Table of contents:
- Karavaghists
- The first French caravaggist - de Latour
- Light and creativity
- What is the mystery of de Latour and his exclusivity as a caravaggist
Video: Why the largest caravaggist is considered the most mysterious artist of the 17th century: Georges de Latour
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
The mysterious paintings by Georges de La Tour, rediscovered by Hermann Voss in 1915, hide an aura of mystery. The artist was a figure almost as gloomy as his close contemporary Vermeer, but more hidden from the public. At first glance, de Latour's paintings represent a real celebration of light and the visible world, but this is deceiving. Acquaintance with the visual symbolism of the master leads to a deeper understanding of meanings and hidden mysticism.
Karavaghists
Caravaggio left behind him not only a whirlwind of profanity, scavndals and great art, but also a trail of newly minted Baroque artists. Everyone wanted to be Caravaggio and it was almost impossible not to be influenced by his bold new style. Vivid colors, deep shadows and a sophisticated human form.
So many imitators arose that they became known as the caravaggists. The first converts were from Italy, including Giovanni Baglione, Orazio Gentileschi and his daughter Artemisia Gentileschi, but the movement soon spread to France. There caravaggism met its main French representative - a young artist named Georges de Latour.
The first French caravaggist - de Latour
Georges de Latour (1593-1652) was 17 years old when Caravaggio died from murder or poisoning (versions still vary). But the work of the master continued in the work of the young Frenchman and developed in an amazing way. There is no information about where he trained de Latour. And this is just an assumption that he traveled to Italy in search of inspiration. But it is known that de Latour lived with his wife in the quiet town of Luneville in France, gradually gaining a reputation as an artist depicting extraordinary religious scenes. Subsequently, Louis XIII himself called him "The Artist of the King".
The young king de Latour surprised him with his non-standard version of the biblical plot, and with his personal painting "The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian." This is by far the most unusual plot variation ever written, primarily because the scene takes place at night. In the picture, the saint is leaning back, so relaxed, as if the light of a candle had lulled him to sleep. The saint doesn't even feel pain. Beautiful Irina takes care of him. The candle flickers in its glass lantern, illuminating a small area of the plot - the fingertips of the saint and the saint, as well as the tip of the arrow. The viewer can feel how the magical illumination of de Latour seems to soothe the saint's foot, like a balm. Irina is delighted and, possibly, in love.
The canvas delighted the king. Legend has it that one of the courtiers in the palace said: "The painting was so beautiful that the king ordered all the other paintings to be taken out of his room in order to leave only this one." Whether this is true will remain a mystery forever. Tenebrism served as the main instrument for transmitting such a strong effect.
Light and creativity
Georges de Latour often used the tenebrism style in his works. The term tenebrism comes from the Italian word tenebroso, meaning dark or gloomy. Figuratively, it can be translated as "mysterious" and is used to describe the dark tone in a work of art. Tenebrism added drama to the work of artists due to the effect of a spotlight. The works of tenebrists first appeared in Rome around 1600.
The most famous works were created by Caravaggio. The dark background of his work and the shadows cast on objects are in complete contrast with small areas of light. So Georges de Latour was a master of this style of painting. In some ways, his tenebrist style was slightly different from that of Caravaggio, as he often used a visible light source in his paintings.
De Latour's daytime scenes amaze the viewer with a magical transmission of light, in which whiteness casts its light on the outlines of all objects. And the night pictures, immersed in darkness, are illuminated by the light of candles or torches, the reflections of which make the depicted objects shine. Thus, the image of light became the very signature of de Latour's paintings.
What is the mystery of de Latour and his exclusivity as a caravaggist
So why is de Latour spoken of as a mysterious artist? Like the books in his paintings that require reading, de Latour's paintings require not only to be perceived as visual images, but also to be deciphered as complex puzzles. Depicting faith as a spiritual passion and insight, de Latour's paintings convey what is ultimately impossible to show: words, hearing, time, movement, heart rhythms.
Many artists adopted the style of Caravaggio, but only de Latour developed it. All of Caravaggio's work is lighting. The viewer becomes the center of attention of the figures in the dark room, capturing the moment with the clarity of the camera flash. But de Latour reduced the spectacular light source to the size of a pin - the only candle that illuminates the faces and the main accents of the plot. Where the light of Caravaggio exposes violence, de Latour's candles illuminate intimate scenes of contemplation.
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