Michael, great piece (read it on Bite Size Reviews). As soon as I saw the four paintings, I said, Pick the castle, because it looked so intriguing, and so you did.
But I never would have suspected that some of the more interesting aspects of Cole’s painting is the information on the placard, things that can’t be learned from the painting itself (power of words vs. power of image).
For example, the rebuilt castle and enlarged cliff. Sometimes people carp about special effects and CGI-added mountains and castles in movies, yet here’s an example of “fine art” a couple centuries ago doing just that.
But perhaps the biggest surprise is the little castle where Petrarch lived. That’s the guy who the Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet is named for. If some English dudes hadn’t translated his sonnets, we might not have gotten the Shakespearean (English) sonnet. No more “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
That’s the guy, and he lived right there. Most of us are already familiar with a Petrarchan sonnet in English, Emma Lazarus’s “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” poem at the Statue of Liberty.
And many a sonnet about works of art have also been written. Perhaps the most famous (at least in German) would be Rilke’s “Archaic Torso of Apollo” and its famous ending:
Of course an art history prof would recommend a painting or sculpture, but you could do this exercise with non-art too, I would think. For example, observe a sleeping cat for three hours, watch its breathing, the little twitches, any sounds it makes, etc.
I thought a lot about how cole was reshaping reality with his picture. Even with something seemingly “objective” like a landscape, there are opportunities for artistic license and interpretation.
For sure. Or something like self-portraits. Should be realistic, right? The artist just stares in the mirror and paints what’s there. Nope. They can also do like what Dürer did more than 500 years ago in his third and final self-portrait, where he used the painterly conventions for depicting Christ. A pity you didn’t get to stare at that one for three hours:
I loved this so much, and also realized I saw your TikTok of this without realizing, which made reading your afterthoughts incredibly interesting, and even though you were bored, it makes me want to try this as well. I find myself routinely in the scolding-myself-for-not-focusing camp, and I've been trying to purposely do less things simultaneously, which has helped. Like just enjoying folding my laundry in silence rather than cramming in audiobooks or trying to clean the whole room at the same time. I like applying the idea to art. Great great essay, Michael!
Thanks, Cassie. I appreciate the comment! I can obviously relate. I’m always tempted to fill every quiet moment with audiobooks, podcasts, music, instead of just being alone with my thoughts (the horror).
Glad that I stumbled upon your article. Loved your observations about the three hours. I’m too intimidated to try it myself, impressed that you took it on🙂
My main thought about any/all of the above, Kyle, is WOW. Wow. You looked at a painting for three. straight. hours. Just the fact that you undertook this venture is pretty amazing but then you actually DID it. Whatever you got out of it, I hope you know that the action -- and the effort to reclaim -- your attention matters. It really does.
I also want to say I really liked your tik tok where you highlighted some of the small details in the painting. I noticed in your more close up photo of the painting a person on the balcony, is that right?
Michael, great piece (read it on Bite Size Reviews). As soon as I saw the four paintings, I said, Pick the castle, because it looked so intriguing, and so you did.
But I never would have suspected that some of the more interesting aspects of Cole’s painting is the information on the placard, things that can’t be learned from the painting itself (power of words vs. power of image).
For example, the rebuilt castle and enlarged cliff. Sometimes people carp about special effects and CGI-added mountains and castles in movies, yet here’s an example of “fine art” a couple centuries ago doing just that.
But perhaps the biggest surprise is the little castle where Petrarch lived. That’s the guy who the Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet is named for. If some English dudes hadn’t translated his sonnets, we might not have gotten the Shakespearean (English) sonnet. No more “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
That’s the guy, and he lived right there. Most of us are already familiar with a Petrarchan sonnet in English, Emma Lazarus’s “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” poem at the Statue of Liberty.
And many a sonnet about works of art have also been written. Perhaps the most famous (at least in German) would be Rilke’s “Archaic Torso of Apollo” and its famous ending:
https://poemsintranslation.blogspot.com/2016/04/rilke-archaic-torso-of-apollo-from.html
Of course an art history prof would recommend a painting or sculpture, but you could do this exercise with non-art too, I would think. For example, observe a sleeping cat for three hours, watch its breathing, the little twitches, any sounds it makes, etc.
Thanks for the comment, Frank. Great insights.
I thought a lot about how cole was reshaping reality with his picture. Even with something seemingly “objective” like a landscape, there are opportunities for artistic license and interpretation.
For sure. Or something like self-portraits. Should be realistic, right? The artist just stares in the mirror and paints what’s there. Nope. They can also do like what Dürer did more than 500 years ago in his third and final self-portrait, where he used the painterly conventions for depicting Christ. A pity you didn’t get to stare at that one for three hours:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Albrecht_D%C3%BCrer_-_1500_self-portrait_%28High_resolution_and_detail%29.jpg
I loved this so much, and also realized I saw your TikTok of this without realizing, which made reading your afterthoughts incredibly interesting, and even though you were bored, it makes me want to try this as well. I find myself routinely in the scolding-myself-for-not-focusing camp, and I've been trying to purposely do less things simultaneously, which has helped. Like just enjoying folding my laundry in silence rather than cramming in audiobooks or trying to clean the whole room at the same time. I like applying the idea to art. Great great essay, Michael!
Thanks, Cassie. I appreciate the comment! I can obviously relate. I’m always tempted to fill every quiet moment with audiobooks, podcasts, music, instead of just being alone with my thoughts (the horror).
I love that this is long and doesn’t have a lot of pictures. It’s like you’re asking me to do the thing while teaching me to do it. Great stuff.
Glad that I stumbled upon your article. Loved your observations about the three hours. I’m too intimidated to try it myself, impressed that you took it on🙂
My main thought about any/all of the above, Kyle, is WOW. Wow. You looked at a painting for three. straight. hours. Just the fact that you undertook this venture is pretty amazing but then you actually DID it. Whatever you got out of it, I hope you know that the action -- and the effort to reclaim -- your attention matters. It really does.
Sarah, you are always so kind! But this was done by my friend Michael. I cross-posted to his substack. He deserves the praise!
OHHHH, how did I miss that? Sorry! Good job, Michael. (You're great too, Kyle 😂)
I also want to say I really liked your tik tok where you highlighted some of the small details in the painting. I noticed in your more close up photo of the painting a person on the balcony, is that right?
The lighting alone is unbelievable.
I love all your posts, but this one is particularly good. All three books were so valuable for me, personally, as well.
So kind of you to say. Thanks Luisa!