One of the things we tend to overlook about artwork made in the era of royal and religious patronage is the narrowness of the audience for whom specific artworks were made. Major works, like ptgs. of the family of Charles V, by Velasquez were made for an audience of two, the king and the queen of Spain. Their reflections appear in the mirror on the far wall of the room, as if they complete the composition when they stand in front of the painting. For us, today, the other aspects of the work continue to dazzle and intrigue, and raise still unresolved issues. But the identity of all the figures and the room itself, the purpose of Velasquez including his own portrait, all these are settled facts. But the very strange perspective, the likely positioning of the big reflecting mirror, or mirrors -- the originality of V's concept -- are yet to be settled once and for all. WC
--- On Sun, 11/9/08, GEOFF CREALOCK <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > From: GEOFF CREALOCK <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: Learning experiences > To: [email protected] > Date: Sunday, November 9, 2008, 5:44 PM > William: Uh oh! Now I'm in trouble. > I'm pleading old age and failing memory. > Let's see. Where is the viewer standing? Who is > climbing up the stairs we > see at the back of the painitng? How do those (that) > dwarf(ves) get into the > picture? How did Velasquez' paintings of the Spanish > royal family differ > from the rendering/perceptions of Goya? > Geoff C > : - ) More questions. > > >From: William Conger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Reply-To: [email protected] > >To: [email protected] > >Subject: Re: Learning experiences > >Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2008 10:45:52 -0800 (PST) > > > >So what do you find interesting in Velasquez' ptg. > Las Meninas? > >WC > > > > > >--- On Sun, 11/9/08, GEOFF CREALOCK > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > From: GEOFF CREALOCK > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > Subject: Re: Learning experiences > > > To: [email protected] > > > Date: Sunday, November 9, 2008, 12:30 PM > > > Chris: ; - ) You spelled similarity incorrectly. > > > More seriously, I read about "Las > Meninas" within > > > the past five years. No > > > similar experience of recent vintage comes to > mind. Other > > > experiences that > > > do, date to my youth, one a tv documentary on, I > presume, > > > an American > > > network, on Michelangelo and his painting of the > ceiling of > > > the Sistine > > > chapel. I was impressed both with the program and > that all > > > my aunts and > > > uncles arranged chairs in front of the tv and > shut up while > > > the program was > > > on. (You can guess that it was early days for > tv.) > > > In university I was impressed by the > four-levels-of-meaning > > > in T.S. Eliot's > > > poetry. (It didn't spur me to read more > poetry than I > > > had to - but I was > > > impressed with what I read, and have since been > alert to > > > levels of meaning > > > in literature). > > > So? > > > Geoff C > > > > > > >From: "Chris Miller" > > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > >Reply-To: [email protected] > > > >To: [email protected] > > > >Subject: Re: Right reasons and appreciating > art > > > >Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2008 17:18:42 GMT > > > > > > > >No great surprise -- that an experienced > artist like > > > Mando would not > > > >acknowledge any reasons for liking an artwork > as being > > > righter than his > > > >own. > > > > > > > >I feel the same way -- at least concerning > those arts > > > with which I am most > > > >familiar -- although such confidence > diminishes as > > > familiarity does. > > > > > > > >For example -- in the company of those who > know and > > > love Indian Classical > > > >music -- I would be very open to hearing > about whatever > > > fine qualities they > > > >may have noticed, and certainly would not > dispute with > > > them. Even more so > > > >with Chinese opera --which still sounds to me > like cats > > > being tortured. > > > > > > > >And yet ... if I still can't notice what > they have > > > noticed - I have no > > > >problem with continuing to like (or dislike) > that > > > music in my own way. > > > > > > > >And come to think of it -- I just can't > remember > > > any specific features -- > > > >regarding any of the arts -- which I only > enjoyed after > > > they were pointed > > > >out > > > >to me. (I think Cheerskep has said the same > thing) > > > > > > > >So now I'm wondering, Geoff -- you have > told us > > > about how reading/hearing > > > >about "Las Meninas" increased your > liking and > > > appreciation of it -- have > > > >you > > > >had a simmilar experience with any literature > or music > > > ? And ... are these > > > >learning experiences confined to your youth > -- or are > > > you still having them > > > >? > > > > > > > > > > > > ********************** > > > > > > > > > > > >GEOFF CREALOCK > > > >Sat, 08 Nov 2008 09:11:28 -0800 > > > >Mando: No list of right reasons that I know > of. On the > > > other hand, > > > >reading/hearing about "Las Meninas" > by > > > Velasquez, added to both my liking > > > >and > > > >appreciation of the painting. Through > understanding > > > more of what I was > > > >seeing, > > > >and recognizing the thinking that must have > gone into > > > the presentation of > > > >the > > > >artist's perception led me to enjoy/vaule > the > > > painting more than i would > > > >have > > > >without the added knowledge. That may not > apply in > > > every case, it's true. > > > > > > > >Geoff C > > > > > > > >
