art and love in renaissance italy

bob and i went to this great show at the met this weekend.  bob had already seen it, but his description of it had intrigued me so much that when he suggested seeing it again, i happily agreed.

bob immediately led me to a room with some erotic art that featured some very humorous depictions of phalluses–the phallus as fruit, the phallus as conquering hero on a palanquin and a head made entirely of penises.  we then went our separate ways so i can view the show for the first time and he can see the pieces he wanted to see again. 

the show was full of a lot of artifacts presented at weddings and births.  i was surprised at some of the imagery–lots of urinating children in this show–but it was a fascinating insight into courtship rituals we don’t necessarily subscribe to (note to the christian right: see, marriage as an institution has changed!  gasp!).  i was particularly struck by this birth plate painted to commemorate the birth of lorenzo di medici.  bob and i met up in the room where this plate was being displayed and we disected the composition, which was quite wonderful.  i am fascinated by the page/beggar/boy in the center.  he seems to be the most intriguing part of the painting, but i couldn’t figure out who he was.

i was also moved by the two titians i saw in the show (there’s one at the beginning of this entry).  i had never really been taken by titian, but i felt there was something vital . . . something that buzzed and sparked . . . about those two paintings (see the frank o’hara poem i posted last night).  bob pointed out how titian created these very realistic effects with very simple arrangements of brushstrokes.  i was moved by the power of that simplicity.  it is as if titian were saying, making the right choices can yield powerful results.

~ by Alejandro Morales on November 24, 2008.