Human Condition Portrayed in Art
Through the journey that life can take, emotional experiences influence one’s perspective, inspiring one to give birth to profound works of art. Such works of art that can speak volumes and even move their audience to tears. Every human being expresses their grief and sorrow differently. Pablo Picasso expressed his guilt, sorrow and pain after losing his friend to suicide through his painting, “The Old Guitarist” in 1903. Horatio G. Spafford expressed his grief, sorrow and pain after losing his entire fortune and all his children through writing the song, “It Is Well with My Soul”, in 1873. Each artist was inspired and motivated by deep loss in their lives, something every soul on this earth can easily …show more content…
Why do some chose evil over good? Thankfully, we were blessed with artists who were not afraid to fully accept their sorrowful state to discover beautiful motivation and inspiration. Picasso and Spafford put their pride aside and with raw humility, opened their souls for the world to see. Picasso takes his audience through the dark moments of loss while Spafford takes his through redemption, faith and trusting in God when sorrow hits one’s life.
The Painting, “The Old Guitarist” by Pablo Picasso, 1903
Picasso emerged as a Symbolist painter from Spain, inspired by the pessimistic mood that saturated the Symbolist art movement at the turn of the century, as witnessed in the melancholic works of Aubrey Beardsley and Edvard Munch (Arnason & Mansfield, 2016, p. 137). Symbolism (1880-1910) followed the philosophy that behind the physical world lay a spiritual reality (theartstory.org, 2016). Symbolism gives great emphasis on the use of emotion, feelings and subjective thought rather than that of realistic thought. Symbolistic artists produce works that are personal and express their own ideas, like their power to reveal the …show more content…
He had established a successful legal practice and also invested heavily in real estate along Lake Michigan’s shoreline. The Chicago Fire of 1871 ended up being the culprit for his financial loss that happened just overnight. In a story resembling that of Job, his son died a short time before to scarlet fever. Unfortunately, the worst was yet to come for Horatio Spafford. In 1873, Horatio and his family planned to join his close friends from Chicago, Dwight L. Moody and Ira Sankey, on an evangelistic campaign in Great Britain. Spafford was also interested in time away for his family, to rest and regroup. Due to last minute business developments, Horatio had to remain in Chicago while his wife and four daughters boarded the ship S.S. Villa du Havre to Great Britain, as scheduled. On November 22, the ship carrying his family was struck by an English boat, The Lochearn, and sunk in twelve minutes (Hawn, 2016). A couple days later, the survivors landed at Cardiff, Wales where Mrs. Spafford cabled her husband, “Saved Alone”. Horatio immediately boarded another ship headed for Great Britain to join his grieving wife (Hawn, 2016). It was on this journey to Great Britain that inspired Horatio with the lyrics to his emotional song. As he crossed the generalized area of ocean where his daughters had drown, he had an overwhelming peace overcome him. Words to his song poured
Through the journey that life can take, emotional experiences influence one’s perspective, inspiring one to give birth to profound works of art. Such works of art that can speak volumes and even move their audience to tears. Every human being expresses their grief and sorrow differently. Pablo Picasso expressed his guilt, sorrow and pain after losing his friend to suicide through his painting, “The Old Guitarist” in 1903. Horatio G. Spafford expressed his grief, sorrow and pain after losing his entire fortune and all his children through writing the song, “It Is Well with My Soul”, in 1873. Each artist was inspired and motivated by deep loss in their lives, something every soul on this earth can easily …show more content…
Why do some chose evil over good? Thankfully, we were blessed with artists who were not afraid to fully accept their sorrowful state to discover beautiful motivation and inspiration. Picasso and Spafford put their pride aside and with raw humility, opened their souls for the world to see. Picasso takes his audience through the dark moments of loss while Spafford takes his through redemption, faith and trusting in God when sorrow hits one’s life.
The Painting, “The Old Guitarist” by Pablo Picasso, 1903
Picasso emerged as a Symbolist painter from Spain, inspired by the pessimistic mood that saturated the Symbolist art movement at the turn of the century, as witnessed in the melancholic works of Aubrey Beardsley and Edvard Munch (Arnason & Mansfield, 2016, p. 137). Symbolism (1880-1910) followed the philosophy that behind the physical world lay a spiritual reality (theartstory.org, 2016). Symbolism gives great emphasis on the use of emotion, feelings and subjective thought rather than that of realistic thought. Symbolistic artists produce works that are personal and express their own ideas, like their power to reveal the …show more content…
He had established a successful legal practice and also invested heavily in real estate along Lake Michigan’s shoreline. The Chicago Fire of 1871 ended up being the culprit for his financial loss that happened just overnight. In a story resembling that of Job, his son died a short time before to scarlet fever. Unfortunately, the worst was yet to come for Horatio Spafford. In 1873, Horatio and his family planned to join his close friends from Chicago, Dwight L. Moody and Ira Sankey, on an evangelistic campaign in Great Britain. Spafford was also interested in time away for his family, to rest and regroup. Due to last minute business developments, Horatio had to remain in Chicago while his wife and four daughters boarded the ship S.S. Villa du Havre to Great Britain, as scheduled. On November 22, the ship carrying his family was struck by an English boat, The Lochearn, and sunk in twelve minutes (Hawn, 2016). A couple days later, the survivors landed at Cardiff, Wales where Mrs. Spafford cabled her husband, “Saved Alone”. Horatio immediately boarded another ship headed for Great Britain to join his grieving wife (Hawn, 2016). It was on this journey to Great Britain that inspired Horatio with the lyrics to his emotional song. As he crossed the generalized area of ocean where his daughters had drown, he had an overwhelming peace overcome him. Words to his song poured