Oculus

tim lowly
recent  |  interesting  |  random  |  favorites  |  contacts  |  sets  |  tags:  
Oculus
Oculus

"Oculus: Di sotto in sù", 2022, acrylic on panel, 18" x 18"

A recent addition to the "Re. Rainbow Project" .

One of the most famous works of the early Renaissance is Andrea Mantegna’s Camera degli Sposi (“Chamber of the Bride and the Groom”). The title is a bit misleading in that the room’s walls and ceiling are covered with highly realistic “trompe l’oil” painting which celebrate the social and political importance of the Duke Ludovico III whose residence the room is in. Somewhat ironically the most commonly noted portion of the painting of this room is the “Oculus” (Latin for “eye”) on the ceiling: seemingly a circular opening to the sky. Around the edges of this opening are a peacock, eight putti (baby angels) and five women who most likely would not have been privy to the political occasions depicted on the walls below. They seem to be laughing at the scene below. The inclusion of this relatively marginal group (both in terms of the political power and spatial location) seems to subtly mock the occasions of power depicted below. My "all things Italian" friend Steven Carrelli suggested including the art historical term "Di sotto in sù" ("as seen from below") as a way of subtly emphasizing that political implication.

In my painting the “sky” depicted in Mantegna’s Oculus is loosely quoted, but the only person present is Temma, looking down at us over the edge, perhaps–in her rather enigmatic way similarly–raising questions of power and significance.

© All Rights Reserved
Taken on: May 29, 2022
Sets appears in:   • lowly paintings    • Rainbow Girl    more » • tondo, tondo, tondo!    « less
Groups appears in:   • ART DISTRICT    • Art Now    more » • art around the world    • Contemporary Art    • Art After Art    • Face Time    • art lovers    • Fine Art    • aart    • Art - Drawing and Painting    • ART / REAL    • *Paintings & Drawings*    • ART-X    • *** A C R Y L I C ☼ P A I N T I N G ***    • Subversive Art    • Art World    • ART 藝術    • galleria d'arte    • Painting isn't dead    • Arte Contemporanea    • Art from All Artists    • ! LO MEJOR DE MI... ARTE Y CREACIÓN ARTÍSTICA !.    • ART NOW ART NOW ART    • Visual Art    • Realism in Fine Art    • peinture artistique    • "ARTE E MISTERO NELLO SCATTO CREATIVO"    • Simbolismo, Realismo y la Figura: Pintura    • RD Laing - revisited / admin invite / 18+    « less
Camera: EPSON Expression 1680 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: EPSON Expression 1680
Color Space: Uncalibrated
Software: Adobe Photoshop 22.0 (Macintosh)
Show full info
Stats: 49,812 views / 15 comments