Probing, perceptive argument that needs rereading and reflection. Sidebar: Are Sean Scully’s paintings contemporary extensions of Tiepolo? I’ve seen many Tiepolo works in situ but few of Scully’s, so I’m not sure. Wayne Thiebaud’s luscious paintings of banal objects, of which I’ve seen many, may also fit with Tiepolo.
This is a wonderful essay that offers a compelling diagnosis of the ailments of contemporary art while pointing towards a path forward. It is convincing (and a very pleasurable read) because it is rooted in an evident love of painting, and avoids sterile “theorizing.” I look forward to reading your book on the Muses.
Another sidebar on the aesthetic endurance/uses of the past: On Twitter/X I’ve been positing another instance of a past source for contemporary art/architecture. Regarding a new building in Chicago that has been repeated trashed through brief snark (The Obama Center tower), I’m considering Italian hill-town towers as a way of thinking about the Obama Tower. The pre-Renaissance Italian vernacular, after all, gave Leon Krier inspiration (and models) for his best new works (not replicas but distinctive buildings). So too that model’s use in understanding Obama’s Tower by Williams/Tsien. A thought.
I would unquestionably add El Greco to your trinity. He is, for me, an artist who clearly saw beyond the limitations of his own time, to the extent that it even earned him plenty of contemporary ridicule. He bordered on expressionism, surrealism and postmodernism, and for me something strangely reminds me of some of the more artistic strands of Japanese anime. Color and radiance for what was important, dreary brown-gray smudges for the rest.
I like this a lot, thanks Alice. I agree we might look to art history to inform our current aesthetics. However, the type of reflection and research you outline here feels more like one artistic person searching for their own inspiration and using it for their work, rather than the stuff of historical art movements. I do wonder if we're currently too atomised for a new aesthetic movement to sweep through society.
A very compelling aesthetic prognostication. If I may, wouldn’t such a metaphysically oriented/ craft and detail propelled aesthetic recognize Salvador Dalí as a heroic progenitor?
Probing, perceptive argument that needs rereading and reflection. Sidebar: Are Sean Scully’s paintings contemporary extensions of Tiepolo? I’ve seen many Tiepolo works in situ but few of Scully’s, so I’m not sure. Wayne Thiebaud’s luscious paintings of banal objects, of which I’ve seen many, may also fit with Tiepolo.
This is a wonderful essay that offers a compelling diagnosis of the ailments of contemporary art while pointing towards a path forward. It is convincing (and a very pleasurable read) because it is rooted in an evident love of painting, and avoids sterile “theorizing.” I look forward to reading your book on the Muses.
Another sidebar on the aesthetic endurance/uses of the past: On Twitter/X I’ve been positing another instance of a past source for contemporary art/architecture. Regarding a new building in Chicago that has been repeated trashed through brief snark (The Obama Center tower), I’m considering Italian hill-town towers as a way of thinking about the Obama Tower. The pre-Renaissance Italian vernacular, after all, gave Leon Krier inspiration (and models) for his best new works (not replicas but distinctive buildings). So too that model’s use in understanding Obama’s Tower by Williams/Tsien. A thought.
The first Uccello piece is absolutely amazing.
I would unquestionably add El Greco to your trinity. He is, for me, an artist who clearly saw beyond the limitations of his own time, to the extent that it even earned him plenty of contemporary ridicule. He bordered on expressionism, surrealism and postmodernism, and for me something strangely reminds me of some of the more artistic strands of Japanese anime. Color and radiance for what was important, dreary brown-gray smudges for the rest.
omg uccello
Very good essay. I think I am coming at this same idea from a slightly different direction here, but I broadly agree with you.
https://open.substack.com/pub/inkwellct/p/parables-for-the-21st-century?r=3h3ksq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I like this a lot, thanks Alice. I agree we might look to art history to inform our current aesthetics. However, the type of reflection and research you outline here feels more like one artistic person searching for their own inspiration and using it for their work, rather than the stuff of historical art movements. I do wonder if we're currently too atomised for a new aesthetic movement to sweep through society.
But I should add that I still remain hopeful!
A very compelling aesthetic prognostication. If I may, wouldn’t such a metaphysically oriented/ craft and detail propelled aesthetic recognize Salvador Dalí as a heroic progenitor?