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is an etching, burning aquatint and drypoint that depicts an elderly man sorrowfully bent on his knees, surrounded by what seems to be a crowd of youthful aristocrats mocking him. The bent figure is desperately holding two bags filled with some sort of material, and one of the members of the crowd appears to be carrying an identical bag; beneath the scene is text that reads “Porque esconderlos?” Nonetheless, the most distinctive and attention-drawing aspect of the piece is the facials expressions of each character.
Concerning the face of the elderly man, its structure is quite hollowed, which is expressed through the shading and shadow play that Goya uses. The man’s cheeks and eyes are severely sunken in, and the wrinkles on his forehead and lips are dramatically darkened, while the top of his head is covered by some sort of garment, which covers his hair and adds to the man’s overall resemblance to a bare human skull. The faces of the crowd that surrounds him, however, reveal a completely opposite aesthetic to that of the elderly man. They do not possess as much detail nor as many markings around their eyes and on their cheeks, which depicts supple skin, indicating lack of aging or youth. Compared to the man, whose eyes are wide open, their eyes are squinted enough so that their irises and pupils cannot be seen, and they are curved into an arc similar to that of a rainbow, supplementing their smiles to convey feelings of joy and humor.
The piece can be interpreted as an impoverished man who discovers money that was purposefully hidden from him by a crowd of wealthy aristocrats who were meaning to ridicule his desperation. These circumstances are supported by the text of the piece, for out of disbelief and anguish the man may have been provoked to say “Porque esconderlos?” He may have been asking “why hide the money that I needed?”, “why hide something that could save my life?”. The symbolism behind the detail of the faces corresponds with this plausible interpretation as well. The skull-like design of the elderly man’s face alludes to both his past and previous suffering, as though his circumstances have brought him to the brink of death. The contrast between the appearance of the crowd and the man further illustrates the dissimilarities between them. The crowd appears youthful, with full faces, and shading by Goya portrays folds in their skin from excess fat, a sign of wealth and good health. The distinctions in appearance between the two focus points of the piece provide symbolism of their polarization in wealth, success, desperation and opportunity.
Goya’s symbolic detail in the facials expressions of his subjects extends beyond just “Porque esconderlos?”. “Las Viejas”, one of Goya’s paintings, depicts two women huddled together, with an angel prepared to strike them from behind. The woman to the left of the viewer is dressed in black, holding a piece of paper with text that reads “Que tal?” which translates into English as “What’s happening?”. The woman to the right of the viewer is dressed in pale colors, and is looking upon the same paper. Similarly to the elderly man, the woman dressed in black also shows facial detail that resembles a human skull, including sunken cheeks and protruding teeth. It appears as though she is a symbol of death, and possibly hell, and so the detail in her face supports this symbolism. As for the angel, his features are softened through a blurred appearance and subtle color scheme, demonstrating drastic contrast to the woman dressed in black. His appearance pertains closely to a general standard of beauty, as can be seen in the perfection of his facial proportions, and as a result, the angel evokes feelings of innocence and faultlessness. This develops symbolism behind the angel as a figure of justice and righteousness. The polarization of the characteristics within the faces of the woman dressed in black and the angel, like the elderly man and the crowd, augments their distance in purpose and ambition. “Las Viejas” and “Porque esconderlos?” are not the only examples of Goya’s art that serve as demonstrations of his symbolic detail, though they are model cases of this distinct design.
In most other examples of art during this period there is a clear effort to portray the subject as realistically as possible. However, Goya chooses to clarify the symbolism behind his pieces by dramatizing the faces within them. This technique adds a subtle abstract influence to his artwork, allowing the viewer to explore their own interpretation of his fluid expression, as well as adding emotional rhetoric behind his paintings. Goya’s later pieces are often considered pessimistic, as they are usually depicting gruesome scenes of violence, and so his style of adding meaningful detail in the faces of the people he depicts evolves his pieces into something multi-faceted. Goya’s novelty technique can be viewed as advancement from the rigid limitations of realism, and so his influence during the Spanish Enlightenment is considered rather revolutionary. Through his innovative stylistic tendencies and unique polish, such as the use of symbolic detail in the depiction of the facial expressions of his subjects, Goya adds dimension to his pieces that complement the aesthetic of his artwork with emotion and sensation.
blacks to the ballet scene, which was unheard of during the 50s and 60s as many did not believe that black Americans were not appropriate for ballet. This battle for privilege and equal treatment in the arts is extended by Kyle Abraham’s choreographic work.
enigmas, and if he is to fail then he will be executed. The mysterious prince decides to make an attempt at marrying Turnadot, despite warnings from those around him, and succeeds in solving the enigmas. The opera concludes with the two of them happily falling in love with each other. However, this does not happen quite so easily.
The Abrons Arts Center current artistic director, Jay Wegman, is often described as “outrageous” although his current involvement in suggestive theatrical productions is distinctly polar to his upbringing. Wegman grew up as a churchgoer, and eventually moved to Manhattan to attend seminary. At the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Wegman was hired as the canon for liturgy and the arts, and it was after he left this position that he started work with Abrons.
ience an example of performing arts, and claim that as a result they experienced a certain sensation, someone else cannot deny their experience to be genuine, even if the latter lacks evidence to make his or her claim. Art does not pertain to rules, definitions, nor limits.
, and discussions with the dead. Although almost all of the events seemed to form a connection with each others, the progression of the plot was extremely choppy and ambiguous. The difference between one scene and the next was stark and each circumstance seemed to pile into completely havoc with minimal to no transition until the final scene of the play. I think the effect of the structure of the play helped Wedekind cover a plethora of tabooed topics, and I feel as though it conveyed a purpose as to why he wrote the play. The impression that I was left with after reading was that beyond creative expression, Wedekind wrote the play in order to shed light on subject matter that society must be able to discuss, when it doesn’t. Without discussion, the youth of said society is left in darkness, battling sensations and emotions that are too novelty to understand; and with this conjecture I agree.
in his art as a way of incorporating a narrative to his work. For example, his sculpture “America” is a cabin of gold leaf that is meant to resemble the childhood log cabin Abraham Lincoln. The walls and floors of the cabin are lined with materials that either influenced or influences the American economy, such as tobacco, slavery shackles, iPhones, and cotton. In this way,
I feel that it is absolutely fascinating how an artist can take every aspect of his work and manipulate it to convey more than what it actually is. For example, “The Situation Room” is a sculpture that, as Sheets’ wrote in the article, “reacted photograph of President Obama and his inner circle of advisors watching from the White House as the covert Navy SEAL operation to kill Osama Bin Laden unfolded on Pakistani soil in real time.” Ryman chose to dust a layer of coal over the sculpture because of how it is a resource that has fueled many wars and instances of violence. In the article, it was mentioned that Ryman thought that the photograph of Obama was a clear form of propaganda, and so his sculpture was meant to recreate the image without the influence it was meant to have. I think that this added symbolism to his works gives an entirely different dimension to his portrayal of such a significant moment in our history
ow the image a portrait portrays is often a lie, however, it relays a message of truth. Often, a picture is framed. Despite the events that occur before, after, and during a portrait is created, we are often contorted into uncomfortable poses for pictures that portray a distinct idea. Because pictures last forever. Brehmer wrote in her essay that “portraiture want what cannot be held: Life to stop without being dead”. I was shrouded by a sense of awe as I slowly realized how I agreed with Brehmer’s point. I have plenty of photos in my own home where I’m smiling next to my family. To the superficial glance, I look cheery and delighted, as does the rest of my family. However, I distinctly remember several instances of nasty word exchanges before and after these pictures were taken. But this doesn’t mean that a portrait is a complete lie. Brehmer discussed how the scene that is trying to be attained symbolizes the desire to make the portrait reality. And so happy family photos may allude to the desire to have a happy family. I also agree with this conclusion on the truth behind portraits.
uld often play the piano in between brush strokes and sometimes spent a measly twenty-five minutes each day adding to his paintings. Although, because he was painting for the sake of others, Sargent often felt pressure to draw in a way that was pleasing to the public. However, this did not stop him from remaining faithful to his personal style. I believe this is the reason why he became so successful. Although there were instances where his artwork was rejected, for example, “Madame X”, Sargent continued pursuing his artwork in a fashion that was distinctly his own. Even through the frustration of creating “Madame X” despite his negative feelings about the paintability of the sitter, Sargent created what is now known as an artistic masterpiece. This fact especially impacted me. To understand that in art, even frustration creates beauty is a very powerful concept to me. Whimsical inspiration is not the keystone to great art, but rather a desperation to explore the dimensions of your own artwork.
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