Sunday, March 5, 2023

The Architect

The architect stands above us, framed by soaring arches, holding his plan for the structure that is being built by workers scurrying among the scaffolding. 

Henri Marcel Magne, L'Architecte, 1910 Musée d'Orsay

The architect gestures upward with his cane. He grips the plans against the tug of the wind, and his assistant holds onto his hat. The billowing clouds behind him appear weightless, while in the foreground rope lifts a heavy block against the pull of gravity.

Everything in the composition speaks to the lofty ambitions of the architect during an era of optimism.

7 comments:

  1. Exactly! That's what's meant by "design" based on the sense of "GESTURE" , motivated and sensed by the artist in both his "inner" and "outer" worlds! Speaking of the painting. ( But it's true for the architect's vision too!)

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  2. I'm sorry, this post IMMEDIATELY summoned the spirit of Monty Python: "And now, a sketch about arky-teks called . . . THE ARKY-TEK SKETCH!"

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  3. This is a fantastic panting, it is and at the same time defies so many genres, it could be a fantasy book cover, it could be an illustration of a real event, it could a painting at an Architect's home.
    Wonderful thank you for sharing.

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  4. This is a fantastic panting, it is and at the same time defies so many genres, it could be a fantasy book cover, it could be an illustration of a real event, it could a painting at an Architect's home.
    Wonderful thank you for sharing.

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  5. Ooh. I'm scheduled to go to Musee d'Orsay next week! Cant wait to see this.

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  6. Weird question - do you think a photo reference was used here? I’m looking at that boot sticking out behind the block and thinking…”why?”
    I love the colours in the shadows on the stone, delightful !

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  7. Virginia, it's a boot and the other leg of someone climbing a ladder!! You have good eyes,I didn't notice it.For myself , it's something I would be more apt to put in if I WASN'T using a photograph!!

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