Pietà/ Petra By Michelangelo

History holds sacred the fact that Michelangelo was the brightest of the shining stars of 15^th century Rome. The Sistine Chapel being yet another one of his masterpieces. Words don’t do it justice neither do pictures. One has to see it to believe it.

One such piece of art was this marble sculpture titled, Pietà or Petra, that translates into ‘The Pity’ and ‘The Mother’.

This sculpture depicts Mother Mary holding the body of Christ after he was pulled down from the crucifix. It was widely critised and mocked. Michelangelo was called immature (he was only 25 when he made this), he was written off as an artist. They said he was so inexperienced that he couldn’t depict the correct age of Mary as she holds her grown up son’s body. They said it was an impossible feat for an old frail woman to hold a grown man’s dead body. They said it was all wrong!

Michelangelo defended his stance. So much so that he signed it! The only piece of work he ever graced with his name. He shared his view saying that the youthful face of Mary shows that she is ageless. Her virtue is eternal and that is how she will be always remembered. For a mother, her child is never a burden. It will never be more than she can carry and even if it is, she will find the strength to carry it. The Roman catholic in him also believed that Jesus never died. Even after the crucification and after 3 days on the cross, what Mary holds in her arms is a living being and not the heavy cadaver that once was Jesus.

This sculpture is testament to the only two truths that stand strong through time and space, across religion and creed, for man and beast, in fact and fiction, traversing science and mythology. The first, There is a greater power, above all else, running the universe. And the second, there is strong chance that it’s our Mothers!

The Master(piece): Monet

Up until a few years ago I was absolutely illiterate about art, about color and about how wonderful it could make me feel. I have always been very resistant to learning things that don’t come easy or naturally to me. It is a tremendous shortcoming that I am now, constantly trying to over come. The same reflects in my knowledge about art.

Art being such a subjective concept, has affected me in numerous ways. There are times that I’m unmoved, times when I cant comprehend, times when I tear up, times when I am stunned, times when I am oblivious, times when I am intrigued, But the only time I have been excited and intrigued was when I discovered Monet.

A widely travelled Parisian, settled in Givenchy, he became the face of Impressionism. This post renaissance art style found its way to the centre stage in a time when detailing and intricate work was popular. Portraits and detailed interpretation of events were the flavour. Symbolism and nuances were captured on canvas and frescos.

Infact, Monet was also advised to stick to portraits and this artist, who started off as a street caricaturist, experimented with portraits of his children. the aspect that stood out the most in these portraits, wasn’t the expression or the features of his children, instead it was the juxapositioning of colours with relation to each other that stole the attention. His unique interpretation of the visual gave birth to the idea of impressionism.

Using dab of colour in the right measure and perfect position to create a real lifelike image became his signature style. Also he soon moved to depicting landscapes and skylines as this style did more than justice to those subjects.

In the course of his journey he visited and lived in many places and immortalised his visions on canvas. He was invited to paint in London and Paris, he travelled to villages and hamlets, painted fields and lakes. But, as the old saying goes, Home is where the heart is, and in his case his heart was where his home was. Along with his wife, he built a dream of a garden with a Japanese bridge and water lilies, archways with rose bushes entwined and a forest of weeping willows. The way he has captured these on canvas is beyond any imagination. The different angles, the multiple interpretations, the varied moods that have come alive for eternity is breath-taking.

His body of work is spectacular, there is no doubt about that. To me, what separates him from all the other grandmasters is the fact that his work is so relevant even today. In a time and age where digital images, high definition photography, Photoshop and the likes, have quenched the quest for perfection in portraits and images. If you can imagine it, you can put it on paper. In this jet setting age, nobody has the time and patience to sit for portraits and landscapes can be painted from the confines of a room. Very few forms of art can withstand the test of time. Even fewer artists can inspire an over exposed and underwhelmed generation like ours. It is from these ashes of art and culture, that an artist like Monet rises and is here to stay.

The experience of looking at his work is exhilarating. Following the patterns of dabs of colour on canvas is intoxicating. And just taking a step back and watching it all fall into place, to come together as one exquisite masterpiece is so satisfying. His muse, the Japanese garden, which in itself was a work of art, features in a number of his projects. The different perspectives of the same idea, the same idea painted at different times of the day, the dynamic interaction between the subject and the lighting, all of it helps the audience develop a relationship with it. It doesn't matter how much u know about art or how much you know about Monet and his style of painting, you will connect to it. You will form a relationship with it. And if you are even remotely inclined towards art, you will want to learn it.

I had the opportunity to attend an exhibition of his work last month and the layout included animations of some of the art work. An entire corridor was covered by the projection of the pond with water lilies and as I walked, ripples formed at my feet! There were monochrome images of the real water pond and rose trellises, that gradually get replaced in parts by the painting and thus in colourised version. The entire effect was Breath-taking!

I believe art has the ability and freedom shape minds and attitudes. It can mould personalities. It can add give direction and orientation to those looking for it. To me, Monet’s work has done just that. And as I stepped through this doorway into the world of Paint and brush strokes and canvases, I realised that his name shines amongst this stratosphere’s reigning monarchs. Very few can reach out to the classes and the masses alike, and Monet is such one of a kind!

David by Michelangelo

This was a sculpture that was created in the 1500s by Michelangelo, who was at that time commissioned to paint in Rome. He was invited to Florence to have a look at this huge boulder of marble that was procured with the intention of sculpting. Many famous and skilled artists were invited to look at this before him but they all shied away from the proposition. The challenge was that this beautiful rock was riddled with innumerable pores. One strike of the chisel and mallet and the entire thing would crumble.

This was the reason that David became another feather in Michelangelo’s very feathered hat! Now only did he free the beautiful image from the stone in one single piece, he also used it to convey the message of Mankind.

David, initially critised for the disproportionate head and forearms with relation to the rest of the body, was later heralded as the true representation of the human race. The size of the head depicts the power of knowledge and education. The sheer brain power which defines human beings. And the size of the forearms and hands symbolises the Power of hard work and labour. The ability to get better at anything that we keep doing, the adjunct of how practice makes perfect (that’s my personal interpretation).

David thus is symbolic of the fragility and determination, the brain and the brawn, all in all the miracle that human life is!

That’s another thing I learnt. In the olden times when people got themselves painted and sculpted, they insisted on this one very interesting aspect. The men are always shown with small penises. They believed that the size of their head should draw more attention than any other part of their body, including their height or musculature or their penis. It was to show that their mind and brain is way stronger and mightier, and they wanted to be remembered by history for that instead of anything else!

How times have changed. The only constant remains our vanity and the need to be appreciated and our desire to leave a legacy. That’s food for thought