Website Artwork
The website artwork is an acknowledgement to the great artists throughout history whose work I have enjoyed and found enriching.
As I suggested in The Arts and Personal Development, art is a universal language that transcends time and space. It can transport us to altered states of consciousness just by our looking at it and allowing our imaginations to take over.
Enjoy and be inspired!
Vitruvian Man
(L'Uomo Vitruviano), by Leonardo Da Vinci
(1452-1519) Italian scientist, mathematician, engineer, architect,
artist; exemplifies the blend of art and science and Leonardo's
attempts to relate man to nature.
It also shows his interest in proportion. According to
Encyclopedia Britannica, Leonardo believed the workings of the human
body to be an analogy for the universe.
Some believe that the square symbolizes material existence and that the circle symbolizes spiritual existence, thus the depiction by Leonardo of the correlation between the two.
Brilliant! I chose this work of Da Vinci's because I love what it symbolizes and represents.
The Thinker by Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), the French artist whose sculpture emphasized texture and the emotional state of the subject.
Rodin's bronze statue of a man in sober contemplation is one of his most famous works and sometimes used to represent Philosophy.
He is depicted in the nude because Rodin wanted his work to represent poetry as well as intellect.
The Starry Night by Vincent
Van Gogh (1853-1890) a Dutch post Impressionist artist who suffered from bouts of mental illness throughout his life.
During his stay in a mental hospital he produced some works which were characterized by swirls. In 1971 after reading about Van Gogh's life, Don McLean wrote the song Vincent (Starry Starry Night).
In the 70s the Van Gogh museum played the song daily and
recently Josh Groban made it popular again on his best selling CD.
Icarus by Henri
Matisse (1869-1954) a French artist influenced by the post
Impressionist artists. Matisse was known for his mastery in a colorful,
fluid and beautiful style and he has been recognized as a leading
figure in modern art.
In Greek mythology Icarus, after being imprisoned with his father Daedalus, escaped after his father created a set of wings for the two of them. Tragically, he plunged to his death by falling into the sea after flying too close to the sun (against his father's advice) which melted the wax holding his artificial wings together. The area of the sea where he fell was named the Icarian Sea after him, while a nearby island became Icaria.
The next six pieces of artwork are all by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), a Spanish painter and sculptor whose work has been categorized in many periods including his Blue, Rose, African and Cuban influenced periods. He produced works in a variety of styles in his lifetime including the neoclassical and surrealist styles.
Salvador
Dali (1904-1989) was a Spanish artist and one of the most
important painters of the 20th century. His work was influenced by the Renaissance masters, but he was known for his most unusual yet beautiful work in the surrealist style. Dali said of his own work "...just because I don't know the meaning of my art, does not mean it has no meaning..."
Apparition of The Face of Aphrodite,
(right) the goddess of love and beauty.
Galatea of the Spheres - (left) Galatea was a sea
nymph in Greek mythology.
These three fun pieces are by Alfred Gockel (1952- present) a German artist who has toured Europe and North America and is well known for his bright, colorful, abstract and avante garde compositions. His work, in which he strives for perfection, is mesmerizing and inspiring.
These four beautiful pieces are by Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), a Russian painter, printmaker and theorist credited with painting the first modern abstract works. He taught at the Bauhaus school of art and architecture in Germany from 1922 until 1933 when the Nazis closed it down.
Personal Development Articles
The Arts and Personal Development
Philosopher's Corner