Culture QotD: Work of Art

nobody@vox.com(Pete) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:27:53 +0000

What work of art do you find inspirational

This may seem an odd choice for an inspiring work of art, and I must confess my first instinct on reading the question was to reach for one of my Caravaggio books and pluck out St Catherine of Alexandria or The Calling of St Matthew or something. But the truth is they don't inspire me in that sense - they amaze me, they're exceptional, magnificent, but the medium and the fact he's a great master give an aura of immortality, like gazing onwards instead of being proactive, if that makes sense.

The photograph above, however, inspires me, it inspires me because it shows how modern mediums can be used to exceptional effect without entirely breaking with what would be considered good art, it's style and structure seem to nod to the classical portrait. It seems that so much art made in modern mediums, particular digital ones, forsakes so much of what was learned from traditional art. It works as both a very beautiful portrait and also a challenge to any of us who work with modern tools that inspiration can be found from the history of art just as much when you're behind a lens or a computer as when you're behind and easel with a brush.

I'm not sure who the photographer is and have been unable to find out online, but the photo is of Cate Blanchett and was from Men's Vogue.

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The Captain's Cabin

Culture QotD: Work of Art