Stille
Freude (German:
"Silent Joy")
| Title: |
Stille
Freude ("Silent
Joy") |
| Medium: |
Acrylic
on canvas |
| Dimensions: |
20 x 16
in. |
| Date: |
Summer
2007 |
| Comments: |
A meditative
still-life commission, inspired by the
theme: "Out of Darkness flows
Light".
I began with three basic elements of
Christian worship: a candle, an orthodox
icon of Christ, and a small Bible. To
these, I added a chalice (symbolic of the
Grail cup, receptacle of divine
blessings), an Ankh pendant (a
cross with a loop at the top, symbolising
the human being as a "key" to
the ancient Mysteries and the Universe),
and a Franciscan Cross. The whole
still-life is placed upon a mirror, to
indicate the correspondence between the
physical and spiritual worlds, as
referred to in the Emerald Tablet of
Hermes Trismegistus: "That which
is above is like to that which is
below."
Before starting to paint, or even to
assemble the objects of the still-life, I
spent seven days allowing the composition
to flow together in my mind. Then I
juxtaposed the various components,
complete with soft draperies, and
commenced painting while listening to
Joseph Haydn's great oratorio Die
Schoepfung ("The
Creation"). Beginning with
dark-toned Tuscan reds, I moved gradually
to paler orange, gold, and white,
allowing light to flow forth as the
daughter of darkness.
Original sold. In
a private collection in Munich, Germany.
Prints available on request. Please contact me for further
details. |
.
This portrait
was created using irridescent paints.
Compare the two thumbails below to see how the
same painting appears in (a) diffused and (b)
direct lighting.
 |
|
 |
| (a) |
|
(b) |
The thumbnails below show how the painting was
gradually built up in layers:
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