Lamentation#73009 42 X 29″ mmp
When commissioned by Pope Julius II, Raphael’s frescoes for the Pope’s library (later converted to the seat of the papal tribunal) were intended to glorify Truth, Goodness and Beauty. “School of Athens”, the second fresco, symbolized a rational search for truth through philosophy and science. Nearly fifty figures from arts and sciences are held together in Raphael’s rather dry triumph of composition. For “Lamentation”, Dr. Chen has lifted one of the two dominant images, Aristotle. (The other major figure, Plato, is used in the pendant Enigma). Aristotle stretches his hand before him, palm downward to the earth, in an emphasis of science, an earth-bound discipline governed by testing, data collection, and proven results.Chen has combined the solemn Aristotle with an equally imposing counterpart from the twentieth century, a voluminous, quasi-sculptured Picasso woman. They represent a couple who have lost a son in the war.Because the parents come form widely separated eras they can represent parents of any time. Here the Aristotelian hand becomes a gesture repulsing war, represented by the helmet with its streak of blood, the skull, and the coffin hung with medals of combat valor. Magritte’s bird hovers in the background, a symbol of hope for the future.
– Lawrance Jeppson |
Lamentation
Eternal Staring
2015 年 7 月 28 日