Category Archives: Painting

The Erotic Watery Dreamland of Henri Rousseau

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Symbol Reader

“In 1910, the year of his death, Rousseau gave the world his last dream, his extraordinary painting Le Rȇve. In a moonlit jungle clearing, a naked woman lies on a brown velvet-covered couch. In attendance are she-lions, birds of paradise, … Continue reading →

Posted in Painting | Tagged anima, art, dream, Dreaming, goddess, Henri Rousseau, lotus, painting, symbolism, symbols | 24 Comments

Haunting Paintings: “Wind from the Sea” by Andrew Wyeth

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Symbol Reader

I saw this painting today and became transfixed by it. The wind has brought the smell of the sea and the birds on the old and frail lace curtain have momentarily caught wind in their wings. I felt nostalgia, melancholia, … Continue reading →

Posted in Painting | Tagged Andrew Wyeth, archetypes, art, “Christina’s World”, “Wind from the Sea”, Iris, James Hillman, painting, pothos, symbolism, symbols, Zephyrus | 20 Comments

The Art of Resurrection

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Today my thoughts were directed to the phenomenon of Greek “abaton”: “Also called a mundus or earth-womb, the abaton was a real pit, standard equipment in a pagan temple. Those who entered it to ‘incubate,’ or to sleep overnight in … Continue reading →

Posted in Painting | Tagged abaton, art, Blake, Bruegel, Christ, Christianity, Ciry, Easter, Gay, incubation, painting, rebirth, Rembrandt, resurrection, rising from the dead, Rubens | 15 Comments

The Art of Sight

Posted on March 29, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Jan Brueghel the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens, “Allegory of Sight” “We are all visionaries, and what we see is our soul in things,” wrote Henri Amiel in his journal. The psyche presents itself most directly through images. The world … Continue reading →

Posted in Painting | Tagged archetypes, art, image, imagery, images, John Berger, looking, Saramago “Blindness”, seeing, symbolism, symbols, the sense of sight, visibility | 32 Comments

Famous Paintings: “Anatomy of the Heart” by Enrique Simonet y Lombardo

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Symbol Reader

“The Spanish painter Enrique Simonet y Lombardo, in the last year of the nineteenth century, … produced an admirable canvas showing the anatomic exploration of a woman’s body. … an old man holds in his hand the heart he has … Continue reading →

Posted in Painting | Tagged Anatomy of the Heart, art, autopsy, Enrique Simonet y Lombardo, heart, painting, symbolism, symbols | 26 Comments

Botticelli’s “Mystic Nativity”

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Symbol Reader

Sandro Boticelli, Mystic Nativity This beautiful painting has been one of my favourites for many years. I was always touched by the beautiful twelve angels dancing in a circle at the top, the three angels gracing the roof and the … Continue reading →