I have always responded equivocally to Jean-Francois Millet . There is an undeniable charm to his artwork, but it may sometimes seem too charming — too dolce . His lines end just where they are supposed to, and even a little prematurely, turning to describe a round angle instead of a sharp one, as if avoiding a confrontation. The artist seems to strive to smooth out every possible roughness of a body part or a piece of clothing, in what appears like a naive or even Utopian exercise… Or does it? I have pondered over this stylistic peculiarity, trying to find its deeper, underlying reasons, because each time, after looking at Millet, I was consistently left with a feeling that I was missing something. I needed a hypothesis to counter that nagging sense of miscomprehension — and I think, or at least I hope that I found one. Its premise relies on the rejection of traditional relationship between the observer and the work of art; the observer needs to make a certain concession and ignore the initial negative response. This action does not guarantee a more positive reaction to the artwork, but it will ensure more objective interpretation.
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Stephen Magsig’s urban scenes share one common feature: despite the realism, they possess an eerie atmosphere, as though inflated by foreboding whiffs of air. It’s as if these locations have just been abandoned, all the people being forced to evacuate the setting by a fire alarm; Stephen follows, and documents what has been left behind. Perhaps, this is the characteristic mood of the city to which the painter is so dedicated — the city of Detroit. The artist strives to represent it from many angles, in various settings and different times of day, and night; he paints the downtown and the suburbia, all in the endeavor to make this representation as objective and as comprehensive as possible. Looking at his pieces one cannot but become fascinated with the city, its life and its history. Gradually, one would have to acknowledge a growing delicate sense of respect and even awe towards this industrial beast. Recognizing the artist’s intent in communicating these impressions would be the next logical step.
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To me, Jeremiah is the most human of all the prophets on the Sistine Chapel Ceiling. The prophet exhibits weakness, weariness and despair, his posture reveals diffidence and inner suffering. This is a potent psychological portrait, and the artist channels every surrounding element towards bringing out the mentioned traits, to make it such. I think that looking at this old man may be particularly gratifying, because every human being can sympathize with anguish, finding similar sentiments inside their souls. This figure epitomizes emotional pain, and demonstrates universal appeal as a consequence. Michelangelo chose the most basic device to establish the general mood: almost every loose object in this scene points down, as if symbolically echoing Jeremiah’s torment and “down” feelings; the man himself hangs his head, his gaze is downcast, his right shoulder is drooping. Furthermore, his beard points directly downwards, as is his under clothing and the fingers of his left hand. The prophet’s mirror companion replicates his position, with the lock imitating the beard.
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This piece describes an open landscape, and it differs significantly from most of the artist’s paintings because of that. Usually there was something to catch the eye — a barn, a road or a tree — but here, despite the path between the two fields, the viewing remains unobstructed. I think that this peculiarity marks a minor compositional and stylistic deviation, which signals the artist’s readiness to evolve creatively and try new things. This is the stuff that makes people come back for more; the changes and surprises within the familiar framework. Additionally, we see some green color, a rare hue in the artist’s palette. It gives the yellow a friendly tinge unwitnessed (by me) before; the only familiar color here is the pale and coolly neutral blue, which serves as a style tag and links the painting to others. In the context of the artist’s oeuvre, this piece may fall under the category of “transitional,” or “experimental.”
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This prophet displays yet another step towards religious self-consciousness. The biblical prophets, from Ezekiel to Jeremiah (to be reviewed next) describe the full arch of intellectual and conceptual religious development, distancing themselves inversely from pure hedonistic physicality of the sibyls, in a quintessential, step by step, side effect . In Ezekiel we witness the readiness to partake in polemics and argue God’s word with rhetorical ardor and physical force — this is the stage of conquering; Joel dwells in an already familiar and occupied territory, and, as brute force becomes unnecessary, he widens the mental scope by focusing more on thought and letters, which his figure clearly denotes; Jeremiah embodies the tragedy of disillusionment, Solomon’s wisdom and personal moral devastation in the face of the destruction of Jerusalem. These prophets act out the rise and the fall of Judaism and Judaic tradition.
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