Venus reclining

interesting read here

defencelessness of the human being

Like so many other painters who died at young age, Giorgione (1477-1510) makes us wonder what place would his exquisite painting occupy in the history of Art if he had enjoyed a long existence, just like his direct artistic heir - Titian.

“The tempest (the storm)” is a true pictorial poem. Terribly suggestive, the meaning of the picture is still open to many interpretations. The most outstanding element is a threatening lightning bolt over the towers and roofs of a strange city next to a river. We can also see a young woman nursing her son, a fragile figure, specially when compared to the powerful storm. In the bottom left corner appears the figure of a young man with a lance, perhaps a soldier protecting the young lady. All these elements seem to be placed without any sense or logical relation among them. Perhaps the painter has wanted to paint a metaphor of the fragility and defencelessness of the human being in front of the powerful nature, or perhaps “The Tempest” is not more than a painting whose illogical and incontestable beauty is closer to a musical melody than to a classic Renaissance painting.

Text by G. Fernández, www.theartwolf.com