{"id":2042,"date":"2010-11-22T17:06:47","date_gmt":"2010-11-22T22:06:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fredhatt.com\/blog\/?p=2042"},"modified":"2014-12-14T20:42:53","modified_gmt":"2014-12-15T01:42:53","slug":"flanking-figures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fredhatt.com\/blog\/2010\/11\/22\/flanking-figures\/","title":{"rendered":"Flanking Figures"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Far Side of the Moon with Flanking Figures, 2010, by Fred Hatt<\/p><\/div>\n

I made these two large reclining nudes, each one 48″ x 30″, with the idea that they would be flanking figures, a human frame for some significant object or image.\u00a0 They could be on either side of a mirror or a portrait or a proscenium stage.\u00a0 They could be facing center or away from center.\u00a0 For me these figures have a lunar quality, so here I have used them to bracket an image of the far side of the moon.<\/p>\n

[Tangent:\u00a0 The far side of the moon <\/a>was a complete mystery before the era of space flight, as the moon always turns the same face towards Earth, and of course people imagined that it hid alien civilizations or other exotic marvels.\u00a0 Even now this distant hemisphere is unfamiliar to most of us.\u00a0 The far side of the moon is mountainous and heavily pocked with craters, and lacks the great “seas” or mare that give the near face the dark patches that we see as the man in the moon<\/a>, the rabbit, or whatever it is supposed to resemble. \u00a0The face that is turned away can be a symbol of the unseen aspect of things.\u00a0 Here is an interactive map <\/a>of both sides of the moon, and here’s the source<\/a> for the moon map used in the illustration at the top of this post.]<\/p>\n

Allegorical flanking figures of this sort are a fusty old iconographic tradition.\u00a0 The ones I had in mind were the figures of Dawn and Dusk on the tomb of Lorenzo de’ Medici, in the Medici Chapel <\/a>in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, designed and sculpted by Michelangelo.\u00a0 The chapel also features a similar idealized portrait<\/a> of Giuliano de’ Medici, accompanied by figures called Night and Day.\u00a0 These nudes, named as embodiments of cycles of nature and shown reclining at the feet of the enthroned noblemen, exalt their central figures by portraying them as masters over Nature itself.\u00a0 Those Medicis were as self-aggrandizing as Trump!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Tomb of Lorenzo de' Medici, c. 1530, by Michelangelo<\/p><\/div>\n

This kind of arrangement of\u00a0human images\u00a0embodying abstract concepts became a standard trope in public art.\u00a0 Here are the figures over the entrance to the Old Bailey<\/a>, the Central Criminal Court in London, by sculptor F.W. Pomeroy<\/a>.\u00a0 In the middle is the Recording Angel, lurking under a hood and looking far more intimidating than most of the court stenographers I’ve seen.\u00a0 On the left is Fortitude, with a sword, and on the right, Truth, with a mirror.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Allegorical Figures, Old Bailey Central Criminal Court, London, 1907, sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy<\/p><\/div>\n

Allegorical flanking figures became such a clich\u00e9 in the depiction of official power that they are a frequent feature of the engraved headings of stock certificates<\/a>, such as this one for Shell Oil, Inc.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Shell Oil Company stock certificate engraving, 1975<\/p><\/div>\n

The tradition probably originates with Medieval Heraldry<\/a>.\u00a0 A coat of arms often shows a shield with symbolic emblems or colors, held up on either side by what some cultures would call power animals<\/a>, such as Great Britain’s lion and unicorn<\/a>.\u00a0 Here’s a\u00a0lovely new variation on the theme, the official coat of arms of Nunavut<\/a>, the Inuit province of Northern Canada.\u00a0 The symbolic animals are the caribou and the narwhal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Coat of Arms of the Province of Nunavut, Canada<\/p><\/div>\n

Christian religious painting also frequently includes figures flanking a central personage.\u00a0 The sidekicks may be angels, saints, or the donor<\/a> who funded the artwork.\u00a0 It naturally occurs in crucifixions<\/a>, in which Jesus is often shown between the two crucified thieves<\/a>, as in this Mantegna painting.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Crucifixion, 1459, by Andrea Mantegna<\/p><\/div>\n

Raphael omitted the thieves, but framed Jesus between two angels, representations of the sun and moon, and one kneeling and one standing figure on each side.\u00a0 Clearly the idea here is to convey the centrality of the Christ.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Crucifixion, 1503. by Raphael<\/p><\/div>\n

I can’t tell you why I was drawn to such a thoroughly old-fashioned figurative motif.\u00a0 I suppose applying my loose and energetic style to neoclassical subject matter seemed an interesting variation on improvised compositions <\/a>and experimental process.\u00a0 Here are some closer looks at these two drawings.\u00a0 The models are Yuko and Jeremiah.\u00a0 Let me know if you have anything that needs to be exalted by being displayed in between allegorical figures!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Waning Moon, 2009, by Fred Hatt<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Waxing Moon, 2010, by Fred Hatt<\/p><\/div>\n

My works shown here are aquarelle drawings on black paper, each 48″ high by 30″ wide.\u00a0 All the other images were found on the web, and clicking on the images will take you to the sites where I found them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I made these two large reclining nudes, each one 48″ x 30″, with the idea that they would be flanking figures, a human frame for some significant object or image.\u00a0 They could be on either side of a mirror or a portrait or a proscenium stage.\u00a0 They could be facing center or away from center.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[200,202],"tags":[271,19,17,101,44,62],"class_list":["post-2042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art-history-2","category-collections-of-images","tag-art-history","tag-crayons","tag-figures","tag-homage","tag-nudes","tag-sculpture"],"yoast_head":"\nFlanking Figures - 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