Introduction
Art serves various roles, which I’ll delve into in future posts. For me, art is a tool for self-reflection, allowing us to use visual objects to express, identify, and resonate with our inner world.
Misconceptions and Reality
Often, people perceive art as something old, lofty, detached, static, and cold. The silence in museums can feel distant, contrary to the warm Israeli culture. However, I find in this silence a space for internal reflection, akin to wearing earplugs that pause our daily noise and visually expose us to a quiet space with objects that represent something, compelling us into internal or external dialogue.
The Roles of Art
Art in museums can be a tool for reflection, conversation, cultural exploration, social activity, expression, protest, documentation, historical writing, and presenting perspectives. Outside museums, art often serves self-definition, social status, potential investment, and collections that tell stories about their owners.
Personal Connection
For a long time, I tried to explain what I love about art. Perhaps it wasn't clear to me either. It's somewhere between something that gives meaning and the joy of looking at beautiful things. The ability to escape daily reality and the experience of viewing a painting with a group of people, sharing something special, different from listening to a concert or shopping at Ikea.
The Umbrellas ("Les Parapluies" -French )- by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
A Moment of Clarity
While pondering why I love art, I encountered the painting you can see below: Renoir's "The Umbrellas." This painting, with a somewhat monochromatic color palette of greys, blues, and purples with a cool (silver) undertone, depicts two main subjects: a couple on the left and a family on the right, consisting of a mother, an older sister, and a younger sister. Renoir painted the right side first and added the left side years later. A lover of art, Renoir incorporated elements of popular fashion among the upper class in France in the 18th century, with the costumes hinting at the women's ages. Renoir is known for presenting everyday experiences as joyful.
Deep Identification
The girl looking directly at the viewer looked at me the last time I saw the real painting in the National Gallery in London. I started crying. In a split second, I saw myself in her. A blonde girl in a velvet dress walks with her small family in the rain, performing an ordinary daily activity. This deep sense of identification left me scared, excited, and happy. Suddenly, I understood why I love art. Art is us. It is the story we tell about ourselves as humans, as a society, as a group, and as individuals.
The Umbrellas ("Les Parapluies" -French )- by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Conclusion
Who are we? Where do we come from? What is significant in our lives and what is not? How do we treat each other? How do we relate to our surroundings, our country, our families, pets, and our emotions? Art is a unique blend, a simple canvas with colors offering an infinite matrix of possibilities for exploring history, emotions, and all concrete and abstract elements of humanity. This is why I love art – a simple item with a complex subconscious.
Closing Thoughts
The charming young lady at the front is undoubtedly one of the most captivating figures ever painted. Beautifully sketched, her lines resonate throughout the composition.
In the right corner, Renoir presents us with two doll-like youths, so enchanting they could justify an entire canvas dedicated to them alone. They are unified through color, painting, and the delightful enrichment of their costumes, with the two women in blue. For this part of the canvas, Renoir saved small pleasures for the eye and his richest colors.
During this period, Renoir entered his "sour period," and we can see what this term means: emphasis on edges, broader areas of color, modeling akin to relief sculpture but with flattened faces, and distance achieved through line effects. Only the style is tighter and drier; the joy of life, the transformation to the beauty of everything he touched – these are more evident.
The Umbrellas - by Pierre-Auguste Renoir is on display at the permanent exhibition of the National Gallery in London, England.
After visiting hundreds of art galleries, this one stands out as my favorite. I highly recommend seizing every opportunity to visit.
Credit: The National Gallery
With Love,
Me.
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