Whump Challenge Day 16
Day 16: Any unusual media you like for whump (plays, music, vlogs, etc.)?
This one may depend upon personal taste even more than usual, and whether one considers figures from religion to be off limits, but I am rather fond some paintings of St. Sebastian. He is frequently portrayed in artworks having been pierced by arrows and then nursed by St Irene of Rome. Early portrayals (c.6th century, I think, but don’t quote me on that) have him as a bearded middle aged man. The painters of the post-Renaissance period, however, seemed to prefer him younger, typically with curly hair reminiscent of images of Alexander the Great, and contorted into a pose of agony. Usually while looking rather attractive.
My favourite St. Sebastian paintings (pictures in list order):
Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene, by Hendrick ter Brugghen (1625)
Saint Sebastian Tended by Saint Irene, by Cornelis de Beer (1618)
Saint Sebastian Tended by Saint Irene, by Francesco Cairo (c. 1635)
St. Sebastian Healed by an Angel, by Giovanni Baglione (1603)
Saint Sebastian Tended by the Holy Irene, by Nicolas Régnier, (c.1626)
There is one by Georges de la Tour as well, but the chiaroscuro is a bit too heavy handed and the figures too stylised for my taste.
Years ago I fell in love with the marble sculpture of The Dying Gaul. Something about it just really caught my eye. All the details, the pose, I think it’s just stunning. Then on a trip to Rome I actually got the chance to see it in person and it was something I will never forget. Historians thought for a long time it was a sculpture depicting a wounded Gladiator but it turns out its actually a Gaul (or Celt) that was defeated in battle. No one knows the original sculptor, but it’s thought that it might be carved by the victor (a Roman of course). A form of gloating or celebrating through craft? I’m not quite sure but I like to think the artist was respecting his former foe, this Dying Man, in his own unique artistic way by creating this piece.
Ooo my first Whump Challenge! I think I actually might be growing as a person. Or at least this blog is!
I went on a school trip to see art in Florence, and we were all standing around waiting in the Loggia dei Lanzi, where there are a bunch of statues. Including this rather whumpy portrayal of Menelaus and Patroclus: (WARNING: nudity)
(I may or may not have a) taken a lot of pictures of this one statue in particular, and b) redrawn it with my whumpee when I got home.)
Classical art can make great references guys!