Page 181 - A Selection Of European Art
P. 181
the artist was looking only for expressing joy masterfully and
freely through more simplified and humane artworks, as this
art is directed to the ordinary people who seek pleasure and
beauty of life. The-eighteenth-century artist succeeded in
conveying his flowing emotions with a feather; he drew joyful
subjects among the lush gardens, and magical imaginary and
masquerading scenes inspired by nature. He expressed in
them an idealistic, free society passionate about art. As for
the enjoyment of the senses and beauty, the joyful surrender
to nature, and the delights of life, it was forests enveloped in
sadness. Nudity became a favorite theme, with various paintings
of graceful girls. Most of them depict lovers with a mixture of
optimism and pessimism, fun and sadness, on the basis that
the artist does not see the gentle, contemplative, ascetic life,
but rather the ideal example of the unity of nature and city,
beauty and spirituality, heart and head. The “natural pastoral”
world appeared in those artworks disguised in the attributes
of the polite society, away from the life of courts and cities.
Imagining a situation that shows liberation from the shackles of
the city, while keeping its attributes, was a matter of absurdity.
The depiction of women as young, innocent, healthy, rural girls
increased their attractiveness; the charm of art is complete with
the magic of nature. This is how the legend of freedom, the
intellectual sense of nature, and the romantic perception of
common people emerged out of nostalgia for the bizarre and
the unfamiliar. The viewer has to enjoy either the thing and
its opposite, or the emotions fueling the imagination, as the
good is in the contemplation of “art” itself. Art can deepen
the understanding of human motives, and call for reflection on
moral beliefs. This kind of art depicting the “simple rural life”
as human happiness rather than the complex and rigid cultural
life was the favorite taste of the bourgeoisie.
181181
freely through more simplified and humane artworks, as this
art is directed to the ordinary people who seek pleasure and
beauty of life. The-eighteenth-century artist succeeded in
conveying his flowing emotions with a feather; he drew joyful
subjects among the lush gardens, and magical imaginary and
masquerading scenes inspired by nature. He expressed in
them an idealistic, free society passionate about art. As for
the enjoyment of the senses and beauty, the joyful surrender
to nature, and the delights of life, it was forests enveloped in
sadness. Nudity became a favorite theme, with various paintings
of graceful girls. Most of them depict lovers with a mixture of
optimism and pessimism, fun and sadness, on the basis that
the artist does not see the gentle, contemplative, ascetic life,
but rather the ideal example of the unity of nature and city,
beauty and spirituality, heart and head. The “natural pastoral”
world appeared in those artworks disguised in the attributes
of the polite society, away from the life of courts and cities.
Imagining a situation that shows liberation from the shackles of
the city, while keeping its attributes, was a matter of absurdity.
The depiction of women as young, innocent, healthy, rural girls
increased their attractiveness; the charm of art is complete with
the magic of nature. This is how the legend of freedom, the
intellectual sense of nature, and the romantic perception of
common people emerged out of nostalgia for the bizarre and
the unfamiliar. The viewer has to enjoy either the thing and
its opposite, or the emotions fueling the imagination, as the
good is in the contemplation of “art” itself. Art can deepen
the understanding of human motives, and call for reflection on
moral beliefs. This kind of art depicting the “simple rural life”
as human happiness rather than the complex and rigid cultural
life was the favorite taste of the bourgeoisie.
181181
