A Portrait Of Painting From da Vinci To Hokusai And Magritte

The exquisite pleasure of mastering confusion.

These are masterpieces. Can you name each one?

They called da Vinci the chiaroscuro master. It’s the recognition; not the praise. To know with absolute certainty your work is celebrated. That you’ll be remembered for something potent and true. Ideas are the currency of creation and artists are as diverse as the ideas they trade in.

Chiaroscuro, in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. — Wiki

Consider… the enemy of the extraordinary is the routine. In going places others won’t follow an artist might discover, even if by accident, something special. What separates the master is the ability to give that to the rest of us.

“I just hope my death makes more — cents — than my life.” — Arthur Fleck, Aspiring Comedian

Old, young, drunk, crazy, structured, chaotic, always striving to be original if not provocative. What’s real? What isn’t? Does it matter? Artists draw the lines, but they don’t necessarily live within them. Some are driven by obsession. Transforming affliction into ambrosia. They hunger to produce meaning and prove ones own existence through the undeniable impact of sharing a unique perspective.

Ambrosia is the food or drink of the Greek gods, often depicted as conferring longevity or immortality upon whoever consumed it.— Wiki

Has anyone ever asked what ambrosia does for those who produce it?

“The Son of Man”, Rene Magritte, 1964

Even as seemingly insurmountable waves of criticism threaten to destroy an artist’s fragile conceptions something unexpected happens. A reminder of the benefits we enjoy playing this eternal conflict between that which is hidden and that which has been revealed.

A fresh configuration… advancement in a critical process, appreciated by even those who prosper on decay. Unpredictable, intangible, representational, cryptographic nature of capital manifested in the dispelling of a mystery no matter how small.

Perhaps it’s in the relative size of the enigma through which we can understand better what makes a masterpiece. I had never seen true beauty until I looked upon her face. That smile… as my gaze orbits around the plain white pearl I’m drawn inextricably back to those eyes… or is it the shadow balanced with the light, compelling my eyes downward like rain drops on a leaf?

Procession in the Fog, 1828, by German Painter Ernst Ferdinand Oehme

Is it the content or the form? Perhaps a master work is both, and without both it’s something less. Yet is even that enough to explain the enduring disruption some paintings inflict upon all times in which they operate? What of context?

While the works themselves have provoked passionate argument over centuries, and perhaps this is some indication of capital caliber, it’s just not a robust explanation without considering the circumstances in which any given work was produced. The effort, the bazaar, the unlikely, the historical texture represented by the events surrounding its creation. Its elementary significance. The insight to see an opportunity and the capacity to capitalize upon it.

Rembrandt aveva solo ventidue anni quando, verso il 1628, dipinse questo meraviglioso ritratto della madre.

A common document might contain a one of a kind secret of the universe. eg. Shakespeare’s only verified signature signed on a deposition in Mountjoy V. Belott 1612. A quick drawing can capture the essence of a thing, a coincidence can tie the ordinary to something magnificent which in the hands of a master soon becomes that extraordinary treasure enjoyed by millions.

“The Persistence of Memory”, Salvador Dali, 1931

Some may judge by the stars at night or the contrasting colours of a Sunday afternoon. Close your eyes and imagine another lonely night in the sanitarium surveying the riverbank beyond your tiny window.

Smoke a cigar ya ol’ dog; anti-up… sleep in abstract nests of potential surrounded by melting cheese. Construct your own magnificent abstraction with precious metals you covet like a secret ingredient passed down through generations.

“Anything that moves you is art.” — Shia LaBeouf

“№5, 1948", Jackson Pollock, 1948

Hide pieces of yourself; paint your reflection… a self-portrait. Find the zeitgeist and speak for your people. Is it self realization? Warp the lens to hide your true intentions… invite the audience to study your every move for hidden significance. Respond to the aleatoric music played by angels just beyond view.

Would you paint your own mother if the model didn’t show up? Ask Anna McNeill Whistler.

Aleatoricism, noun associated with compositions resulting from “actions made by chance”, with its etymology deriving from alea, Latin word for “dice”. — Wiki

Alfred Kubin — Death on Horseback (1906)

Whether serendipitous, commissioned or birthed so long as the art is expressed in a fashion held effective by its admirers then it becomes as real as anyone’s ability to choose another path while influenced by it.

“Guernica”, Pablo Picasso, 1937

A symbol of peace; of beauty so haunting… of war so terrifying soldiers drop their weapons in favour of tools and Gothic architecture. Friends enjoying a last supper together, both joyous and sad; replaces swords and shields. Brushes pierce vermilion so men don’t have to.

Serendipity is the occurrence of an unplanned fortunate discovery.— Wiki

The possibilities for any creator are endless. Illustrate the desolate expression of a scream as silent on canvas as it ever was on that fenced road in Oslo. Explore the ruins of past failures and from the bones recast them in discussion over complex uncertainties.

“La Trahison des Images (Ceci N’est pas une Pipe)”, Rene Magritte, 1928–29

By now you are realizing that a painting of a pipe isn’t a pipe; it’s just a painting of a pipe. It’s just expressing the idea of a pipe. It’s for you to do something with that idea. It’s the things you do with these ideas that give paintings their power.

A master changes the world, not through force, but through influence received with gratitude. Through collaborative creativity which invites participation. There’s no end to the enlightenment that might benefit us all. Every mystery can be solved, but not everyone is meant to solve any particular mystery.

Some will bring light, size… others colour then motion… symbology… memetics. Some will even store vast amounts of data, but most important in all master work is the introduction of something hitherto unrevealed. The act of lifting the veil, even slightly, is a master stroke for anyone who pulls it off no matter who they are, famous or unknown.

By the nature of the problem; anyone might solve it… even you and I!