Life and Passion of Christ by Gaudenzio Ferrari

Photo: Stories of The Life and Passion of Christ (1513) by Gaudenzio Ferrari, fresco at the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Italy

The picture depicts Ferrari's wall, narrating the Stories of the Life and Passion of Christ, in the Church of Our Lady of the Graces (Santa Maria delle Grazie), a Roman Catholic Church in Italy. The giant fresco admeasuring 82 square meters was completed by Gaudenzio Ferrari, the Italian painter and sculptor of the Renaissance, in 1513. Twenty equal frames narrate the main events in the gospels, in addition to the Crucifixion scene in the center that occupies four frames.

The Biblical scenes depicted in the fresco are briefly as below:

In Annunciation Gabriel announces to Virgin Mary that she would conceive the Son of God and become his mother. The angel also tells her to name him Jesus.

The Nativity of Jesus is the scene after the birth of Jesus, born in Bethlehem during the reign of Herod the Great, the king of Judea.

The Adoration of the Magi shows the visit of the Magi who spotted and followed a new star until they found baby Jesus. They saw him with mother Mary, knelt down before him and paid homage. They also presented him with expensive gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The Flight into Egypt displays Joseph fleeing to Egypt with Mary and infant Jesus after the Magi told them that King Herod planned to kill all the newborns.

The Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is the forerunner to the public ministry of Jesus.

The Resurrection of Lazarus of Bethany (Saint Lazarus) is a miracle of Jesus, who resurrects Lazarus four days after his death.

The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, days before the Last Supper, marks the beginning of his Passion. People crowded around Jesus, believed in him and welcomed him as he entered Jerusalem.

The Last Supper was the last meal shared by Jesus with his Apostles before his crucifixion.

The Washing of the Feet, commemorated on Maundy Friday, shows the event in which Jesus washes the feet of his Apostles.

The Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane refers to the events in the life of Jesus between the Farewell Discourse at the Last Supper and his arrest by the temple guards.

The Arrest of Jesus by the Temple guards in the Garden of Gethsemane was shortly after the Last Supper, and immediately after the kiss of Judas.

The Trial of Jesus at Herod's Court refers to an episode in which Herod Antipas and his soldiers mock at Jesus, and sent him back to Pontius Pilate for the final trial.

The Trial of Jesus at Pilate's Court refers to the final trial of Jesus. Though Pontius Pilate publicly declared that Jesus was innocent, the crowd insisted on his punishment. Pilate then ordered crucifixion of Jesus.

The Flagellation of Christ is a scene in the cycles of the Passion and the Life of Christ.

Ecce Homo (Behold the man), the Latin words used by Pontius Pilate, when he presented Jesus, bound with ropes and crowned with thorns, to a hostile crowd.

Via Dolorosa (The Way of Grief) is a street in the Old City of Jerusalem, the path Jesus walked on his way to Crucifixion.

Preparation of the Cross: Christ falls down after which the cross is prepared to crucify him.

In Crucifixion of Jesus (depicted in the large central frame of the fresco), Jesus was stripped of his clothing and hung between two convicted thieves. The soldiers then cast lots for his clothes.

The Lamentation of Christ shows his friends mourning over his body after Jesus was crucified and his body was removed from the cross.

Christ's Descent into Limbo is the scene where Jesus experienced death and his soul joined the other souls in the realm of the dead, but he descended there as the Saviour of the souls imprisoned there.

The Resurrection of Jesus depicts his rising again from the dead. According to the New Testament, after crucifixion, he was buried in a tomb but God resurrected him from the dead.

The Lord of Dance Nataraja, Bronze Sculpture

Photo: Nataraja, the Lord of Dance, a bronze sculpture admeasuring 30 × 22.5 × 7 in (76.2 × 57.2 × 17.8 cm) dated between 950 CE and 1000 CE located at the South and Southeast Asian Art Department, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), USA.

The above photograph of the bronze sculpture depicts Lord Shiva in his cosmic dance pose as Shiva Nataraja, the god of all dance and dramatic arts. Apart from the symbolic meanings of the expressions of his legs, hands, face and other body parts, and the objects held by him, the lord is enclosed in a ring of flames. He is shown as lifting his left leg while balancing himself with the other leg on a dwarf demon that is interpreted as symbolic of ignorance. His flowing, whirling hair on both sides of his head shows the spread of cosmic energy.

You can get the correct but varied interpretations of all the artwork related to Nataraja from various scholars especially from Indian scholars who excelled from 12th century onwards and also scholars from other countries who are specializing in Indology and also Indian art and dance forms.

With slight variations of depiction, Shiva-Nataraja figures can be seen, including in temple art and paintings, mainly from the sixth century onwards. The art and culture of many countries such as Indonesia (Siwa in Bali and Java), Thailand, Cambodia (Nrittesvara), and even some central Asian countries were influenced by this form of dancing Shiva. Nataraja is praised, worshiped and revered as the god who created dance and drama, especially, as this form of Shiva in his dancing style is sculpted as per the Hindu texts such as Natya Shastra (attributed to sage Bharata) that describes various aspects of performing arts.

The style and form for all dancing Shiva depictions is the one at Chidambaram Temple in Tamilnadu. The same form is depicted in several Shiva temples in the southern states of India.

In the area comprising and around today’s Tamil Nadu, around the tenth century, the dancing Shiva became a symbol of royalty, and an unavoidable part of Hindu religious practices and festivals. The Cholas who became a major military and economic power during this period were followers of Shaivism. May be for this reason, rightly or wrongly, the Nataraja Bronzes are often referred to as Chola bronzes.

Some scholars, quoting archeological and other evidences also associate the dancing Shiva to the Pallava dynasty (275 to 897 CE).

Frederic Leighton: Flaming June

The oil-on-canvas painting, “Flaming June” of size 47x47 inch (1200 mm × 1200 mm), is created by the English artist Sir Frederic Leighton (3 December 1830 - 25 January 1896) in 1895. The art world considers this as Leighton's magnum opus.

Though art critics and historians credit the actresses Dorothy Dene and Marie Lloyd for having modeled for Flaming June, it was most likely the Dorothy Dene, whom Leighton met in her teens. On close examination, it seems some other female figures in his other works also resemble Dene.

According to art historians the Victorian artist was inspired immensely by Michelangelo’s monumental sculpture titled “Night”, which is located in the Medici Tombs in Florence, Italy. Even the pose and posture of the figure seems to have been adapted from the Night.

The painting has been thought as lost forever as it was not seen after 1930 until it was found again in 1962. It was auctioned thereafter, and soon after it was purchased by the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where it continues to belong to. It is one of the sought after attractions of the museum in Puerto Rico.

The setting for the painting is Mediterranean, with the sun brightly reflecting from the waves of the seawater. It provides the realism of natural light for the figure of the sleeping woman. The transparent clothing in flaming, intense colors and the marble setting around are typical of Leighton's style. Thanks to the light from sunset reflecting, her cheeks appear to blush, even though she is depicted as sleeping.

Though Leighton painted several single female figures in the period just before, Flaming June is outstanding from all others as regards use of rioting colors to explore beauty, imagination, emotions, sleep and dreams. Perhaps this departure from his earlier styles makes Flaming June a timeless piece of art and the most recognizable work of Frederic Leighton.

Some art historians associate a symbolism of the highly poisonous oleander plant’s branch at the top with sleep, dreams and possibly death. It may be recalled that Leighton passed away in 1896, not too distant from the time of painting Flaming June (1895).

Flaming June is one of the most reproduced paintings. The dress and posture of the female figure has been imitated for modeling for magazine covers by famous models and actresses, and it has been endlessly copied on every possible surface of consumer interest.

William Daniell: Gates of the palace at Lucknow

This oil on canvas work, “Gates of the palace at Lucknow” dimensions 89cm x 135cm, was painted in 1801 by the English landscape painter William Daniell (1769–1837).

During that period, the artist, along with his uncle Thomas Daniell, was travelling around India and collaborating for their illustrated work called Oriental Scenery.

The year of the painting “Gates of the palace at Lucknow” relates to the period when Awadh, an independent kingdom with its capital at Lucknow, was ruled by Saadat Ali Khan II (1752-1814). Khan, who was installed by the British as Nawab, signed a treaty with them in 1801, and surrendered a huge chunk of Awadh territory to them.

William Daniell later painted a series of watercolors of many sceneries of the coastline of Britain for the book A Voyage Round Great Britain.

Paul Gauguin: When Will You Marry? (Nafea faa ipoipo)

The oil painting titled ‘When Will You Marry?’ (Nafea faa ipoipo) was created in 1892 by Paul Gauguin. The painting depicts a young Tahitian woman dressed in traditional clothes of Tahiti sitting in front of another woman wearing western style clothing. Their facial features show fuller lips, rather conical noses, and the entire facial structures are typical of Gauguin’s usual style of depicting Tahitian women.

If you look at the above painting you can see the foreground is green representing grass, followed by yellow in the middle depicting bare earth and blue beyond, maybe, depicting some water body. Further beyond the women is the brownish yellow area possibly depicting cultivated grain fields where there are other humans, either watching the women, or tending their fields, as the distance denoted by their tiny figures does not show their clear expressions, emotions or intent. Their typical hats indicate they are men. Further beyond in the back of the young beauties some lush greenery and bare hills can be seen.

Gauguin went to Tahiti in 1891 as he wanted to create pure Primitive art depicting original people at their natural surroundings. But Tahiti had already been invaded and colonized by European traders and settlers. Reportedly, about two-thirds of the original inhabitants of the island had already died of diseases brought by Europeans.

He painted many pictures of the indigenous women dressed in their traditional Tahitian clothes as well as in western dresses as seen in the image above. He painted the Tahitians as he actually saw the native women there and also as he could imagine them in his wildest of daydreams.

Gauguin’s color scheme and their use are diametrically opposite to the trend of his times and such experiments with bold pure colors led to the further development of Primitivism, Synthetism, and even influenced artists such as Picasso. Incidentally, for some time, he had occasionally painted in the company of Camille Pissarro and Paul Cézanne.

The words ‘NAFEA Faa ipoipo’ (When will you marry) is written at the bottom right-hand corner of the painting and at the bottom left Gauguin had signed with the year as ‘92. Gauguin usually inscribed his paintings in Tahitian language the rudiments of which he learned after going there.

His bold experimentation with unconventional colors led to the evolution of Synthetism, while his expression of the latent meaning of the subjects of his paintings developed Primitivism. It is interpreted as a form of his revolt against the established styles of art as he was getting disappointed with the stereotyped European styles. He researched on art emerging from Africa and Asia that appeared to him full of mystic symbolism. Elements of spiritual as well as mystic symbolism also can be observed in his works after he went to Tahiti.

Gauguin’s works are hard to come by in the art market and when they are available for sale the prices are sky-high, running into tens of millions of dollars, because most of his works are now in art museums or held by art collectors and the elite as a form of long term investment.

Nafea Faa Ipoipo became most expensive artwork of the world when its owner, the family of Rudolf Staechelin, sold it privately for US$300 million in February 2015. The buyer is believed to be the Qatar Museums/ the royal family of Qatar. The painting was on loan for about 50 years to the Kunstmuseum in Basel, Switzerland, before it was sold.

Vincent van Gogh, a contemporary of Gauguin, with whom he shared a fraught relationship of friendship, hate and jealousy, was financially at par with him before he travelled to Tahiti. However, he did much better than van Gogh who is believed to have sold only one painting during his lifetime (The Red Vineyard, sold for 400 Francs in 1890, equal to about $2000 today to Anna Boch, a Belgian impressionist painter and art collector). However, as is the case of van Gogh, Gauguin’s works became popular only after his death.

It is often said that misfortune and failures are the stepping stones to success. Had the Paris stock market not crashed in 1882 and the art market contracted subsequently, the two sources from which Gauguin became a successful and rich Parisian, leading to Gauguin's financial crash forcing him to pursue painting full-time, the world of today may not have got the rich collection of art created by him.

Some of the art movements influenced by Paul Gauguin are Fauvism, Cubism and Orphism, and some of the artists influenced by him are Picasso, van Gogh, Henri Matisse, André Derain and Georges Braque.

Paul Cézanne: The Card Players

Public Domain Image: The Card Players (Zwei Kartenspieler), oil on canvas painting (1892-93), 97 cm x 130 cm

Can this Paul Cézanne magnum opus be worth $300 million? It seems to be insane, especially so as none of the previously sold most expensive paintings, not another Cézanne, sold ever could fetch even half of the price.

But this painting, The Card Players, one of a series of five paintings by the French Post-Impressionist artist Cézanne, depicting two peasants from Aix-en-Provence deeply engrossed in a card game, broke all the records of art sales and set a new trend of unbelievably high prices for works of modern art, shifting the focus from old master paintings.

The Card Players, believed to be one of the last works Cezanne painted in his life, broke the record of the most expensive painting held by the American painter Jackson Pollock’s classic drip painting titled No. 5, 1948 which was sold for $140 million on November 2, 2006 in a private sale via Sotheby's.

If the highest rumored price for the Card Players can be believed, it is more than double the price of any work of art ever sold. However, the lowest confirmed (yet rumored) price is $250 million. The painting, which was in the private collection of the Greek shipping tycoon George Embiricos, was rarely seen by the public as he kept it as one of his most treasured collections and rarely lent out for exhibitions.

However, before his death in 2011, Embiricos planned for its sales and it was pursued and managed by his estate. The painting is believed to have received offers of over $220 million, but the Royal family of Qatar, the ruling emir family of Qatar, outbid other bidders offering $250 million. However, estimates of the price Qatar paid are often quoted as high as $300 million.

The other Cézanne Card Players in the series are currently in the collections of the Barnes Foundation (Philadelphia), Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Courtauld Institute of Art (London) and the Musée d'Orsay (Paris).

Apart from these paintings, there are several other sketches, studies, and paintings of individual figures in the work which Cezanne painted as preparatory works for the main paintings.

Barack Obama with Larry the cat

Public Domain Photo: The British Prime Minister David Cameron introduces the United States President Barack Obama to Larry the cat, the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street in London, England, on May 25, 2011 – photo by Pete Souza, White House Photographer, Washington, DC.

Francis Derwent Wood: Leda and the Swan

Public Domain Photos: Leda and the Swan (1912), marble sculpture by the British sculptor Francis Derwent Wood RA (1871-1926), height: 38 cm, private collection

Hamilton: Lil'l Southern Belles

Public Domain Image: Lil'l Southern Belles (1894), oil on canvas painting by the American Impressionist artist Hamilton Hamilton (1847-1928), 91.44 cm x 81.28 cm (36 x 32 inches), public collection

The celebrated American impressionist artist and illustrator Hamilton Hamilton, who was born in Oxford, England, is best known for his landscape and portrait paintings.

For the painting ‘Lil'l Southern Belles’, Hamilton probably used his twin daughters Marguerite and Helen born in 1889 as models. Helen, trained by her father, became a recognized post-impressionist landscape painter.

Paul Gauguin: The Painter of Sunflowers - Portrait of Vincent van Gogh

Public Domain Photos: The Painter of Sunflowers (Le Peintre de Tournesols), oil on jute painting by Paul Gauguin, 73 cm x 91 cm (28.7 in x 35.8 in), located at Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The Painter of Sunflowers: Portrait of Vincent van Gogh is a portrait of the Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) painted by Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) in December 1888 during his two-months’ stay at Arles, a city and commune in the south of France. The painting features van Gogh as a red bearded man in a brown coat, holding a brush in his right hand and painting sunflowers.

During his stay in Arles van Gogh invited Gauguin to visit him as van Gogh was planning to organize a collective community of artists there. He had also hoped for long-lasting friendship with Gauguin. On 23 October, Gauguin arrived in Arles where the two artists painted together during November. But soon they developed bitter difference of opinion and quarreled frequently on matters regarding art.

Though van Gogh greatly admired Gauguin, he felt that he was arrogant and feared that Gauguin would desert him. Van Gogh became frustrated and critically ill and on 23 December 1888, he threatened Gauguin with a razor blade. But instead of harming Gauguin, he ran to a nearby brothel that used to be the only point of contact he had with other people. In the brothel, he cut off his left ear (or only the lower part of the left earlobe, as claimed by some other accounts) and staggered home, where Gauguin later found him lying unconscious in a pool of blood.

Gauguin took van Gogh to a hospital and informed Theo van Gogh, his younger brother and art dealer, who visited the hospital. Van Gogh had to be in the hospital for several days during which he kept on asking for Gauguin who stayed away. Gauguin left Arles without facing him and he never met van Gogh again.

Now ‘The Painter of Sunflowers’ is housed in the Van Gogh Museum, which has the world’s largest collection of paintings and drawings by van Gogh, and a large number of works by his contemporary artists.