The Artist with His Art
Almost all these hidden themes (few ever seen before) hark back to the idea that every painter paints himself. One of the most common is the depiction of the artist holding his or her art. Sometimes, especially in the Renaissance, the artist might represent himself as an executioner holding up the head of his victim (his “painting”) for us to see. This explains why the head of the victim is often a self-portrait. There is also an obvious pun in Italian on the word for masterpiece, capolavoro, which literally means head-work.{ref1} In other examples the artist might be in the foreground facing his “painting” which is the background painted in a different style. The two levels symbolize two different realities, the artist’s studio and the painting. In other cases, especially in the nineteenth century, the background may defy perspective, seemingly flat or vertical and thus indicating its existence in the studio as a flat, upright canvas.
1. Capolavoro was first used in Italian literature around 1700 though is likely to have been used in speech before then. A head separated from a body, though, could have been used to symbolize the artist's artwork long before then because the concept that all art is a depiction of the artist's mind was already widespread in the early Renaissance. Mind, of course, is an abstract idea long associated with the brain inside the head. See Grande Dizionario della Lingua Italiana, ed. Salvatore Battaglia, v.II (Turin: Unione Tipografico) 1961, p.708
All Articles (Alphabetical by Artist, then Title)
How the setting is so rarely what you think....you must think differently
Rembrandt’s Bathsheba at Her Bath (1643)
See how Joseph is an artist staring at his work of art inside the artist's head
Rembrandt’s Holy Family with a Cat (1654)
This painting which depicts Rembrandt crucifying Christ is an excellent example of the alternative way to read art, not viewing it as an illustration but as poetry.
Rembrandt’s Raising of the Cross (c.1633)
Learn how to look and what to look for, and how touching is painting
Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait with Saskia (c.1635)
If you didn't know that EPPH, you would never understand this imageā¦.nor would anyone else.
Rembrandt’s The Hog (1643)
Discover a common way how artists demonstrate their identity with their protagonist. You can use the method to interpret other paintings by other artists.
Reni’s David with the Head of Goliath (1605)
Once you see how Norman Rockwell, the so-called illustrator, turned contemporary politics into a contemplation on the creative process, you should start to appreciate how ageless the theme is.
Rockwell’s Before and After (1958)
Looking at how one great master copies another is a useful lesson in seeing the meaning in art
Rubens’ Copy of Caravaggio’s Entombment (1612-14)
Learn how a mythological scene represents the anatomy of the brain/mind
Rubens’ Perseus Freeing Andromeda (c. 1622)
Yet another visual illusion that has never been published.
Tiepolo’s Virgin Appearing to St. Catherine… (1748)
Baudelaire's linking of Painting with cosmetics in the nineteenth century was not a novel idea, as long believed, but one with a very long history indeed
Titian’s Mary Magdalene(s) (c.1530-60)
Train your visual memory to recall similar poses in quite different situations; they usually have some meaning in common
Titian’s Pieta (c.1575)
Get to know what painters and sculptors look like at work - and their various processes - and your brain will penetrate the surface of a painting in no time. A painting like this one...
Titian’s Shepherd and Nymph (c.1575-6)
Find out what touching, hands and pointing fingers mean for Titian
Titian’s Touch: Noli Me Tangere (1511-12), Assunta (1520) and Self-portrait (c1560-62)
See how Titian tricks us into thinking there is one reality in art when there are, at least, two
Titian’s Woman with a Mirror (1512-15)
Familiarize yourself with the gestures of "painting" and why figures are sometimes out-of-scale
Van Dyck’s Titian and His Mistress (1630’s)
A spiritual journey is one of the basic plots of literature and a common metaphor in both philosophy and religion. Why not art?
Van Gogh’s On the Road to Tarascon (1888)
This painting of a sculptor sculpting has always confused viewers because he looks like he's drawing. Is he?
Velazquez’s Juan Martinez Montanes (1636)
Keep an eye on the "errors" in art and you will find the solutions
Velazquez’s Portrait of Infante Felipe Prospero (1659)
See how Velazquez portrays the artist and his art and then apply the lesson learned elsewhere
Velazquez’s Prince Baltasar Carlos with a Dwarf (1632)
Sometimes one of the secrets of art is so obvious, no-one sees it
Veronese’s The Marriage at Cana (1563)
Everyone agrees that this work by Verrocchio breaks new ground but why? And what does it mean?
Verrocchio’s Christ and St. Thomas (1467-83)
In this late painting Zurburan reveals what is hidden elsewhere
Zurburan’s St. Luke as a Painter (1660)
© Simon Abrahams. Articles on this site are the copyright of Simon Abrahams. To use copyrighted material in print or other media for purposes beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Websites may link to this page without permission (please do) but may not reproduce the material on their own site without crediting Simon Abrahams and EPPH.