Sweet Music Centre

Plato believed that it’s only the dead who see the end of war. Some are fortunate enough for death frees them but some horrors that men witness are destined to stay forever. Highly disturbing and extremely visceral Goya: Chronicler of All Wars features the Spanish artist’s etchings that form the Los Desastres de la Guerra or the Disasters of War series and even though separated by centuries these images man’s contempt of his fellow hit as hard as images from present day war.

After the French plundered key Spanish locations during the Peninsular Wars, Goya and a few other artists were invited to witness the massacre and “paint the glories of the inhabitants”. Unpublished till 35 years from his death, Goya’s stark imagery is now seen as a protest against the violence he witnessed. Goya took almost a year before he started etching and viewing the macabre depiction it’s clear why Goya never exhibited them during his lifetime.

The series is divided into episodes that centre on incidents from the war, its aftermath, the famine that hit Madrid in the 1811 and the disillusionment that ensued with the rejection of the Spanish Constitution by the monarchy. The severity of Goya’s monochromatic strokes hardly leaves anything to be imagined. In fact the imagery is so raw the one finds it difficult to believe them. Goya bares the chaos of the battlefront; the shock of the soldiers and the turmoil in great detail and one segment of the exhibition highlights the details to show the artist’s process.

Goya’s brush shows an almost equal amount of dismay in the perpetrators as well as the victims. In the segment Las Victimas with bodies strewn across the streets, Goya represents the loss of identity amongst the death and even recreates classic Biblical icons of pain while drawing the burials; these images are ominous and leave you profoundly unsettled.

Disenchanted and dreary, Goya’s strong dedication to show post-war life as it were comes across clearly in the segment where he uses animals to parade the rule of Ferdinand VIII.

It wouldn’t be incorrect to call Goya a harbinger of photojournalism as contemporary photojournalists use the same level of commitment to reveal present day war. Brutal sounds emanating from the accompanying video installation; the darkness of the room with just enough light to reveal the savagery of war and its utter uselessness, as an exhibition Los Desastres de la Guerra is beautifully designed and presented.

Paintings of still-life objects, landscape and paintings of animals are impressive, express emotions and tell stories. Images of the human figure, in particular nudes, however, translate emotions most acutely.

Early Nude Art Works

The earliest known nude is the celebrated Venus of Willendorf, found in Austria. She is from the Stone Age (ca. 38000 – 10000 BC). Surprising to the archaeologists, sculptures of the nude female figure in the rest of the world were quite similar.

The earliest, most celebrated, nude art known today are from Greece and Rome in the period of Antiquity (900 BC – 300 AD). The realism of these works were quite impressive, and typifies the “Greek God” sculpture look.

There are not many early paintings available to us. These may not have survived the ravages of time. Hence there were only sculptures to tell the story.

The late Antiquity to Pre-Renaissance Paintings

The late Antiquity to Pre-Renaissance (300 – 1450) paintings were dominated by scriptural Christian paintings. This era was also classified as the Middle Ages and included Gothic art, Trecento and Romanesque paintings. Human figures were mostly stylized and symbolic rather than expressive. Nudes (if at all) were depicted as part of a narrative, rather than expression of emotion.

The Renaissance Paintings

The Renaissance period (1500s) was the rebirth of attention to the realistic human figure. It was this time that Artist’s signed their names onto their works and re-focused on the skill of executing artwork to impress, rather than indoctrinate.

Renaissance painters express the nude as beautiful, flowing curves and soft white skin so fleshy that one can feel their warmth. The genre is whimsical and airy like the paintings Sandro Boticelli.

Famous Renaissance artist Leonardo Da Vinci made a lot of study material on the human anatomy, which is fodder for many artists after him.

Michaelangelo Buonarroti (1475 – 1564) was the most illustrious artist of his time. He is regarded foremost as a sculptor. His nudes were beautiful, muscular, god-like. They were almost touchable and much more than realistic. His grandest paintings are frescos on the Sistine Chapel.

The figures of Raphael (1483 – 1520) were more soft-focused and smooth toned. Less musculature, but still strong body language.

Titian (ca. 1488 – 1576) painted nudes of different genres, from altar pieces to mythology. His paintings are dynamic, and there is a lot of motion of figures in his works.

Canvas prints are a great way to turn your favorite photos into fantastic works of art. This is mainly because canvas is very durable and can last for several years. Unfortunately, no matter how durable canvas is, it is also prone to damage. The image printed or drawn on it could fade, particularly if the canvas art is always exposed to sunlight.

Fortunately, there is a solution for this. Finishing your canvas art with lacquer can protect the painting from fading and scratching, thereby increasing its durability. A lacquer finish can also enhance a canvas print’s quality.

When ordering a canvas print of your favorite photo, you can ask your service provider to apply a lacquer finish to your canvas art. If they do not offer this particular service your can apply the lacquer finish yourself. The process is fairly simple. Here is how to finish your canvas print with lacquer:

First, gather all the things you will be using. You will need the following items:

Lacquer
Spray gun or brush
Or
Lacquer in a spray can

Start by preparing your work space. Cover the area you will be working on with plastic or newspaper. You should also cover other nearby items that you do not want to be spattered with lacquer. Your work space should be well-ventilated and without open flames nearby.

Pour lacquer into your spray gun. Spray guns are available at your local hardware store. You can opt to use lacquer in a spray can. However, using a spray gun has an advantage: a better, more even coverage. You can also use a brush-on lacquer. Pour a generous amount of lacquer on shallow dish. This is where you will be dipping your brush.

If you are using a spray gun, test it first by spraying it right onto the newspaper or plastic. This will give you an idea of what the gush of lacquer will be like.

Before you start spraying or painting your canvas print with lacquer, first make sure that the ink or paint of the print is completely dry. It may be a smart move to wait for about three days before applying the lacquer finish to make sure that the ink or paint has completely dried. Otherwise, the lacquer could smudge it.