repeat the idea
10 famous paintings, plots and characters of which today are interpreted incorrectly
There are many paintings in the world that, it would seem, are even known to art amateurs, but at the same time, even authoritative art historians interpret these paintings quite incorrectly. In this review, a dozen paintings in which their creators have put a deeper meaning than it might seem from the first (and sometimes even from the second) look.
1. Happy swing opportunities
Painting “Happy swing opportunities”, thin. Jean Honore Fragonard.
This famous picture of the Rococo era was even shown in Disney’s Frozen. However, Fragonard clearly put a deeper meaning into his work than Disney. The picture shows a young woman who is rocked on a swing in a romantic garden by an elderly man. This man is clearly unaware of the presence of a young lover of a girl who is watching them from the bushes. Continue reading
How a visit to the Hermitage turned the fate of a merchant: facts from the history of the Tretyakov Gallery are little known
It is unlikely that we could today contemplate and admire the masterpieces of Russian painting, if not for the event that happened a little more than 125 years ago. Namely, in the summer of 1892, the merchant Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov donated to the Muscovites the most valuable thing that he had – the work of his whole life – a collection of works of Russian art, which he had been collecting for almost 40 years.
Being a native of the famous merchant family, Pavel Tretyakov (1832-1898) was not only a successful entrepreneur, but also a connoisseur of fine art, to which he had a special flair. Relying only on his artistic taste, he was able to distinguish true art from one-day paintings.
When collecting his collection, he did not pursue relevant works and fashionable authors; he was not interested in technique and elaborate manner. Sometimes he bought canvases contrary to criticisms from the public and art historians. Continue reading
“The Secret of Things” in the paintings of Rene Magritte, who wanted to “make everyday life less dreary”
“To make everyday life less dreary” – this was the task set by the Belgian artist Rene Magritte. His paintings do not just attract attention – they can inspire alarm, puzzle, bewitch, even frighten.
Belgian bourgeois
Rene Magritte was born in the small Belgian town of Lessin in 1898. Soon the family moved to Charleroi. The artist’s childhood was not easy, and everything else was marred by tragedy: when Renee was 14, his mother committed suicide.
Magritte studied for two years at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, after which he began to work in the field of advertising. The search for Magritte’s own path in art took place under the clear influence of the surrealists. The artist’s style – “magical realism”, as he himself later called it – developed after 1926. Continue reading
