lET ME ASK YOU:
...do you like not just to admire the beauty of a painting or statue, but also to understand its meaning?
...do you like the feeling that you and the artist speak the same language that is unclear to others?
...do you like to read allegories and notice hidden symbols?
Before you answer, let me give an example of “allegories and hidden symbols”.
Be beware: they might surprise and even shock you!
Here is Moses, a statue by Michelangelo.
Note that he has small horns on his head. I wonder where these strange accessories came from?
Speaking of strange accessories: take a look at the portrait of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Do you know what kind of round object she’s holding?
Speaking of strange accessories: take a look at the portrait of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Do you know what kind of round object she’s holding?
A sieve! And why would the queen need such a domestic tool? There is an explanation for this. A two-part explanation, in fact: one has to do with the biography of the queen herself, the second — with an episode from the history of ancient Rome … Curious yet?
Or here’s another thing: often the paintings tell about the everyday life of people of the past. But those tales might be incomprehensible to us, because life has changed a lot since then. Here, for example, is a fragment of Bosch’s triptych «Haywain». Doesn’t look disturbing, is it? Two ladies are talking, one of them has a baby in her arms.
But to a contemporary it would immediately become clear that these ladies are involved in illegal and deeply immoral business. And it would be precisely the baby and the strange white hat of one of the women that would lead him to this idea… Any guesses?
Finally, the last example
But I wonder if I am the only one who sees here allusions to several stories from the depths of time?
As it turned out, no. Recently, I discussed this picture with my subscribers, and we found so many layers in it! Theories were put forward.
Theory one: three graces. The image of three beautiful sisters embracing, dancing in a round dance appeared in antiquity, and then it was used by Botticelli, Raphael, and Canova.
Theory two: Faith, Hope and Love. See how gracefully it plays out: Faith raises her eyes to the sky, folding her hands on her chest in an almost prayerful gesture. Hope in the middle looks forward bravely and openly. And Love has lowered its eyes to the ground, because true love should be modest and bashful.
Or else: an allegory of time, like Titian’s famous allegory. The Future looks up, the Present looks forward, and the irrevocably departed Past looks down…
(I know, you probably want me to get to the point already; and I will do so in a second, I promise! But this next painting… I just love it so much and simply can’t help myself). This painting by an Englishman with Italian roots, Charles Edward Perugini, is called «Summer Rain»: a sudden downpour forced three young ladies friends to stop playing badminton and hide under a tree. Charming.
But I wonder if I am the only one who sees here allusions to several stories from the depths of time?
As it turned out, no. Recently, I discussed this picture with my subscribers, and we found so many layers in it! Theories were put forward.
Theory one: three graces. The image of three beautiful sisters embracing, dancing in a round dance appeared in antiquity, and then it was used by Botticelli, Raphael, and Canova.
Theory two: Faith, Hope and Love. See how gracefully it plays out: Faith raises her eyes to the sky, folding her hands on her chest in an almost prayerful gesture. Hope in the middle looks forward bravely and openly.
And Love has lowered its eyes to the ground, because true love should be modest and bashful.
Or else: an allegory of time, like Titian’s famous allegory. The Future looks up, the Present looks forward, and the irrevocably departed Past looks down…
Finally, the last example
(I know, you probably want me to get to the point already; and I will do so in a second, I promise! But this next painting… I just love it so much and simply can’t help myself). This painting by an Englishman with Italian roots, Charles Edward Perugini, is called «Summer Rain»: a sudden downpour forced three young ladies friends to stop playing badminton and hide under a tree. Charming.
But I wonder if I am the only one who sees here allusions to several stories from the depths of time?
As it turned out, no. Recently, I discussed this picture with my subscribers, and we found so many layers in it! Theories were put forward.
Theory one: three graces. The image of three beautiful sisters embracing, dancing in a round dance appeared in antiquity, and then it was used by Botticelli, Raphael, and Canova.
Theory two: Faith, Hope and Love. See how gracefully it plays out: Faith raises her eyes to the sky, folding her hands on her chest in an almost prayerful gesture. Hope in the middle looks forward bravely and openly. And Love has lowered its eyes to the ground, because true love should be modest and bashful.
Or else: an allegory of time, like Titian’s famous allegory. The Future looks up, the Present looks forward, and the irrevocably departed Past looks down…
Tell me, do you like to find such unexpected parallels?
To see connections between epochs and images that are not visible to others?
If your answer is yes, then I have something for you.
My name is Alexey Pashkov. I am a historian, art critic, and the creator of one of the best (to my humble taste) communities of art enthusiast on the Internet.
Oh, and by the way, I’m also Russian. Hope that won’t scare you away))
And what do I do for a living? Help people understand art, it’s secret language and hidden meanings
In these lectures you WILL NOT FIND:
- General, pointless and almost sedative passages that some lectures on art love so much: «Look at the gracefully flowing folds of the toga, gently wrapping around the slender figure of Aphrodite…»
- Unverified or simply false facts, such as the legend of the sixth finger of Pope Sixtus II in a painting by Raphael (I already wrote like a hundred times in my blog: there is no sixth finger! It’s just optical trick!)
- Esoteric speculations, conspiracy theories, aliens, reptilians, and other things of such nature. I have a distaste for them.
But in these lectures you WILL FIND:
- Strictly scientifical theories, presented in a clear and comprehensible manner.
- Emphasis on details, symbols, and allegories. Interpreting the meaning of paintings, revealing their hidden meanings is what I – and my listeners – enjoy the most.
- I also like to expand the boundaries of the topic and look for links between art and literature, politics and philosophy. For example, in the course on Middle Ages I briefly research the famous «Consolation with Philosophy» by Boethius as a way to better understand medieval manner of thinking.
Now, to give some ground to my claims, here are some excerpts from my lectures.
In this video, I reveal-finally! – the secret of the mysterious sieve is in the hands of Queen Elizabeth.
And the second video is all about illegal and deeply immoral business, conducted by two seemingly innocent ladies from Bosch’s painting;
These two videos are from two different courses: on the Renaissance and on the Middle Ages.
Later, if you want, you can join them. But since we are barely acquainted, and I do not yet know your art preferences, I have a special offer for you:
The «First acquaintance» package.
It contains several series of lectures on various topics. The idea is that everyone will find something interesting there:
Let’s compare Christian art with an amazing rose bush: Notre Dame, St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome and the «Sistine Madonna» by Raphael are its buds, each of them is beautiful in its own way. But they have a common root. The root is the first creation of Christian artists. We’ll talk about them.
Why would you want to know more about that?
First, once in Rome (and who among us does not dream of going there?), you will be able to show off your erudition and save on the services of a local guide: not he, but rather, you will be able to give your friends a tour of the catacombs and early Christian murals, hidden in depth under the city.
Secondly, without a knowledge of early Christian art, it is impossible to understand medieval art: after all, the second grows out of the first, like a tree from a seed. Why did the Middle Ages abandon ancient illusionism, the art of representing three-dimensional space and human anatomy, in favor of abstractness, the use of symbols and pictorial metaphors? Why have some stories gained huge popularity, while others have sunk into oblivion? Why did artists so often draw parallels between the events of the Old and New Testaments? The answers to all these questions lie there – in the deep and dark passages hollowed out in the soft rocks under the Eternal City, where in the first centuries of our era the first timid attempts were made to create a fundamentally new Christian art.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- Paintings of the Roman Catacombs: symbols and allegories. Here we will talk about why Christian art became primarily symbolic as opposed to pagan art, and what symbols can be found on the walls of the catacombs most often.
- Favorite stories from the Old Testament. Here we will discuss why certain subjects, such as Jonah swallowed by a whale, or the three youths in the fiery furnace of Babylon, became particularly attractive to early Christian artists.
- Christians and pagans. Here we learn why Christians so often borrowed motifs from their pagan counterparts, and why we can find images of both Christ-Helios and Christ-Orpheus.
- Favorite stories from the Gospel. Here we will understand why some gospel scenes, for example, the abdication of the Apostle Peter, are particularly common, and how this is related to the political and religious circumstances of the era.
- Old and new in Christian art. Here we will discuss a rather abstract but interesting question: was Christian art fundamentally different from pagan art in spirit, in mindset, in attitude? What did the Christians borrow and what, if anything, did they bring that was fundamentally new?
What’s in the mini-course:
- a 2.5-hour video lecture;
- audio version of the lecture (download it to your phone and listen to it anywhere – in the car, in the store or while working out);
- a separate file with illustrations (50 illustrations).
Can you «read» Gothic cathedrals?
These huge stone books left to us by the thinkers of the past? These gigantic messages that speak to us in the language of symbols and allegories, in which every sculpture, every bas-relief, every decorative scroll has a special meaning?
I love these books. And I enjoy teaching other people to understand their long-forgotten language. After this course, you will speak to the masters of the past in the same dialect and learn what they thought – about themselves, about their world, about God, and how they passed their knowledge to us… in stone.
Why would you want to know more about that?
If in the near future you are planning (or dreaming) to go to Europe, to visit Amiens and Reims, to walk under the vaults of Cologne Cathedral or Notre Dame – this course is just for you! After it, any Gothic cathedral will turn into an open book for you: it will become clear and comprehensive. Not only will you easily understand all its symbols and hints addressed to you, but you will also be able to explain them to your friends or children.
If you are not going to Europe in the near future – well, this course will be a great opportunity for you to visit all the cathedrals that you have long dreamed of, in comfort of your own home. Let’s dive into their mysterious atmosphere together!
Here’s what you’ll know:
- Animal symbolism. How to understand the meaning of a lion, a snake, a hare, a pelican, and — quite unexpectedly! — a hedgehog in a Gothic cathedral. By the way, this knowledge will be useful to you: for example, the pelican as a symbol of sacrificial love is often found in later Christian art as well.
- The cathedral as an encyclopedia. You will learn what the Gothic sculptors tried to tell us about the science and philosophy of their time. And speaking of philosophy: we will also discuss the book «Consolation of Philosophy» by Boethius, a well-established medieval thinker, who tried to answer the ever-relevant question: why bad things happen to good people…
- Theology and alchemy. Is it true that the allegories of vices and virtues in the cathedral of Notre Dame were actually encrypted messages from the alchemists? One of the heroes of the novel «Notre-Dame de Paris» thought so. Let’s try to figure out, why.
- Sculptures in a Gothic cathedral. They are everywhere, but the first ones always meet us at the entrance. Usually on the sides of the main doors of the cathedral there are statues depicting… whom? I will teach you how to recognize the most popular characters and where to look to identify them. And you will also know why the sculptors chose to portray exactly these or other characters (in fact, their choice was not random; they followed a certain system, and in order tj grasp medieval art you simply must understand it’s logic).
- And finally, gargoyles and monsters! I have prepared for you a selection of my favorite nightmarish creatures: stone dragons, demons, chimeras… We will try to understand what these strange statues are doing in the cathedral, that is, in the house of God, where anything demonic, it seems, does not belong. Surprisingly Middle-century clerics themselves did not really know the answer to this question; we will look for an answer in the novel «The Name of the Rose» – but we will not find it there either. But in the end I will offer you a convincing theory…
What’s in the mini-course:
- a 3-hour video lecture;
- audio version of the lecture (download it to your phone and listen to it anywhere – in the car, in the store or while working out);
- a separate file with illustrations (100 illustrations).
If you love the «old masters» – Rembrandt, or Rubens, or Leonardo – then you will definitely like this mini-course. We will talk about four famous paintings and try to grasp their true meaning.
«Bacchus» by Rubens. Rubens is known as an artist who painted… plus-sized characters. And of all his characters Bacchus is the most immeasurable, the most voluminous. He usually causes people either bewilderment, or some kind of greasy wit. But in fact, this painting is not so simple. It has several layers of meaning, several levels of perception. There is an outer one, intended for the profane; there is an inner one, deep, intended for the same refined intellectuals as Rubens himself. And we will try to reveal this deep layer together.
The second masterpiece is, of course, Rembrandt’s Danae. Mistress of Zeus from the ancient myth, Danae was originally painted after artist’s wife, to be later changed into his new affection. We will discuss this very personal story behind the painting in depth. But then again, it’s not that simple. The fact is that there is another problem related to Danae: perhaps it is not Danae that is depicted here at all! Maybe it’s a different story altogether, and we’ve misunderstood it all these years. That’s what we’re going to talk about.
The third masterpiece: Michelangelo. In Russia, there is only one work by Michelangelo – this is the «Crouching Boy» from the Hermitage. And visitors are often puzzled by this sculpture. After all, it is assumed that this sculpture was intended for the Medici tomb, which was decorated by Michelangelo. Good! But why is there a sculpture in the tomb of a young athletic man who is bent over, as if in pain, and grabs his leg? What does it mean? What was it supposed to symbolize in the context of this tomb? And can we link to unorthodox philosophical views of Michalangelo himself?
These lectures are not only interesting and informative, but also useful!
First, they will provide you with topics for interesting conversations for the weeks ahead. If you notice that it’s been a long time since you and your partner have had a heated discussion, this package will fix it. I promise that every evening you will brag about new discoveries.
Secondly, you will become the best guide for your husband, or for your child, or for your friends. Wherever you decide to spend your dream vacation – in Rome or Paris, in Cologne or Vienna — you will always be able to tell something interesting. True, you will probably have to work for free, but it will be nice to catch admiring glances of people around you.
Right now you can get the first part of this online-course for free.
THIS IS A ONE – TIME OFFER, just so we would get to know each other. you enjoying those lectures will become exactly the first acquaintance I’m very much looking for.
The choice is yours 🙂