It is, of course, a damnable heresy to suggest that any painter exceeded the genius of Bouguereau (Peace Be Upon Him), but...if anyone came close, it was Jean-Leon Gerome.For surely there is no work in Western art which is as romantic as Pygmalion and Galatea. It is a slicing blade of passion, taking a moment in time -- the moment when idealized eros is at its height.
Gerome was a technical master (notice the very subtle vertical transformation of stone to flesh, right down to the skeletal flexibility), but this painting exceeds the technical requirments of good art. It is the emotion imbued in the work that presents the sweeping exhilaration of romantic love and makes Pygmalion and Galatea stand out. It always reminds me of that head-rushing Sunday afternoon when I first told my future wife that I loved her.
Alas, I have never seen this work in real life. It lies enthroned in that mystical, magical land known as the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York. I've never been to NYC, but this museum alone justifies the journey, if not this very painting.
Consider it to be a pilgrimage to a holy site.
3 comments:
Keep posting these as long as you like! I am loving every one of them.
Doggone, but this gorgeous picture tells a story! Thanks.
Thanks! I'm glad that a few people are enjoying the art blogging.
I look it. That is fantastic art. I think that art is only god gift.
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clark
Knox Leon
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