Most enigmatic pieces, no matter how elusive, fail to remain steadfastly inexplicable, eventually communicating with the viewer on some level. In spite of their mystery, they dare our understanding and perception, leaving us in voiceless rumination. Some of these bewildering artworks include:
- The Old Fisherman is often interpreted as a portrayal of human nature’s duality, showing us that bipolarity lives within us all.
- The Invalid’s Story is frequently seen as a reflection on mortality, potentially alluding to themes of death. Yet, many people saw in it how the use of imagination can transcend the constraints of reason, emphasizing the mind’s ability to escape the brutality of reality.
- The Old Guitarist, which was subjected to infrared and X-ray analysis and revealed hidden messages of a nude woman and two other figures, adding layers of intrigue to the piece.
- The Persistence of Memory in which Salvador Dali’s message is often interpreted as a bizarre contemplation of the fluidity and unpredictability of time. Other people see a representation of how time, in spite of its velocity, leaves behind memories that are not so easy to forget.
However, the art landscape generally encompasses very specific themes and motifs, and in this article, we’re going to cover them all. Art isn’t solely beauty, nature, and ideal figures, as it sometimes encircles prepubescent figures, squirming in agony and horror; Marvellous, we’d say.
Religion
If we dive into the world of Renaissance art, we’re going to discover a generous tapestry of religious paintings, such as The Last Supper, The Tower of Babel, Madonna and Child, The School of Athens, and so much more. Besides their immeasurable power to reflect the beliefs and values of Christianity, they also epitomize spiritual truths and inspire devotion. Renaissance artists portrayed biblical characters in a more humanistic way, trying to express what they thought they understood from their emotional experiences and personal journeys. They anticipated that the public would find religious narratives more relatable if they portrayed the human emotion of figures, making their artworks more engaging and impactful overall.
Before the foundation of organized religions, humans used art to convey their spiritual faith. From Ancient cave paintings to Egyptian hieroglyphs to the sculptures of Greece and Rome, art has long served as a means of worship, reverence, and admiration.
Mortality
Among the most famous death paintings, there are:
- “Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?”, which belongs to the French artist Paul Gauguin.
- “The Dear Toreador” by Edouard Monet.
- “The Menaced Assassin” was painted by the Belgian surrealist artist Rene Magritte.
Death, typically a morbid subject, is often romanticized by artists, as after they examined and confronted their own mortality, they learned how to find beauty in it. Thereby, death is one of the most penetrating themes in art history, serving as a powerful motivator of the concept “You only live once.” Sometimes, it’s not bad to remember that our days are numbered, and tomorrow may not exist. Let’s say that you love someone, but you don’t exactly know how to voice your feelings, so you rely on the hope that, eventually, your actions will speak volumes. But what if you or that person might have the misfortune to be soon a victim of life’s ephemeral nature? Then what?
Artists have long acknowledged that one day, time will consume us all, and maybe that’s why they paint to leave behind. If their Memento Mori artworks could speak, they’d probably give us a speech regarding how important it is to live an honorable life that lacks the presence of regrets, guilt, and grief (we all suffer a little, but let’s not live in sorrow forever).
Displaying death pictures in the comfort of your house might not be your ultimate fantasy, and that’s more than understandable. Considering that art should humanize your space, you can start your journey with nature paintings or abstract ones. However, if you can’t figure out what suits your space and preferences best, there is a lot of contemporary art for sale online, which may help you find exactly what you need.
Love
Lovers will always have the burning need to express their love, and many artists chose to do so with an easel and a brushstroke. Love is a major theme in the history of arts, whether it’s romantic, filial, forbidden, or concealed. Moreover, feelings such as passion, rage, longing, lust, and infatuation can all stem from love. Artists couldn’t actually tell us what exactly their feelings were, so they used the actions of their subjects to transfer their blistering feelings, making body language the central characteristic of their pieces. The most evocative love paintings in art history contain:
- The Lovers by Rene Magritte is a profound painting that serves as an example of how even the closest person to your soul and body may never show you their true colors.
- Francesco Hayez’s “Il Bacio” portrays a passionate kiss soaked in sadness and drama. The man is interpreted as an Italian soldier about to fight on the war front, kissing his beloved one goodbye. Even today, the tragedy of love of country and love for another remains ever-present. The question is, how long is it to hold the one you adore most, knowing it may be the last time you have ever seen them?
- “The Kiss” by Edvard Munch also depicts a couple kissing, but this time, their faces are fusing one into another. Conventionally, this image stands as a symbolic expression of belongingness and togetherness, but the themes present range from love, anxiety, infidelity, jealousy, and the loss of identity. Sometimes, when two people fall in love, they lose their one identity and meld into one. Many people see this as romanticism, but there are others who are really afraid of it, as identity is the one thing that you should never lose.
- “The Dream” by Pablo Picasso is a classic artwork that suggests sexuality and also vulnerability as the young lady peacefully sleeps with her lover.
Final Thoughts
The most incredible thing about art, whether it portrays death or love, is that the artists and their feelings live forever because of it. Of course, it’s not physically possible to sip a cup of tea with Johannes Vermeer or Vincent Van Gogh, but connecting with their artworks will show, even if just a little, who they were behind their brushstrokes and easels.
