In a way it might be compared with the xylographic illustrations Ludwig Richter designed for Ludwig Bechstein's fairy tale collection in 1853/57.
Oh yes, I think that is a good comparison. And in the case of Kittelsen all his other work is mostly forgotten (he also did quite a few caricatures and landscapes) while the fairytale illustrations are known to almost "all". But the slightly ironic thing is that he is sadly unrepresented in I would say all of the large art museums in Norway. Very few know his pictures from seeing them live, while almost everyone knows them from book illustrations and postcards and such. (I think its safe to say that all touristshops in Norway sell Kittelsen cards). But really - what does that do to an image - to only have a "life" via reprint and as illustration?
The reception of certain artists is sometimes nearly as thrilling as art itself: tells a lot about the wishes and ideas of the reviewing society/culture.
Oh absolutely! I sometimes find the intertextuality (for lack of a better word) of an image to be just as interesting as the image itself.
I think a very good example in this case is the Mona Lisa. When looking at that painting a viewer will not see "just" the painting, or even "just a Leonardo Da Vinci" painting" - but also one of the key images in works like the Da Vinci code and even surrealist works of art like Mona Lisa with a moustache. The basics being that an image is always more than just the image, and these added layers affect the way we read the painting.
How did you come to be so interested in the German Wilhelmine epoch or in German art in general???
Slightly by coincidence really. In the case of Goslar Kaiserpfalz it was staying a day in Goslar on my way to North Italy. We chose a hotel right by the palace, and naturally I had to take a look (I've always loved castles. ;) ), and the pictures captivated me. Not because they were necessarily so good (though I think a few of them are actually quite good), but because of the story. I was especially fascinated by the Barbarossa imagery and started talking with the guide there. She told me about Kyffhäuser and so the ball started rolling. The more I read the more I found Wilhelmine Germany to be truly fascinating. I've always been fond of Romanticism and artists like Friedrich though, and I LOVE medieval legends and history so I guess the foundation for the fascination was already there.
In the "realistic" political paintings the "Inszenierung" (I don't know the English term for this)is more subtle. I think in these cases the visual mechanics are better compared to the propaganda messages in modern war films. Do you know, what I mean?
I have no idea what the English word for that term is either, but it is so close to a Norwegian term that I get your point very well, and I agree. The comparison between Von Werner's visual mechanics with later, more filmatic mechanics is very interesting. I hadn't thought about it in those terms - but I find the comparison fascinating. Hmm...I must ponder some more on this. ;)
I haven't had time to read your post on war films.
If its any consolation not all the posts are about war-films, it just that I find war films to be fascinating (in a horrid way) for many of the reasons you state above - and from fascination I guess come curiosity closely followed by a research.
As for 300 that film really creeped me. Too many disturbing undercurrents - all wrapped up in a very pretty package. For I will admit that visually the film was stunning - which in many ways makes it even more scary.
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Date: 2007-09-27 08:38 pm (UTC)Oh yes, I think that is a good comparison. And in the case of Kittelsen all his other work is mostly forgotten (he also did quite a few caricatures and landscapes) while the fairytale illustrations are known to almost "all".
But the slightly ironic thing is that he is sadly unrepresented in I would say all of the large art museums in Norway. Very few know his pictures from seeing them live, while almost everyone knows them from book illustrations and postcards and such. (I think its safe to say that all touristshops in Norway sell Kittelsen cards). But really - what does that do to an image - to only have a "life" via reprint and as illustration?
The reception of certain artists is sometimes nearly as thrilling as art itself: tells a lot about the wishes and ideas of the reviewing society/culture.
Oh absolutely! I sometimes find the intertextuality (for lack of a better word) of an image to be just as interesting as the image itself.
I think a very good example in this case is the Mona Lisa. When looking at that painting a viewer will not see "just" the painting, or even "just a Leonardo Da Vinci" painting" - but also one of the key images in works like the Da Vinci code and even surrealist works of art like Mona Lisa with a moustache. The basics being that an image is always more than just the image, and these added layers affect the way we read the painting.
How did you come to be so interested in the German Wilhelmine epoch or in German art in general???
Slightly by coincidence really. In the case of Goslar Kaiserpfalz it was staying a day in Goslar on my way to North Italy. We chose a hotel right by the palace, and naturally I had to take a look (I've always loved castles. ;) ), and the pictures captivated me. Not because they were necessarily so good (though I think a few of them are actually quite good), but because of the story. I was especially fascinated by the Barbarossa imagery and started talking with the guide there. She told me about Kyffhäuser and so the ball started rolling. The more I read the more I found Wilhelmine Germany to be truly fascinating.
I've always been fond of Romanticism and artists like Friedrich though, and I LOVE medieval legends and history so I guess the foundation for the fascination was already there.
In the "realistic" political paintings the "Inszenierung" (I don't know the English term for this)is more subtle. I think in these cases the visual mechanics are better compared to the propaganda messages in modern war films. Do you know, what I mean?
I have no idea what the English word for that term is either, but it is so close to a Norwegian term that I get your point very well, and I agree. The comparison between Von Werner's visual mechanics with later, more filmatic mechanics is very interesting. I hadn't thought about it in those terms - but I find the comparison fascinating. Hmm...I must ponder some more on this. ;)
I haven't had time to read your post on war films.
If its any consolation not all the posts are about war-films, it just that I find war films to be fascinating (in a horrid way) for many of the reasons you state above - and from fascination I guess come curiosity closely followed by a research.
As for 300 that film really creeped me. Too many disturbing undercurrents - all wrapped up in a very pretty package. For I will admit that visually the film was stunning - which in many ways makes it even more scary.