Happy Valentine!

[avrelia]

I got through the lamenting of the untimely demise of “Angel the series”. I was sad, I still wish it lasted one more season at least, but getting into perspective: it is silly to dwell on it for long. So I am moving on – to the Valentine’s Day.

St. Valentine’s Day is still The Weird Custom of Foreign People for me, and has mostly literary associations. It is something crazy Ophelia sang about, it is something from the The Pickwick Papers , not from the real life.

Yet because I am shallow and easily influenced by popular culture, I was thinking about it. After prolonged thinking I decided to tell you a story about something that also has no connection to real life – my crush, no my… what exactly? .. . let’s say ‘pure love’ that has lasted 10 years already. It is kind of perpetual background, most of the time I don’t even remember that it is here. But it is. Who is that translucent image on the background, the hero of my decade-old crush? Look at my icon. He was young and cute so long ago.



Actually I have always named Botticelli my favourite painter, since I was 12. Party because of desire to be different, partly because I liked “The Birth of Venus”.

So what changed? At 17 I read a book. It was biography of Botticelli, but more importantly, it had a lot of pictures. That was it. I fell in love with paintings and the person behind them. Falling in love is an overblown description, yet something in his works touches me deeply, and I don’t know how to say it otherwise. He was an interesting person, very much a child of his epoch, and his city, his Florence. He is also somehow close, relevant to us - more than other his contemporaries. But let me show you.

The Return of Judith
Is she a slayer or a killer?

Venus and Mars

This look on Venus’ face – loving, contemplative, wistful – and so much more. Mars – seems so vulnerable. And isn’t it unusual depiction of Mars? Besides, after last spring this painting looks very Spuffy to me.


St. Augustine
Just look at his hands



This one leaves me stunned me every single time I see it.
Derelitta

Finally, two illustrations to Divina Comedia:

Inferno, Canto XV


Paradiso, Canto XXXVIII

So here it is. Every time I visit Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow I would come to the only Botticelli painting it has, kind of saying “hi”; my desktop wallpaper is currently The Adoration of the Magi , other small things – but I would never ever wanted Botticelli to show up at my door. And not just because the only thing I can do in Italian is to wave my hands expressively.

Comments

Re:

[avrelia.livejournal.com]

I am glad you like it! It was a pleasure to write about it, though I hoped I could do my favourite paintings better justice. By the way, Venus and Mars is in The National Gallery at London, so you are closer to it than I am.

Re:

[the-royal-anna.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, I am in London on Wednesday! I shall make a special trip to see it, and think of you. :)

Re:

[avrelia.livejournal.com]

So I shall see it vicariously. Cool! ;0)