Hello, my little pretties! Time for your Friday Afternoon Challenge: “Wild Manners of Fantasy and

[CTyankee]

Invention"

Let’s see if you know any of this rather odd (but kinda fun) stuff ....

And be good, now...don’t cheat...or if you do, don’t “guess”...
1.
[IMG][/IMG]
2.
[IMG][/IMG]
3.
[IMG][/IMG]
4.
[IMG][/IMG]
5.
[IMG][/IMG]
6.
[IMG][/IMG]

[broiles]

1. Is #6 a Goya?

[CTyankee]

3. no.

[CTyankee]

23. As you can see from below, you had the right nationality for the painter.

The Spanish artists of that day had that religious mysticism thing goiing, altho Goya was pretty much anti-clerical as befitted his era. This predates Goya...

[Shrike47]

2. I got the subject matter of #1 right but never heard of the painter.

I think rape's the theme here.

[CTyankee]

4. do you know the painter's name?

[Shrike47]

5. Yes but I cheated.

[CTyankee]

6. Interesting painting, no?

[pinboy3niner]

7. #6: El Greco - Fable

An Allegory with a Boy Lighting a Candle in the Company of an Ape and a Fool (Fábula)

The central figure is closely based on El Greco's earlier painting of a Boy Blowing on an Ember in Naples but the scene has been enlarged to include another male figure, wearing a yellow jacket and red cap, and a chained monkey, who emerges from the darkness on the left to look over the boy's shoulder. The composition, known in two other autograph versions (one in Edinburgh from around 1590, and another in private collection from around 1578), has usually been interpreted as an allegory with some sort of moralising intent; it is unlikely that it was conceived simply as a genre scene. It bears the traditional title 'Fábula', meaning fable or story.

http://www.wga.hu/html_m/g/greco_el/14/1409gred.html

[CTyankee]

9. Hmm, You know I thought it was more shrouded in mystery than that! Glad to hear the

explanation, Pinboy! You are a delight!

Any other guesses?

[pinboy3niner]

17. These are tough!

One of these I know I've seen before, and I'm still unable to find it.

[CTyankee]

20. It was an interesting time in art history, to say the least...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. #4 is very familiar!

Could it be "The Rape of Lucrece"?

That just popped into my head!

They are all wonderful and beautiful!

[CTyankee]

10. No, there is no Rape of Lucrece here...

nice to see you here though! I'm so glad you stopped by...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

11. Thanks! I always enjoy your Friday challenges!

[CTyankee]

15. thanks, but some of these are a little weird...I wonder about that era in art...

[CTyankee]

16. Thanks. Actually, the theme of the painting you commented on is quite a popular one

in those days. There have been numerous interpretations of what this depicts...hey, that is a hint everybody!

[CTyankee]

12. Oh, dear, where are my art history majors?

[wyldwolf]

13. or you could just caption them.

The one with the crack pipe and baboon is dying for something witty.

[CTyankee]

14. You know, I thought of that!

I had a few choice ones, like with the flying house ("do angels fly backwards?&quot .

there is some interesting theology afoot here, that is for sure...

[pinboy3niner]

18. A guess on #2...

I haven't found this particular work, but it looks like a depiction of St. Michael weighing the souls.

[CTyankee]

19. oh, is THAT what he's doing with the scales? I was wondering (not brought up

religiously). What did i say about the theology here?

[pinboy3niner]

21. That's just a guess based on other Last Judgment depictions

Like this one:

Rogier Van Der Weyden - St. Michael Weighing the Souls from the Last Judgement

[CTyankee]

22. I should have known that since I have seen the van der weyden before.

No wonder St. Michael is a favorite with artists. Have you noticed he always is wearing the snazziest outfits?

Wow, look at that gorgeous cloak! And those peacock inspired wings!

[pinboy3niner]

24. St. Michael is a natty dresser...

...even in the paintings of him battling satan. It must be an Archangel thing...

[CTyankee]

25. Well the artist who did this St. Michael also did another, more famous, one and it was

one I had included in a previous Challenge.

I just love posting different artists ideas of what St. Michael wore...

Sometimes ithink I was deprived as a kid, growing up without religious art all around me. I was vaguely Protestant...no archangels...

[pinboy3niner]

27. Crivelli or Piero?

Even with a couple of leads I'm still having a had time finding it, lol!

[CTyankee]

32. Wow,you know your St. Michaels! Both of those are fabulous, but this isn't one of them.

different era...

[horseshoecrab]

49. #2

I remembered the other St. Michael and Satan from a previous challenge, so was able to check to see if #2 is a Bronzino too.

#2 is simply called Saint Michael the Archangel by Agnolo Bronzino.

Killer challenge! I searched for ... i don't know how long ... for something about the weighing of the souls by Michael. Doesn't seem to have a title that refers to that aspect of the painting, pinboy39er.

[pinboy3niner]

50. Congratulations, horseshoecrab!

That was tough, and my searches on St. Michael didn't turn up that work. The 'weighing' reference was one I stumbled onto in searching, and I also spent time trying to follow that path.


Nice work!

[horseshoecrab]

52. Thanks pinboy3niner!

I definitely felt your pain as you searched and reported back! None of my St. Michael, Michael Archangel, or even Michael archangel with scales searches turned up what we were looking for either.

It was only after I read CTyankee's clue - that we'd seen the artist's other Michael once before in a challenge - that I remembered Bronzino.

[CTyankee]

54. any idea of what appears to be a medallion on St. Michaels elbow?

It looks similar to the medallion that fastens St. Michael's cloak in the Van der Weyden...

[pinboy3niner]

55. Just...

I noticed that medallion, but this Challenge has me all researched out for now....

[CTyankee]

56. OK, you get to rest now, but you better be in good shape for next week!

Thanks for making my day with great conversation about art!

[CTyankee]

26. do you have a guess on the flying house?

It was done by a contemporary of Caravaggio, who did a more famous version of the "story." Caravaggio would have none of flying houses in his version...

[Warpy]

28. The flying house one is driving me nuts

It's not the Assumption or the Coronation because she's sitting on the stable with a kid in her lap. The crown is not being set on her head--yet.

It's a really weird picture and I know I've seen it before.

[CTyankee]

31. It refers to a legend about the Holy Family's house that dates back to the 13th

century. Caravaggio did his own version (VERY different) from this one.

[pinboy3niner]

36. Found the legend: The Translation of the Holy House of Loreto

Still looking for the original work, but there are other depictions...


Saturnino Gatti - The Translation of the Holy House of Loreto



The Holy House of Loreto
http://www.salvemariaregina.info/MarianShrines/Loretto.html

[CTyankee]

40. Thanks, I hadn't seen the Gatti work, which treats the subject with more typical

Renaissance reserve and decorum.

If you look around at a google page on Caravaggio paintings you will find his version...

[CTyankee]

44. Here's your Crivelli and Piero

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]
Ya think Springsteen saw this before writing about angels wanting his red shoes?

[HiPointDem]

57. i think you mean elvis costello.

[CTyankee]

60. I can't believe I screwed that up.

It is a little strange, don't you think? Maybe Elvis saw this work at some point and it made an impression...I'd like to think so!

Thanks for the heads up...

[HiPointDem]

61. :>)

[Warpy]

58. Yes, I remember that one

I'm unaware of the legend and the painter of this one.

That's what I get for being a nurse and not an art historian.

[CTyankee]

62. Hey, you're one of the sane ones. I'm more than a little crazy over art...

[pinboy3niner]

53. You and me both!

I'd also seen it before, but it seemed to take forever to find it. See #51.

[velvet]

29. No.1 - is it Susannah and the Elders?

Could it be by Parmagianino, with that stretched Mannerist torso?

[CTyankee]

30. It is not Parmagianino, but you nailed the theme.

Altho it is (to me) one of the strangest renderings of Susannah and the Elders that is out there in art history!

[velvet]

64. So it's by Allori, I see from your post below

Never heard of him, but no surprise that he was taught by Bronzino. It reminded me of this ...




ETA: I discovered Bronzino did some very fine portraits when I went looking for this painting. He wasn't all bend and stretch.

[CTyankee]

66. oh, he's a fine artist. Of all the Mannerists, he's one I really like...

[entanglement]

65. Is is because most "Susannah and the Elders" paintings depict the elders

in a voyeuristic as opposed to a more violent manner shown here?

Thanks

[CTyankee]

67. perhaps! Mannerist turbulence here...what you can't see is the lower edgeof the

painting, where you can see the old bastard's hand disappear beteeen her legs...ugh...

[CTyankee]

33. HINT: the period of time covered with all of these paintings except for #3 is between

the High Renaissance and the Baroque period (#3 is Baroque, but I couldn't resist putting it in this mix because of its basic charming nuttiness...blame the Council of Trent).

[horseshoecrab]

34. #4

#4 is Jupiter and Io aka Zeus and Io, by Correggio.

Found by google image search on "woman embraced by cloud."

Hiya CTYankee. Tough challenge! Tough is good though.

[CTyankee]

35. thanks. this particular era isn't very popular and it didn't last long. Its rejection of

Renaissance ideals of balance and harmony can be pretty grating.

Did you have any guesses on the weird Holy Family grouping? That artist was certifiable...altho that work is currently on exhibit at the Morgan Library in NYC...

[TuxedoKat]

38. A cloud!

It looks like a giant cat's paw to me! I was looking for a lion's head in those clouds!

[suffragette]

37. #5 Walter Keane

Ok, obviously not, but I couldn't resist since that painting so reminds me of all those giant-eyed children prints from the 1970s.

[CTyankee]

41. You might call Fiorentino the Keane of his time...I mean really.

If you click on his paintings you'll see more weird stuff, tho not all of it is quite this nutty. He was a crazy man for sure.

I've never quite figured out Mannerism. At one point I wondered if it had anything to do with the Counter Reformation but evidently people just got tired of the Renaissance ideal and wanted a more freewheeling style, with floating bodies in space, lack of linear perspective and bizarre looking people (Madonna of the Long Neck by Parmagianino and lots of El Greco's stretched out, whitened bodies combined with the Spanish penchant for mysticism).

[suffragette]

70. Yes, can't say I connect to any of it

anymore than I did to Keane's works. It's a bit like feeling woozy and looking at someone through a glass or bowl. Or maybe just off like a funhouse mirror (which I always found vaguely creepy).

[CTyankee]

71. and yet there are some art scholars who find their works delightful.

I'm not getting that vibe...even some later Michelangelo puts me off...

[pinboy3niner]

39. #5 : Rosso Fiorentino - Holy Family with the Young Saint John the Baptist

Got it only from your tip on the Morgan.

Fantasy and Invention: Rosso Fiorentino and Sixteenth-Century Florentine Drawing
http://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/exhibition.asp?id=66

[CTyankee]

42. Now you see where I got the name for my Challenge! (I love stealing this stuff).

Have you figured out who did #6?

[pinboy3niner]

43. Do you mean #3?

#6 is El Greco (see Post #7). Will go back to find #3 (and the Caraveggio) after my eyes unglaze from looking at too many images...

[CTyankee]

45. sorry, I meant #1.

Maybe my eyes are getting glazed over, too...

[pinboy3niner]

46. I was hoping someone had gotten that one...

...so we'd be nearly done.

That one is tough to research without an inkling of the theme or the subjects. And I just haven't a clue.

[CTyankee]

47. He is alessandro allori who was raised by Bronzini, both big Mannerists.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_Allori

Save up your energy for next Friday! But I promise it won't be so hard...

[pinboy3niner]

48. Thanks! I just learned the legend of 'Susanna and the Elders'...

As the story goes, a fair Hebrew wife named Susanna was falsely accused by lecherous voyeurs. As she bathes in her garden, having sent her attendants away, two lustful elders secretly observe the lovely Susanna. When she makes her way back to her house, they accost her, threatening to claim that she was meeting a young man in the garden unless she agrees to have sex with them.

She refuses to be blackmailed and is arrested and about to be put to death for promiscuity when a young man named Daniel interrupts the proceedings, shouting that the elders should be questioned to prevent the death of an innocent. After being separated, the two men are questioned about details (cross-examination) of what they saw but disagree about the tree under which Susanna supposedly met her lover. In the Greek text, the names of the trees cited by the elders form puns with the sentence given by Daniel. The first says they were under a mastic (ὑ?? ??ί???, hupo schinon), and Daniel says that an angel stands ready to cut (??ί???, schisei) him in two. The second says they were under an evergreen oak tree (ὑ?? ??ί???, hupo prinon), and Daniel says that an angel stands ready to saw (??ί???, prisai) him in two. The great difference in size between a mastic and an oak makes the elders' lie plain to all the observers. The false accusers are put to death, and virtue triumphs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susanna_(Book_of_Daniel)

[HiPointDem]

59. referenced in leonard cohen's 'hallelujah' i think... wait, no delilah & bathsheba...

[pinboy3niner]

51. AHA! #3: Annibale Carracci - Translation of the Holy House (aka Madonna of Loreto)

And the Caravaggio:

"But Caravaggio's Madonna di Loreto (also known as the Madonna of the Pilgrims), painted the exact same year, is something else entirely. As Peter Robb puts it in his engrossing M, the man who became Caravaggio, "a flying house with clouds, sunlight and angels around it and the Madonna on board--no way [Caravaggio] was doing that." Instead he chose to depict a young, beautiful Madonna holding an overly-large Christ on the doorstep of an ordinary house. Before them, two ragged pilgrims kneel in adoration."

(More discussion of both works at link)
http://thepinesofrome.blogspot.com/2012/02/madonna-of-loreto-caravaggio-vs.html

Caravaggio: Madonna di Loreto

[velvet]

63. Caravaggio: keepin' it real!

Thanks for posting this. So much better, to my eyes, than Caracci's. Drama, not melodrama.

Peter Robb's "M" is a good read. Though you can't read it as a biography because, as Robb himself says, there is too little documented info on Caravaggio's life to write one.

[CTyankee]

68. I actually designed an Independent Study in grad school just on Caravaggio but it

wasn't an art history project exactly. It was done from the perspective of my graduate program, Liberal Studies. I did read the Robb book and found it wonderfully witty and lovely in how much he really appreciated Caravaggio for his humanistic impulses.

For a nice (big) book on Caravaggio's works in comparison to other of his contemporary artists, Catherine Puglisi's fine "Caravaggio." It was published about 10 years ago or so...and this is where I got the Caracci flying house...

[velvet]

69. Thank you

For pointing me to Catherine Puglisi's book, and thanks for the fascinating thread.

Looking forward to your next week's challenge.