Frida Kahlo: A beautiful Mess – Non-Western II

"Self Portrait" 1940

So often, true talent is found at the hands of the disturbed soul.  Perhaps it is this inner turmoil that allows harmony to flow to the canvas or notebook.  Frida Kahlo, recognized as the finest female Mexican painter, is no exception.  Kahlo, a beautiful, intelligent artist of the twentieth century, was also very troubled, both physically and emotionally.  It was this chaos that produced her best works.

Born in 1907, Kahlo originally had no intentions to be an artist (www.fridakahlo.com).  A terrible streetcar accident when she was eighteen brought painting into her life.  Confined to her bed for many months, painting was her only outlet at the time.  Kahlo suffered throughout her whole life from injuries sustained in this accident, including the inability to carry a child to full term.  A lifetime of surgeries and miscarriages are displayed in Kahlo’s works, such as in Henry Ford Hospital (1932).  Kahlo suffered a miscarriage while in Detroit and painted this disturbing image to deal with her pain.

"Henry Ford Hospital" 1932

Another theme of Kahlo’s work is her tumultuous relationship with muralist Diego Rivera.  Married and divorced twice, Rivera and Kahlo each had several affairs and their relationship was never on solid ground.   In The Two Fridas (1939), Kahlo depicts herself twice:  The Frida that Diego loves and the one he does not.  This was painted after their first divorce and seems to say that all Kahlo has is herself.

"The Two Fridas" 1939

Many have labeled Kahlo’s paintings as Surrealist, but, in Kahlo’s own words, “I’ve never painted dreams…I painted my own reality (www.fridakahlofans.com).”  Surrealism deals directly with the world of dreams and Kahlo’s paintings are meant to portray her tortured, living experiences.

I love the work of Frida Kahlo because of its frankness, by her own choice.  This troubled, broken woman has laid bare her soul for all to see.  She could not be more deliberate in meaning; the viewer can see her pain in her work.  She produced fifty-five self-portraits over the course of her life, unafraid to face and share her pain.  Some of her works are not beautiful to look at, in fact, some of them are very disturbing, but Kahlo’s attractiveness is found in her meaning and her nerve.  I am very impressed with the work of Frida Kahlo.  After learning of the events of her life, I see her paintings as the pages of her story.

Sources:

www.fridakahlofans.com

www.fridakahlo.com

The Delightful River of Bodo

Le Fleuve de Delice 2001

Camille-Pierre Bodo Pambu, known simply as Bodo, is the artist behind this fantastic piece of artwork.  Born in Mandu, Democratic Republic of Congo in 1953, Bodo became one of the founders of the Zaire school of popular painting (www.caacart.com).  This school holds to the belief that they could create art that could change the course of history, and works such as Le Fleuve de Delice definitely seem to be that enchanting.

Bodo painted this work in 2001 and it definitely lives up to its name.  Translated to River of Delights, this surreal painting is full of strange creatures and a plethora of nudes.  There are fish in the sky, an elephant with arms, and a giant squid, among other oddities.  The playfulness of the figures and, in fact, the entire work is reminiscent of a similar work by Hieronymus Bosch, entitled The Garden of Earthly Delights. While these two works are similar in style, I believe the message to be slightly different.  Whereas Bosch is seemingly making a statement of religion, depicting the fall in Eden, the lust of earth, and a horrible afterlife, Bodo seems to have a different focus.  One of Bodo’s aims in art was to convince others to abandon the practice of sorcery (www.africancontemporary.com) and Le Fleuve de Delice seems to depict the possible outcomes of bad spells rather than of sin.

This work is extremely surreal and definitely the product of Bodo’s dreams.  The fantasy land created here looks like an amusing place, one that really could be a river of delight.  Bodo is an amazing contemporary artist and a wonderful voice from the African continent.  Unfortunately, as this work is found in a private collection, this is the only image of it I could find.  The amount of detail necessitates an enlargement, but the image is still impressive and richly detailed in its smaller state.  I love this work due to its vivid colors and the amount of imagination found here.  The Garden of Earthly Delights has always been a favorite picture of mine, and now I have a contemporary companion to it to appreciate as well.

Sources:

http://www.caacart.com/pigozzi-artist.php?i=Bodo-Pierre&bio=en&m=38

www.africancontemporary.com/Art%20Bodo.htm

Oh Dirty Art, How I Love Thee!

Oh, garbage.  Trash is slowly taking over the planet, one monster landfill at a time.  The seas are swirling with rubbish and public spaces are starting to resemble garbage heaps.  Waste is definitely an issue on planet Earth today and there have been many different theories proposed as to just what should be done with all this trash.  Thankfully, there are some highly creative individuals with some unique solutions to the rubbish dilemma.  These people have put discarded items into artistic capacities, creating highly impressive works of art out of trash.  While this certainly is not an answer to all of the world’s garbage, the innovativeness of these artists has helped to reduce the amount of trash left to pile up in landfills.

H. A. Schult is one such artist.  Schult was born in 1939, in Berlin, and studied at the Art Academy at Dusseldorf (www.haschult.de).  He has created many pieces of art all across Europe that, while different in form, all share a common theme.  His works all comment on contemporary social situations and attempt to invoke criticism of happenings around the world.  Schult considers himself a radical democrat and his work seeks to connect the gap between the art world and the general public (www.haschult.de).

In 1996, Schult designed and installed 1,000 Trash People in the amphitheater in Xanten, Germany.  These figures are life sized and made out of crushed aluminum cans and old computer parts.  Soon after the exhibition in Xanten, Schult decided to send his Trash People around the world.  They have now been to Paris (1999), Moscow (1999), China (2001), Egypt (2002), Switzerland (2003), and many other locations around the world, including a 2011 Antarctica exhibit.  Schult claims that this is the age of trash:  We produce trash and we become trash.  He says, therefore, that these are images of ourselves.

These images serve to remind us of the amount of trash piling up everywhere.  I love the effect that these thousand figures make, wherever they find themselves.  All people need to be aware of the amounts of trash taking over the planet.  This exhibit should travel the whole world, visiting every land and reminding us all of the amount of trash produced and the ecological impact of it.  Schult is a visionary artist and has found a solution, however small, to some of the world’s trash.

Two other artists using trash to make creative art are Tim Noble and Sue Webster.  These two, born in England in 1966 and 1967, respectively, met in 1986 while both Fine Arts students at Nottingham Trent University (timnobleandsuewebster.com).  They entered the London art scene in 1996, when they began creating art from garbage.  These two used an extremely unique technique, creating what looks like a jumble of random pieces of trash when seen normally.  However, when set in the right spot and light is shone just right, the shadows of the trash are images of people, animals, whatever they wish.  Dirty White Trash (1998), and He/She (2004) are amazing examples of their technique. They also have a wonderful sense of humor, as they named a 2006 shadow sculpture Metal F*cking Rats, which depicts exactly that.

I think these trash concoctions are amazing.  It is almost impossible to tell what shadow each structure will project.  The amount of time it must take to get each image just right must be long and tedious.  It is eerie to see a perfect image on the wall from such a conglomeration of spare parts.  I have never seen anything like these works before, and I find them very impressive. Bravo to Noble and Webster for finding an astounding outlet for excess trash.

A third individual who has found a use for trash is Dr. Evermor, A.K.A. Tom O. Every.  Every was born in 1938 and grew up in Brooklyn, Wisconsin (www.pbs.com).  He was fascinated with junk from an early age, finding, trading, and turning it into useful things.  He started a career in industrial wreckage but gave it up in 1983, when he changed his name to Dr. Evermor and began building his giant scrap metal project which he named Forevertron.

Forevertron is a giant, space ship looking structure near Every’s hometown in Wisconsin.  Over the years, Evermor has expanded the project into a giant park, including an instrument section containing 20-foot high cellos, a two-story spider, and numerous other creations, all made of old scrap metal.  All pieces were on-going processes and therefore do not have definite completion dates.  He even has pieces of the decontamination chamber from the Apollo space mission, namely the autoclaves that the moon rocks were passed through.  This conglomeration of seemingly random sculptures is like a glimpse into another world.  Evermor has definitely found a use for scrap metal and a solution to the piling up of random trash.

These structures are extremely impressive and show the visions of one man and what he produced.  I love the creativity of these sculptures and would love to visit them in Wisconsin someday.  I like that all of these random pieces of metal have found a home in the production of Evermor.

These artists are great examples of what can be done with some of the garbage which is now filling up the world.  They have all done their fair share in helping the trash problem.  In fact, they have done more than their fair share because along with gathering up trash, they have also used it to create art, and something that everyone can enjoy and perhaps be inspired by.  The more trash art produced, the less trash in landfills.  Thank you to these rubbish innovators!

Sources:

www.haschult.de

timnobleandsuewebster.com

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/offthemap/html/travelogue_artist_2.htm?true

The Soul of Detroit

There is no greater symbol of the rise of industry in the early twentieth century than Mr. Henry Ford, originator of mass production and the assembly line.  This innovation made it possible to produce automobiles (and everything else) much more rapidly than had ever previously been achieved.  The automobile industry created in the city of Detroit a model for other industrial centers to follow, a prototype of what grandeur a bustling industry can bring to a town.  And what better way to celebrate this greatness than with a grand work of art to be displayed in the initial courtyard at the entrance of the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA).

Edsel Ford, son of Henry, and William Valentiner, then director of the DIA, teamed up to commission such a piece of work (Gonyea, 2009).  The piece was to be a mural of grand proportions, taking up two full walls in the garden court at the DIA.  They chose one of the leading muralists of the day to paint the work:  Diego Rivera, a renowned Mexican painter.  Rivera came to Detroit in 1932 and spent a month observing workers at a Ford Plant before beginning the mural.  He was impressed with the Fords and the auto industry as a whole in Detroit and, in an effort to fully portray the spirit of industry, asked permission to paint a total of twenty-seven frescoes covering all four walls of the court.  This request was accepted and, over the next nine months, Rivera created Detroit Industry, a gigantic tribute to the birth and fertility of industry, completing it in March, 1933 (Gonyea, 2009).

The four walls of the painted courtyard depict many varied aspects of industry.  The two largest murals, found on the lower north and south walls, are detailed scenes of life within an automobile factory.  Every step, from the forging of the steel to the actual assembly of the car is shown; the workers are men from all races, working side by side as members of a giant team.  The theme is clearly man versus machine, or ideally, the union of man and machine, as both were necessary for the process.  There is even an accountant included, so as not to miss any aspect of the business.  The West wall includes images of Ford and Valentiner, the commissioners of the mural (Gonyea, 2009).  The east walls frescoes are of fertile woman bearing local fruits and vegetables.  There is also a fetus curled up in a seed beneath the ground:  The connection of humans to the earth.  There are airplanes, both commercial and war-going, and scenes of poison gas creation and vaccinations.  Rivera wanted to include all aspects of industry, both positive and negative, so as to show the reality of what was created by technology.  The result is a very intricate and inclusive series of frescoes, and Rivera’s self-proclaimed best work (Freudenheim, 2010).

There were many dissentions to this judgment of greatness, however.  Many different people were outraged by this work for varying reasons.  Some people found it outrageous that Rivera had been selected to paint this work, despite his incredible talent and the fantastic outcome.  Rivera was a Mexican, and America was in the middle of a depression.  Could not an American painter have been commissioned, keeping the job local?  Others were infuriated because Rivera was a proclaimed communist.  Why should a communist be chosen to paint a scene of pure capitalist industry?

Some complained of the nature of the work itself.  Rivera included figures representing the white man, the black man, the red man, and the yellow man, believing that all must work together to keep something as great as industry together, some disagreed.  Others of a more religious stance were appalled at his inclusion of a nativity-like scene, with the child receiving a vaccination.  A front page editorial in the Detroit News on March 18, 1933 sums up this anger:  “”Rivera’s whole work and conception is un-American … and foolishly vulgar.  It bears no relation to the soul of the community, to the room, to the building or to the general purpose of Detroit’s Institute of Arts (Aguilar, 2011).”  The editorial was unsigned.

Regardless of all this controversy, Ford loved the work, as did the general public.  The work supremely displayed the real life of those in industry and was an exaltation of the spirit of Detroit, a grand city at the time.  The work remains where it was painted and is hopefully, today, still a beacon of hope to the now-dying city of Detroit.  Today, the scenes pictured in Rivera’s mural are rare in Detroit; most of the auto industry factories have relocated out of the country, leaving rusted assembly lines and huge abandoned buildings.  The population is rapidly falling and many of those remaining are jobless, with no hope in sight.  Those with the means have left the city, looking for better opportunities elsewhere.

I grew up with this fantastic mural, visiting it at least once every year of my early life, whether on a school field trip or on my own.  I have always enjoyed the rich detail and giant scale of the mural, however, this is the first time I have ever researched it in any depth.  It always served as the gateway to the rest of the artworks at the DIA and, while I usually paused to glance around the courtyard at this massive mural, I rarely stayed for long.  I now know more of its history and meaning (and controversy) than ever before.  I cannot wait to return to Detroit for a visit so I may look upon Detroit Industry with new eyes.  This is truly what I love about art, that something so familiar can suddenly look so new through enlightenment.

And as for Detroit, I admit it may not get better if people continue to leave (I myself am included in this group), but it is works like this, that remind one of the glory Detroit once had, that may one day revive it.  Some say the soul of Detroit has gone, but as long as Detroit Industry remains, its soul can never be far away.

Sources:

Aguilar, Louis. 2011. Detroit was Muse to Legendary Artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Retrieved from http://www.detnews.com

Freudenheim, Tom L. 2010. When the Motor City was a Symbol of Strength. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com

Gonyea, Don. 2009. Detroit Industry: The Murals of Diego Rivera. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org

For the Love of color: Impressionism

Impressionism:  A beautiful style of painting that opened the doors to the modern world of art.  This style is both adored and despised; it is hard to sit on the fence of impressionism.  This style was the first to concentrate mainly on colors and shapes rather than classical depictions of historical and religious scenes.  Whereas paintings had previously been valued for likeness to reality, these works of impressionism were more about ideas, about the portrayal of ideas through fantastic color and form.  This is the reason I love these works of impression; these works are not telling a story, it is up to the viewer to create the story in his own mind, to follow the lines and colors to discover a new world.

Starry Night, painted by Van Gogh in 1889 at Saint-Remy (www.vangoghgallery.com), is probably the most well-known of all the impressionist works.  The characteristic swirls in the night sky are definitely something different from the realistic works of the past.  Van Gogh makes the viewer interested in the scene and the sky by using bright swirls of contrasting paint, often mixing paints directly on the canvas.  This work gives off the feelings of motion, as if one was physically watching the moon and stars move across the sky.  This work is a masterpiece of impressionism and one of my favorite pieces of art.

Another favorite impressionist piece of mine is Gladioli, painted by Claude Monet in 1876 (www.dia.org).  The flowers in this picture always seem to jump off the wall and the suggestion of a woman in the background help me to create a story.  Monet did not paint a story here, but I always try to discover the world of the young woman walking through the garden.  This painting rests at the Detroit Institute of Arts, my hometown art museum, and I have personally seen it many times.  This work always catches my attention and is a great example of why I love impressionism.

These works are only two of my favorite works of Impressionism.  I love this style because of the focus on colors and form rather than a classical story.  I love to create my own story out of the shapes of each piece of Impressionism art.  Although I have much appreciation for all forms of art, this style is one of my favorites.

Sources:

http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/starryindex.html

http://www.dia.org

Life is a Jest, and the beggar knows it.

 

“Fill every Glass, for Wine inspires us,

And fires us

With Courage, Love and Joy.

Women and Wine should life employ.

Is there ought else on Earth desirous?” (Gay, 1728)

In the early seventeenth century, the world of theatrics was rapidly changing.  The rigid guidelines of contemporary theater and especially opera were no longer strictly enforced.  There was a new contender in the field of drama:  A rising star known as the Ballad Opera.  These works were far from the elegant, yet unrealistic, operas of Italian origin; these plays were comprehendible to even the lowest layman.  Whereas the former operas had the additional hindrance of a language barrier, these works were written, and spoken, in ordinary tongues.  The recitative quality was trashed; no longer would every word have to be sung.  These ballad operas were essentially plays, with short melodies mixed in with the dialogue, and the content itself was of everyday matters.  Needless to say, these plays became extremely popular, especially with the lower classes that had, until then, been mostly excluded from the great works of the theater.  Now, here was something they could understand and indulge in; ballad operas succeeded in making the joys of the theater accessible to everyone.

One of the first of these ballad operas released was John Gay’s masterpiece, The Beggar’s Opera, in 1921 in London.  It was an immediate hit.  In fact, it was so popular that it ran a record 62 straight nights of performances in the first year (Bareket, Eisendrath, & Selig, 2002).  This play was something everyone could really enjoy.  The songs were short and memorable; one can imagine the masses pouring out of the theater bellowing the lyrics “Fill every glass, for wine inspires us! (Gay, 1728)”  This air takes place during a bar room scene full of robbers, gamblers, womanizers, and other forms of disreputable folk.  These are the characters of the play; they are what make the work so memorable and unique.  No longer are operas to be comprised of only heroes and noblemen, now all trades, even the lowest, are represented.  This feature was what made these ballad operas so popular with the lower classes.  Of course, the public was not composed of all scoundrels such as are portrayed in The Beggar’s Opera, but the depiction of lesser members of society made the work much more appealing.

The Beggar’s Opera is full of satire:  This is what makes the work so amusing.  Apparently, it was a double satire, of both a traditional Italian Opera and the Prime Minister and his cronies of the day.  To satirize the opera form, Gay used simple tunes, rather than the drawn out, artificial airs of traditional opera, and used baser characters, rather than kings and noblemen.  There are rumors that his two leading female characters and their combative relationship were based on the two most popular divas of the day in England, who had gotten into a real live cat fight on stage involving screaming and the tearing out of each other’s hair (Bareket, Eisendrath, & Selig, 2002).  What a sight that must have been!  The play also satirizes Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister.  He was known as an adulterer and a corrupt leader who tried to control the press.  These traits are more than apparent in the leading characters of the play.  After the most popular newspaper of the day wrote a raving review on The Beggar’s Opera, Sir Walpole saw the play for himself:  He was not impressed (Bareket, Eisendrath, & Selig, 2002).

The social, cultural, and political satire of The Beggar’s Opera was monumental for writings and theatrical works.  This play explored boundaries before untouched by authors and actors alike.  Gay used raunchy lyrics with beautiful tunes, witty text, and rogue characters to create a masterpiece that set new standards in the field of drama.  This was one of the first works so criticized by those it satirized that it lead to the eventual creation of the Licensing Act of 1737.  John Gay was a brilliant playwright, who made the theatre accessible to every class and opened the flood gates of satire for the rest of the world.   He was not afraid to show the public how he saw the world and must have enjoyed a good laugh at his accomplishment.  His greatest work, The Beggar’s Opera, was an amazing passkey to the future of playwrights and authors everywhere.  A humorist to the very end, even upon his tomb are engraved words from his beggar:  “Life is a jest, and all things show it.  I thought so once, and now I know it. (Gay, 1728)”

Sources:

Bareket, D., Eisendrath, A., & Selig, D.  (2002)  The Beggar’s Opera.  Retrieved from http://www.umich.edu/~ece/student_projects/beggars_opera/

Gay, John.  (1728)  The Beggar’s Opera. Retrieved from www.gutenberg.org.

Science or God? Vermeer votes for both

The Baroque Era was, as well as a period of exceptional art output, also a time of greatly expanded scientific knowledge.  One of the fields of science that saw the greatest breakthroughs was astronomy.  The older, Ptolemaic beliefs of a geocentric solar system were slowly, not without resistance from the church, being replaced with newer models of planets in elliptical orbits around the sun.  The telescope, a recent innovation, aided this discovery and many others with the ability to actually lay eyes on those foreign orbs in the distant Milky Way.  Astronomers such as Galileo and Kepler were revolutionizing the perception of the heavens.  These discoveries in science were not lost to the artists of the time.  The artwork produced in the Baroque Era greatly reflected this new perspective.  Johannes Vermeer, a Dutch painter born in 1632 in Delft and mostly a painter of domestic women, shows his beliefs in this new science in one of his greatest works, The Astronomer (The Vermeer Foundation). This painting is, needless to say, a prime example of this incorporation of new ideas.

The Astronomer was painted in 1668 in Vermeer’s home town of Delft.  It is considered one of a pair of works, the other being The Geographer, painted in 1669 (Jansen).  Both paintings feature a similar looking gentleman, in a similar room, poring over his work.  The model for both works is rumored to have been Anthony van Leeuwenhoek, a prominent scientist and supposed friend of Vermeer, however, this claim has never been substantiated (the man in the paintings apparently looks nothing like Leeuwenhoek (Jansen).

The astronomer in the painting is seated at his desk, gazing intently at an intricate globe, an orb covered with depictions of constellations rather than continents, a reminder how related the fields of astronomy and astrology once were.  The globe has been identified as made by Jodocus Hondius, a famous globe-maker of the day and its match, a terrestrial globe, is found in The Geographer (Jansen).  Next to the globe is an astrolabe, an ancient instrument used to measure the positions of the planets and stars.  Hanging on the cabinet is thought to be a planisphere, two overlapping discs capable of locating the position of any star in the sky on any night of the year.  The book open on the desk in front of the astronomer is titled:  On the Investigation or Observation of the Stars (1621) and is by Adriaen Metius (Jansen). 

These props all tell of the astronomy profession, yet one major device has been conspicuously left out:  There is no telescope anywhere to be seen.  This omission is strange, as the telescope had been invented several years prior and was in fairly prominent use.  The interesting reason for this exclusion is one unexpected from the point of view of modern science:  God. 

            This work, upon closer examination, is not so much a representation of modern scientific discovery, but a disclosure of the true reality of the times.  Science and God were still very much related in those days; they were seen as inseparable.  One could not study the heavens without pondering God as well.  The omission of a telescope reminds the viewer of this axiom.  This man is pondering, not only the physical heavens, but the spiritual heavens as well.  Close scrutiny of The Astronomer further reveals this mindset. 

The work by Metius, described above, is opened to a very specific page.  It is the beginning of Book III, when Metius states that not only knowledge of geometry and mechanical instruments are needed to study the heavens, but also inspiration from god (Jansen).  The painting in the background features Moses, the Old Testament prophet who freed his people from Egypt.  Moses was considered one of the earliest geographers, using this knowledge to lead his people out of exile.  He was raised by Egyptian royalty, and schooled in all the wisdom of the times.  This would definitely have included both spiritual and astronomical teachings:  This picture is a sign of the connection between them.

The Astronomer is, at first, a fabulous depiction of the scientific expansion of the times.  However, with closer examination, the viewer can begin to see the true meaning of Vermeer.  I believe he is telling of the interlocking of science and spirituality, a duality that was the only understanding of the day.  This is what I love about this painting, its ability to make one think deeper than the first glance.  This is more than a simple portrait, this is a statement of science and god in the 1600’s.  To see the divine in the material world does not seem so daunting, when did this belief begin to dissipate?  Why are science and god so distant nowadays, as if they were never one? And would there be a benefit in realigning the two extremes?  Vermeer and his astronomer would certainly say so.

 Sources:

 Jansen, Jonathon. Critical Assessments:  The Astronomer.  2001-2011. Retrieved from www.essentialvermeer.com.

 The Vermeer Foundation.  Complete Biography of Johannes Vermeer. Retrieved from www.vermeer-foundation.org.

The Adoration of the Medici…oops, I mean Magi

              The Medici family members were the largest commissioners of artwork in Florence throughout the Renaissance.  The contributions from this single family are absolutely stupendous:  They aided many aspiring artists with their patronage.  Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510) was an artist in great favor with the powerful family and painted many works for them.  One of Botticelli’s paintings in particular, The Adoration of the Magi, serves to portray the extent of the Medici’s power and is a great example of the connections between the artists of the Renaissance and the Medici family.

            The Adoration of the Magi, painted in Florence circa 1475, is the portrayal of a classic nativity scene:  Classic only because it depicts Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus.  These figures are centered and surrounded by a crowd definitely not spoken of in any bible story.  The three Magi are there, looking suspiciously like members of the Medici family.  The remaining crowd seems like a roster of “who’s who” in late sixteenth century Florence:  Important scholars, politicians, and businessmen of the time are portrayed, as is a self-portrait of Botticelli himself (Horth, 2004).

            This painting is very significant in understanding the mighty role of the Medici family.  Botticelli was asked to paint it by an out-of-favor tax collector, Guasparre dal Lama, to impress the Medicis.  What greater honor could there be but to see oneself and one’s kin gathered around the newborn savior?  Cosimo il Vecchio,  Piero el Gottoso, and, Guliano de Medici are each given a role as a Magus.  Lorenzo the Magnificent, is also present (Horth, 2004).  Cosimo, being the eldest and most prominent of the Medicis, is centered and has the honor of washing the child’s feet.  The other family members are also unmistakable in the foreground.  The identities of the remainder of the crowd have been lost or obscured but were guaranteed to have risen in status as an outcome of being portrayed here.  In fact, this image could be seen as a statement of loyalty to the Medici family.  In a time when the power and rule were held by a thread and leaders could be ousted the next day, it would be good to know who one’s friends were.  The inclusion of himself by Botticelli was an affirmation of his loyalty:  He now had powerful friends on his side, simply by painting himself next to them.

            The Adoration of the Magi is a very appealing piece of artwork, both aesthetically and symbolically.  The ruins of buildings in the background are not what one normally expects to see in a nativity scene:  They give a feeling of timelessness, almost immortality, regardless of the actual timeline of events.  The baby Jesus and his parents belong here just as easily as they do in a stable in Bethlehem; the prominent citizens of Florence are readily substituted for the barn animals of the traditional story.  Perhaps it is this sense of ageless acceptance that the Medicis found in this piece:  If they can belong here, they can belong anywhere.  Botticelli, as well, was immortalizing himself by his inclusion.

            This piece of artwork is a Renaissance masterpiece.  Botticelli achieved a great task with the completion of this work.  The Adoration of the Magi is a fantastic depiction of the power that the Medici family wielded in the time of the Renaissance.  This single piece of art has managed to change the past; the Medici family now has an eternal place in history, for now they were present at the birth of Jesus.  How many people can say that?

 Sources:

 Horth, Susan.  The Medici:  Godfathers of the Renaissance. Devillier Donegan Enterprises, 2004.  Retrieved from http://www.pbs.com.

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