How great painters depicted different psychological temperaments in their paintings

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Four Temperaments is a theory that existed from ancient times until the 19th century, according to which certain human moods (temperaments) were caused by an excess or lack of body fluids (called “humors.” The works of artists who skillfully reflected psychological theory in their canvases are very curious and interesting.

About the theory of "humor"

"Humorism" is an ancient medical concept that underlies this typology. Its origins date back to Greek-Arabic medicine, where it was successfully used to treat diseases. And it is still used by traditional medicine practitioners around the world. Different temperaments have different proportions of these fluids: the predominance of one fluid determines the temperament and psychological type of a person. Four Temperaments is a theory from ancient times to the 19th century that certain human moods (temperaments) were caused by excess or lack of body fluids (called "humors": blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm). Depending on the prevailing "humor", people were conditionally divided into four temperaments: - Sanguine: blood - Phlegmatic: phlegm - Choleric: yellow bile - Melancholic: black bile

Four temperaments and their "humors"

People with sanguine personality type, as a rule, they are mobile, optimistic, cheerful and carefree. They love adventure and are very tolerant of risks. Sanguine people do not tolerate boredom and will seek variety and entertainment. Naturally, this trait can sometimes negatively affect their romantic relationship. Because this temperament is prone to pleasure, some sanguine people struggle with addictions. Sanguine people are creative people and can become great artists. Phlegmatic a person strives for interpersonal harmony and close relationships, which makes phlegmatic people faithful spouses and loving parents. They try to maintain relationships with old friends, distant relatives and neighbors. People with a phlegmatic temperament tend to avoid conflicts and always try to mediate between others in order to restore peace and harmony.

Man with choleric temperament - purposeful. Choleric people are very smart, analytical and logical. Extremely practical and simple, they are not necessarily good companions and friends. Choleric people do not like empty conversations, preferring deep and meaningful conversations. They prefer to be alone than in the company of superficial people. melancholic by nature they love tradition. Melancholic women love to cook for men, and men happily look after women. They love their families and friends and, unlike sanguine people, are not adventurous. Moreover, they avoid it as much as possible. A person with a melancholic temperament is unlikely to marry a foreigner or leave his homeland for another country. Melancholic people are very sociable and eager to contribute to society. Extremely thorough and precise, they are fantastic managers with good personalities. Next, consider the most interesting works of artists that reflect the theory of the four temperaments.

Thomas Woodruff

Thomas Woodruff's paintings "Four Humors" amaze with fantastic animals, butterflies, tigers and amazing landscapes. In his work, he mixes archaic science with modern images, because, in his opinion, art should highlight "the great and the soft, the noble and the wretched, the brilliant and the dark." Thomas Woodruff has over 20 solo exhibitions and has been featured in over 100 public exhibitions around the world. Since 1981, he has taught at the New York School of Fine Arts, where he is currently Head of the Department of Illustration and Caricature. Woodruff is a recipient of grants from the Andy Warhol Foundation (1997) and Peter S. Reed (2007).

James Ensor

Four Temperaments (Les quatre Tempéraments) - a rare black chalk drawing by James Ensor, created by him at the age of twenty. James Ensor was a major figure in the Belgian avant-garde. He is not only an exceptionally talented colorist, but also one of the great realists of the 19th century. Its pure pictorial significance manifested itself in the virtuoso manner of applying paint with a palette knife.

Peter de Yode

And here is a set of 4 prints by the Flemish artist Peter de Jode the Elder (1570 - 1634). These prints depict the "four temperaments."

- Choleric (top left). The engraving depicts a soldier and a duty officer, and in the background people are robbing and fighting, buildings are burning. - Melancholic (top right). The engraving depicts an old man offering jewelry and money to a melancholic woman, note the scientific instruments in the right corner - Phlegmatic (bottom left). The engraving depicts a fisherman with his wife, and in the background people are fishing. - Sanguine (bottom right). The engraving depicts a man playing the lute and a woman singing. People are dancing in the background.

Raphael Sadeler

The collection of the Rijksmuseum contains an album of engravings from the early modern period by Jean de Poligny. One of the sets in the album is a cycle of prints by Raphael Sadeler depicting 4 human temperaments.

1) The depiction of a sanguine temperament (associated with the element of Air) depicts Flora sitting next to a young man in a beautiful gazebo, behind which scenes of lovers and general frivolity are played out.

2) Choleric temperament (associated with Fire) is represented by the god of war Mars and the goddess of wheat Ceres. And all this against the background of marauding soldiers.

3) Melancholic (connected to the Earth) shows an anxious woman sitting over a man. Everything around them is broken, abandoned and depressing. In the background, apparently, a charlatan demonstrating false healings and miracles.

4) Finally, in the image of the phlegmatic (associated with water), we see a somewhat simpler scene in which fish and water completely predominate.

Albrecht Durer

Perhaps the most famous cycle of works with temperaments belongs to the brush of Albrecht Dürer - "Four Apostles." The history of the canvas is interesting: Dürer donated the painting to his hometown of Nuremberg. For some time it was kept in the town hall. However, Elector Maximilian I, who was an ardent admirer of Dürer's work, demanded that the inhabitants of Nuremberg send him a painting to Munich. The canvas, of course, was sent (after all, no one wanted to disobey the order of the formidable ruler). The diptych was sent, and the residents of the city hoped to get it back after some time. This was important to them, because under the picture was a passage from the Holy Scriptures, translated into German by Luther himself. However, the elector acted cunningly. He ordered to carve a heretical inscription and send the cut part of the panel back to Nuremberg. Thus, the painting remained with him. And only at the beginning of the 20th century was it possible to reunite the cut part and the panel.

It consists of two vertical narrow panels connected to each other. The left panel depicts the apostle John and the apostle Peter, on the right - the apostle Mark and the apostle Paul. This is how they represent temperaments:

• melancholic Pavel - he is in a gray and white robe on the right wing of the diptych; • choleric Mark - standing next to Paul; • sanguine John on the opposite wing in a bright red tunic; • phlegmatic pensive Peter, with his head down.

Thus, thanks to their brilliant talent and knowledge, master painters of different eras, thanks to their brilliant talent and knowledge, managed to create amazing and magnificent canvases that reveal the theory of the four temperaments. In this regard, their works are important both from an art criticism point of view and as a psychological heritage.