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| Venus sortant de l'Onde (Venus rising from the waves) - detail - 1866, Gustave Moreau. Geometry, 2023, DS. |
“It is the language of God! One day the eloquence of this silent art will be appreciated. I have lavished all my care and endeavour on this eloquence, whose character, nature and spiritual power have never been satisfactorily defined. The evocation of thought through line, arabesque and technique: this is my aim.”
Taken at face value, we can assume Moreau is referring to art, specifically painting, as the "language of God" and "this eloquence." The remainder of the quote, however, seems to indicate a somewhat different context. He uses the word "arabesque," for instance, which loosely interpreted would indicate an ornamental, decorative design pattern, predominately Islamic, but, during Moreau's time - especially in the art world - arabesque was a popular term in which spiral flourishes were often key elements. They were not always "golden," - the spirals in the ancient Roman arabesque panel inset left are not golden spirals - but spirals were, nevertheless implied by the term.
Interestingly, in the Wiki entry for arabesque, however, there is this (ambiguous) line:
"...proposed connections between the arabesque and Arabic knowledge of geometry remains a subject of debate; not all art historians are persuaded that such knowledge had reached, or was needed by, those creating arabesque designs, although in certain cases there is evidence that such a connection did exist."
"Fin de Siècle is an umbrella term embracing symbolism, decadence and all related phenomena (e.g. art nouveau) which reached a peak in 1890s. Although almost synonymous with other terms such as the Eighteen-Nineties, the Mauve Decade, the Yellow Decade and the Naughty Nineties, the fin de siècle however expresses an apocalyptic sense of the end of a phase of civilization. The real end of this era came not in 1900 but with First World War 1914."
- Via the Tate Museum online Fin de Siècle section. Interestingly, as we saw in the Renaissance and the Baroque period, certain kinds of "sinuous lines," flourishes and patterns seem to emerge and reemerge for artists and artisans during pivotal points in human history. And we'll see this again.
- Written by André Breton, the founder of Surrealism, in 1961, several years after an important exhibition of symbolist drawings in Paris took place; an exhibition he, in fact, sponsored. He wasn't merely a champion of Moreau's oeuvre, however, he felt that Moreau was genuinely a proto-surrealist... and, possibly, a kindred spirit.
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This is actually my third attempt at creating this post. Mysterious, digital mishaps destroyed the previous two. Well, let's hope "three's the charm"... because I'm superstitious, and most likely will take it as a sign that this post should not - for whatever cosmic reason - be published at all.
The Golden Meme is a rascally thing. Just when I thought I would refrain from spiral hunting in regards to more contemporary artwork, numerous contemporary artworks with spirals appeared! Just like that. While I realize I am not obligated to reveal my findings - and there are arguments for not revealing them at all - well, here I am. And, I am here for one reason: Venus. Because, Venus, in all her many aspects is a deeply pentagonal expression, and it is often through her that this enigmatic "golden" tradition (which I've been glued to for the past few years) was enabled, via some artists, to perpetuate itself for (at least) several hundred years. My only hope is for this tradition to continue in the spirit and with the reverence intended by its originators.
Botticelli was one of the artists involved... and one of the earliest in the more modern leg of our journey, which most likely began in the Italian Renaissance. As it was, many young artists in the following centuries made pilgrimages to Italy, which is one way the Golden Meme - the pentagonal art tradition - survived and multiplied through time and space. This is my theory, anyway.
Gustave Moreau was also one of these artists...
(continued after the jump)
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| Venus sortant de l'Onde (Venus rising from the waves) - detail - 1866, Gustave Moreau. Geometry, 2023, DS. |
And, it appears as if he enriched the tradition with several, marvelous Golden Venuses of his own... the most beautiful and ambitious being the magnificent Venus above, flanked by her devotees: a mermaid with a large pearl in an oyster shell and a male counterpart (holding a large conch shell and a red coral). The image above, by the way, diagrams the second possible placement of the spiral; my first is the spiral introducing this post, which places the side of the triangle on the vertical. Both possible spirals are impressively tight and both seem to emphasize the pearl in the oyster shell held aloft by the mermaid (inset left) - an offering to Venus - although the visionary goddess herself gazes off into a mysterious distance.
But, then we come to the truly surrealistic elements - and evidence that Breton was correct: Moreau was a proto-surrealist. Note the glittering gold volumes of her hair cascading from both her hands and arms like tinsel on a Christmas tree. And, what is that large object hovering over her left shoulder; that white, metallic, stone (or fabric creation) which resembles nothing I can identify? As a matter of fact, if this object (or objects) is/are identifiable to you, please drop me a line in the comment section!
I do notice that the anomaly seems to rest on a large (iron?) crescent-shaped object that extends over her right shoulder. And, yet, it almost appears to be a mysterious automatism - a surrealist device of the utmost importance (posted about previously.) Additionally, there are a few more unusual elements in this painting, but I think it's necessary to see the original in person before addressing them. (Note: is that a tiny five-pointed star lying near the center of her throat, or just a jagged shadow?)
Lastly, we come to Moreau's other Venuses. I can find full images of only 2 online, but, I know there's another in his museum collection, and there may be more. The first I'd like to bring to your attention is the larger one below. The placement of its spiral, we've seen but once before, although used somewhat differently.
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STOP!!!
And, so, (sadly) I won't. I just hope what remains is somewhat illuminating (for those who would be illuminated) and that this sort of blogging nightmare never happens again!
And, to those for whom this applies (certainly not Tom, the dead turkey): Happy Thanksgiving!
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* Incidentally, here's a bit of interesting trivia. The universal symbol for the female of the species, or the Feminine (an inverted globus cruciger... that is, a circle mounted on a cross) is also the planetary symbol for Venus. It symbolizes the goddess's hand mirror. The symbol for the planet Mars - the goddess Venus's lover - is the universal symbol for the male of the species, or the Masculine. It is an arrow or a spear mounted on a circle; I'm assuming it symbolized Mars' weapon of choice...
Well, okay, it's all a very antiquated and stereotypical spin on gender issues. But, I do like the idea of Venus's hand-mirror; mirrors - "gateways to the realm of inversion" - are rich in symbolism. See: The mirror as a symbol and metaphor in art and modern society, The Symbolism of Mirrors, or, the Symbol Sage, where the poem The Mirror by Sylvia Plath - excerpted below - can be found.
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| 2023, DS |
One may be forgiven in thinking Moreau indeed knew and used the golden "arabesque" in his work -- it fits so well. As for the odd 'device' just over her left shoulder -- this is indeed a mystery! I GOOGLEd the heck out of this painting and found nothing in explanation. On inspection of high-resolution images, it looks vaguely draped....but resembles nothing I have seen.
ReplyDeleteMay you avoid further mysterious digital disasters, mishaps and conundrums of a pixelated nature, but keep writing! These posts are always intriguing and insightful.
Oh, thanks so much for your input, although it appears the surrealistic object will probably not be identified. Really, I don't think I've ever seen such an anomalous, prominent object in a painting in the past... unless it was by Dali!
DeleteAs for my digital distress these days, I think my actual problem isn't just one program or application or device, it's the simple reality that I'm dealing with a machine which, despite the hype, has no actual intelligence whatsoever.