Classical painting isn’t exactly famed for its pop culture appeal. The arrival of Warhol and Lichtenstein in the ’60s might have got art out of the galleries and in with the cool crowd but their paintings were a world away from the classics.
Those painstaking portrayals of Christian doctrine and ancient legend didn’t spark cult followings in the same way so they were kept hanging out of harm’s way. With one remarkable and overlooked exception.
Sex, Syphilis and Strange Beings
An Allegory with Venus and Cupid was painted in 1545 for King Francis I of France by Italian Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano, thankfully nicknamed Bronzino. This almost claustrophobic painting depicts Venus and her son Cupid getting hot and heavy- which is a whole other story – while surrounded by strange allegorical figures.
What this motley crew represent is uncertain but they’re believed to personify positive and negative attributes of love. The crouched and screaming figure is said to embody Despair, Jealousy or even the effects of syphilis – all appropriately potent warnings against love or lust. The boy scattering roses is believed to be Jest, Play or Folly. The girl behind with the ambiguous Mona Lisa smile has been interpreted as both Pleasure and Fraud, while the face in the back is thought to be Oblivion.
Believe it or not, the painting was rather erotic at the time. Bronzino was famed for his utterly filthy poetry as well as his bawdy artwork and An Allegory with Venus and Cupid is no different. Its allure might be lost on modern audiences but Francis I, who was famed for his amorous exploits, would have loved it. Nothing says sexy like screaming syphilis and incest.
Paintings of well-known mythological figures often had markers to identify them – the old winged man with an hourglass in the top right is used to represent Time. Venus holds a symbolic apple won while Cupid has the archetypal wings and bow. It’s actually Cupid that put this painting on the modern day map, or more specifically a part of him did.
Stepping Foot in Show Business
Bronzino isn’t a household name like his peers Michelangelo and Raphael but you probably know this painting without realising it. An Allegory with Venus and Cupid has hung in the National Gallery since 1860 but it was another hundred years before it truly got noticed.
In the late ’60s a young American animator was trawling through London’s museums and galleries for ideas and inspiration. He used bits and pieces from photos, art and cultural curios in his animations and was on the look-out for something special for a new project when he came across Bronzino’s painting.
Where art critics saw orgiastic allegory, young Terry Gilliam saw opportunity in the shape of Cupid’s foot.
Take a look at the bottom left corner of Bronzino’s painting and you might recognise the most famous foot in comedy; it was used in Monty Python’s films and their Flying Circus title animation from the ’70s onward.
The cut-out foot that stomps its way throughout the entire Python canon quickly became a trademark of the comedy troupe, far more famous than its source. Cupid’s unsuspecting foot went from classical study to cult phenomenon, becoming an unsung Holy Grail for Python fans.
Check out Cupid’s foot and Bronzino’s painting in Room 8 of the National Gallery and see if you can spot the podiatry potential Gilliam saw lurking in the left hand corner.
by Jo Davey
The post London’s Art Gems: Monty Python Meets Bronzino appeared first on Felix Magazine.
London’s Art Gems: Monty Python Meets Bronzino posted first on http://www.felixmagazine.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment