tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post7974421810132818794..comments2023-12-06T13:31:17.163+00:00Comments on The Painting of Melancholia: Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-23507436711542959162009-07-27T14:48:57.385+01:002009-07-27T14:48:57.385+01:00I note your comments on the gown but think this re...I note your comments on the gown but think this relates to the figure playing being Orpheus, the teacher of Midas (the titian character) Some readings have the player as a younger Apollo, but I don't think that is right - Apollo is doing the skinning! The confusion comes about because Titian has used two versions of the story in one painting. One where Marsyas fails in his challenge and Blackdoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13917019570643578121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-11124396263714996222009-07-27T12:21:36.858+01:002009-07-27T12:21:36.858+01:00The sculpture of "Marsyas II" by Alfred ...The sculpture of "Marsyas II" by Alfred Hrdlicka (an artist whom I am very impressed with) shows a figure who is rebelling against authorities and force! <br />In the Greek mythology the satyr/silen is a Dionysian servant full of fun and sexual desire- the antipode to the Apollinian behaviour- but I don't prefer an interpretation a la Freud!Philine Kleinknechthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18370437261050391305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-21695233307881694922009-07-27T12:04:40.812+01:002009-07-27T12:04:40.812+01:00Thanks for the additional remarks- yes, the myth a...Thanks for the additional remarks- yes, the myth and the painting is beyond any interpretation (unausschöpfbar; concerning discussion about art...). It is interesting that Titian as well as Apollo (playing the kithara) are dressed up in a Titian-red gown- there may be a secret ralationship between them- it is another shade of red than the darker bloody red! One man wears a Phrygian hat. <br />I Philine Kleinknechthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18370437261050391305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-57199605232483201252009-07-27T10:53:22.496+01:002009-07-27T10:53:22.496+01:00Thank you Philine - I could have written so much m...Thank you Philine - I could have written so much more but sorry if I didn't make it clear that the old man with the pensive gesture is Titian. There are many interpretations of the meaning, but one is that nearing the end of his days he is looking back with an artistic melancholy (see Ficino). Marsyas' hubris was that he thought he was better than Apollo and again this may be Titian Blackdoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13917019570643578121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-33995085056375621222009-07-26T22:46:29.237+01:002009-07-26T22:46:29.237+01:00see and read the poem "Apollo and Marsyas&quo...see and read the poem "Apollo and Marsyas" by the Polish author Zbigniew Herbert (1957)- inspired by Tizian's painting!Philine Kleinknechthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18370437261050391305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-4670819871067372462009-07-26T22:33:40.375+01:002009-07-26T22:33:40.375+01:00This is a very good analysis- perceptive and elab...This is a very good analysis- perceptive and elaborated in any aspect! I followed your description and interpretation with great interest, for this Greek myth has irritated and angered me since my schooldays (as we read Herodot, Xenophon, and Ovid) because of its indescibable cruelty- and I never understood/understand the bloody action against Marsyas! The man on the right side sitting in the Philine Kleinknechthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18370437261050391305noreply@blogger.com