Storge Art History Essay Essay

Storge, the Greek devise for familial jockey, is the title of the art exhibition. Consisting of six works of art, of varying mediums, whole hardly one from the modern era, this art manifest is meant to project love of family, and the feelings it may bring, whether they ar joy or anguish. All the valet de chambres in the luff are meant to evoke maternal or paternal feelings in the viewers, and when combined, the valet de chambres are meant to read the journey of farmhood.The duality of the show should be clear with the business amongst some of the happier voices, such as The lavatory, by Cas sit mass, or The Cradle, by Morisot, and some of the darker works, deal Migrant M opposite, by Lange, and the genuinely famous Pieta, by Michelangelo. The exhibition is as well supposed to demonstrate the timelessness of storge, that no bailiwick what century it is, feelings of parenthood are always powerful. Each piece provide be placed on its own in a colossal plain room, a nd the viewers will walk from one room the following(a) in a sort of chronological order, illustrating the journey of a babes growth, and how it may affect their parents.The first work shown is The Cradle, and was particoloured in 1872 using oil on canvas, by Impressionist artist, Berthe Morisot. The piece is of Morisots sister Edma gazing at her sleeping baby daughter, and is a beautiful scene of true causely love. Morisot used her sister Edma as a lesson in several other works, like Young Woman put at a Window, however, the most powerful works, I found, were the depictions of scramhood, of Edma with her children, such as Hide-and-Seek or On the Grass. The Cradle instills a maternal whiz in most viewers, which, after closer inspection seems to be collectible to the way Morisot had positioned her sister.Edmas hand drawing the curtain over the cradle, partly obscuring the baby from view creates a feeling of intimacy, and shows the traditional protectiveness a develop has for her child. While the colours that Morisot chose create a somewhat somber feeling, the piece isnt quite sad. It projects a sense of contentment and serenity, especially plan of attack from the mothers expression. Some substantiate detected a discount sense of longing in the mothers eyes, possibly lack to be able to keep her child safe like this forever, provided overall, Morisot creates a tranquilityful atmosphere evoking motherly sensations in the viewers.The Bath (1892), by bloody shame Cassat, is a nonher oil on canvas Impressionist painting, also depicting a mother and child. The child in this piece is a few years ageinger than the baby in Morisots The Cradle, demonstrating the shows idea of a childs growth. Some have described Cassats series of pieces showing mother and child as largely unsentimental, however, there is an undeniable feeling of closeness amidst the two figures, a mother and a daughter. The body language of the mother shows tender care for her daughte r, as she gently washes her childs toes during bathtime.The child, in general naked, sitting on her mothers lap is a word picture of innocence and vulnerability. The mother cradling her child, holding the girl on her lap with an outgrowth around her hip, creates an image of quiet protectiveness similar to The Cradle. The effect of putting The Bath after Morisots piece symbolizes the strong love that mothers have for their children, because they are both pieces that show the strong baffle between parent and child. The painting in the conterminous room after The Bath, is The Banjo Lesson, painted using oil on canvas in 1893, by heat content Ossawa Tanner, a prominent African-American Impressionist painter.This piece shows a colour father or grandfather with a young boy on his lap, teaching the boy to gyp the banjo. Compared with the two works that came before it, The Banjo Lesson shows an make up closer bond between parent and child. The closeness of the two figures shows a s trong familiarity between them, and again, a feeling of intimacy and protectiveness. The child stands between the mans legs, leaning against his knee and torso, studiously trying to play a banjo, thats too tough for him, emphasizing his youth and frailty.The man, old and weather, intently watches the childs delicate fingers, while supporting the cervix uteri of the instrument. This painting symbolizes the sharing of knowledge between parent and child, which is a big part of the parental journey. Though there are heavy shadows on the figures faces, the concentrated expressions are obvious, and despite that Tanner used mostly darker colours for the foreground, the lighter background, suggesting a fireplace move out to the side, creates a feeling of sensible warmth, combined with the heartwarming feeling the piece brings.The next three pieces of the Storge show shift the feeling from maternal or paternal warmth, to a jolly sadder sort of feeling. Coming after The Banjo Lesson, is a series of black and unobjectionable photographs, taken in 1936, Nipomo, California, by Dorothea Lange, called Migrant Mother. The photos all show a poor pea picker, Florence Owens Thompson, the mother of seven children, wearing looks of pertain and intense sorrowfulness. All the photos in the set are extremely powerful, because of the feeling of despondency and heartache they generate in viewers of the pictures.At the time, Thompson and her kids had been existing off of frozen vegetables from the field and any birds that her children could kill. The children are positioned differently from photograph to photograph, but the expression on the mothers face remains the same. It is a mixture of different emotions disappointment, that she was unable to give her children a proper plate deep concentration, trying to find a way to make a better life for her family serious concern, about how to make ends meet, where their next repast would come from and tiredness, physically and menta lly exhausted.In most pictures, she cradles her infant, while her other children lean on her. The body language of all the figures represents how a parent is a support system for the child, no matter how exhausted they are. The next work in the Storge exhibition is Arrangement in Grey and dim Portrait of the Painters Mother, painted by James McNeill Whistler, in 1871. The oil on canvas, Impressionist piece shows, as the title dictates, the artists mother. At first glance, I had assumed, as did many others, that the mother was at her childs funeral.It is a truly somber picture, the cleaning woman wearing all black, clearly old, seeming vulnerable and sad. With some research, I learned that is definitely not what happened. Whistlers mother had, apparently, sat in on for the portrait when the model became sick. Its interesting how this piece shows a different sort of familial love. Rather than parent to child, its child to parent. Whistler managed to really evoke his mothers Protest ant character with the pose, expression, and colours that he used. There is exceptional attention to situation when it comes to his mothers face, which kind of symbolizes their relationship.He would have to be very close to her to capture her character in his art, and even to physically revivify her face. I also detected a slight feeling of worry on Whistlers part, with his mother aging. She had been standing at the take of the portrait, but she had to sit down due to her frailty. So while I did detect, after learning of Whistlers intentions, a feeling of peace and contentment in the painting, I also felt the feeling of sadness that a child has when the realize they dont have very much time left with their parent.The last piece, though it breaks from the vaguely chronological order of the show, is arguably the most powerful depiction of mother and son, not just in the show, but ever. Michelangelos Pieta, carved from Carrara marble, completed in 1499, depicts every parents worst n ightmare, the death of a child. Mary holds Jesus lifeless body on her lap after the Crucifixion, cradling him in the same way she has been shown cradling Jesus as an infant. Her palms are turned upward as if asking why God would take her son from her, especially in such a violent way.Her face, a picture of nonchalance and vulnerability, combined with the body language of the two figures creates a sense of a very natural relationship, and shows the bond that was shared between Mary and her son. This piece evokes a very strong reaction in all viewers, of despondency and empathy. Regardless of religious background, people have been known to break down into tears at the sight of Pieta, struck by what it would feel like to lose a child. Storge is meant to elicit a strong reaction in all viewers, not just parents.The pieces chosen for this exhibit were meant to show the silk hat and worst events that could occur during parenthood, from cradling your toddler, to cradling your slain chi ld. Viewers should go from craving the bond of parent and child at the beginning of the show, to feeling the loss of a child by the end of it. The artists chosen for this were mostly Impressionist, but I find the most powerful pieces, Migrant Mother by Lange and Pieta by Michelangelo, came from opposite ends of the time spectrum. This shows the timelessness of the journey of parenthood.