Art and Faith

Clouds over the Sea on a Still Day (Ivan Aivazovsky, 1889)

This is apparently a picture that Aivazovsky painted whilst he was on shore, looking out to sea. Bill, you could do the same. Of course, you would be looking at the Pacific, not the Black Sea, but, one takes what one can get.   

Wedding Candles (Marc Chagall, 1945)

I have three wedding paintings by Chagall in my files. This is the one latest in date. Lisa, if you ever need another Chagall wedding reproduction…

Note well how this piece is more “Jewish” than the other two. It shows, perhaps, that Chagall, as he grew older, had a greater appreciation of his particular roots and sources, although I would say that he always had such, it just became accentuated with age (is that true of all of us? One wonders…).

The Ninth Wave (Ivan Aivazovsky, 1850)

This is the most famous painting by Aivazovsky, and if he had painted nothing else, it would earn him a place amongst the greats. The shipwrecked mariners huddled on the broken spar are waiting for the “ninth wave”, the mother of all swells that could overwhelm them. I like the play of colours in this piece.

Sunrise in Winter (Yuly Klever, 1897)

Bill, do I ever have a suggestion for you! No doubt, you sometimes find yourself in the company of a boring pseudo-artist who is always trying to one-up you. Well… I don’t think that the average American art-phony has ever heard of Klever or Makovsky or any other artist I have featured on this site. If someone tires to bamboozle you, just say, “I am emulating the play with light found in Klever”. They shall have NO idea of what you are talking about… but they shall never admit it! Betcha you’ll hear tons of certifiable BS… until you pull out the laptop and pull up one of these posts. 

I knew you’d LOVE my idea, Bill… 

A Landscape (Yuly Klever, 1892)

The Bounding Waves [Ivan Aivazovsky, 1898]

In my quest to induce ever greater and grander states of mal de mer in Bill Jones, I give you another seascape by Aivazovsky. Can you believe that he painted over 8,000 pictures in the course of his long life? No, he wasn’t poor either! He made a ton of cash and endowed an art school in his home town. Yet, he was clueless when it came to the human figure. Therefore, he stuck to ships and seascapes and made a potful of money. Wise man…

Ships (Pavel Filonov, 1919) (first painting of the “Composition” cycle)

The three paintings of the “Composition” cycle are, perhaps, Filonov’s most famous works. I have no idea what they represent, and if someone says that they do know, I would like the name of what they are smoking and their supplier. 

Composition [Pavel Filonov, 1928] (second painting of the “Composition cycle)

Composition (Pavel Filonov, 1929) (Third Painting of the “Composition” cycle)

A Boyar Wedding Feast in the 17th Century (Konstantin Makovsky)

This is, perhaps, the most famous Russian “wedding” painting. One can almost hear the ribald and earthy comments of the guests. There is an interesting juxtaposition of virginal innocence and randy raunchiness in this painting. It rewards a second look, I say.