knowingly shameless
10 fun facts about paintings by famous artists
Pablo Picasso painted one of his famous portraits in less than 5 minutes
One of his acquaintances, Pablo Picasso, while examining his new works, sincerely told the artist: “Sorry, but I can’t understand it. Such things simply do not exist. ” To which Picasso retorted: “You don’t understand Chinese either. But he still exists. ” However, Picasso did not understand many. Once he suggested to the Russian writer Ehrenburg, his good friend, to write his portrait. He happily agreed, but did not have time to sit in a chair to pose, as the artist said that everything was ready. Continue reading
What pictures of Russian classics were banned from showing
We are accustomed to associate censorship bans with forbidden books or films. But even in such a seemingly harmless genre of art as painting, artists could go against the ideological attitudes of power, because of which certain paintings were not accepted for display at public exhibitions. Several such stories happened in the Russian Empire, and they are connected not with some little-known artists, but with generally recognized masters of the brush.
One of the most famous Wanderers, Ilya Repin, by the 1880s, was an artist with great experience. Pavel Tretyakov bought his paintings, cultural figures posed for him – such as the writer Turgenev and the composer Musorgsky. In addition to portraits and a social theme (for example, “Barge Haulers on the Volga”), Repin was always interested in historical subjects. Continue reading
“Great castration”: As covered up the shame in paintings and sculptures at different times
The history of art knows many examples when, at a change in cultural epochs, works created by predecessors begin to be perceived not quite rightly. Probably the most significant in this case is an example of the appearance of fig leaves on antique statues. For the sake of moral preservation in the Middle Ages, thousands of ancient masterpieces were subjected to “great castration.” Interestingly, this tradition today takes on a “second wind”.
The subject of nude in art often becomes a stumbling block and is still a heated debate – does the artist have the right to reveal his model, is this really an artistic device or just a way to get unhealthy attention? Continue reading
