Rubens' version from 1639 would also increase the drama as compared to the original content. It is perhaps this change that helps to make this painting so well known and memorable, even within his respected Black Paintings series.
Here, the son is essentially being chewed to death and this allows a more graphic image to be delivered. The artist here clearly chooses to amend the original story in order to increase the level of shock experienced by the viewer. The original Greek myth would actually describe about how each son would be swallowed whole, still being alive by the time they reached Saturn's stomach. His hearing loss was caused by an unknown illness when he was 46, leaving him almost completely deaf. Goya moved to the villa outside of Madrid in 1819 when the artist himself suffered from hearing loss. The villa was named for its previous owner, who was deaf. Saturn Devouring His Son was painted in the artist's dining room at Quinta del Sordo (Deaf Man's Villa). Goya's pessimistic attitude towards humanity reflect his own the fear and experience during conflict as well as his fear of relapsing following two serious illnesses.
They reflect Goya's fear of insanity and his dreary view of humanity during a time when conflict such as the Napoleonic Wars created significant social and political turmoil and change in Spain. The intense paintings often depict haunting images and distressing themes. They were created during the artist's later years, likely between 18.
#The beast who devours the sun origin series#
The Black Paintings, or Pinturas Negras, are a series of fourteen works painted by Goya at his villa outside Madrid. The disturbing portrait was likely influenced by Peter Paul Rubens' Saturn Devouring His Son, a Baroque-style painting created in 1636. Only the flesh and blood of the mutilated corpse have colour in the darkened scene, which represents Saturn's fear of being usurped by one of his children. The corpse is motionless and lifeless, his head and arm have been already been consumed. His mad-like eyes are bulging from his face as he prepares to take a bite as his fingers dig into his child. The gruesome painting shows the imposing figure of Saturn emerging from the darkness.
0 kommentar(er)
