What Paintings Move You?

A Saturday Prompt...on Sunday

Note: This was the prompt that I intended to publish yesterday before news broke of the U.S. military’s major attack on Iran. I wanted to share it with you today as a brief break from the reckless actions of a lawless White House occupant desperate for distraction.

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One of the upsides of being “stranded” in Chicago last week after a historic blizzard engulfed the East Coast: I had the chance to visit the Art Institute of Chicago, not once but twice. One of the world’s great museums, there are certain paintings there that I return to every time I visit—paintings that transport me, ground me and tell a rich and often mysterious story. These provided a nourishing counterpoint to one of my week’s duties: listening to and writing about Donald Trump’s blizzard of lies and sadism and dark plotting to thwart the people’s will during his so-called State of the Union.

I took the liberty of adding myself in the 1877 painting above, Paris Street; Rainy Day, by Gustave Caillebotte. It’s a massive work—seven feet by nine feet—with figures that are nearly life-sized and a stylish city atmosphere that makes me yearn to join them. Influenced by photography and predating cinematography, Caillebotte directs our eye to the couple walking straight toward us while also allowing us to experience a full cobblestoned landscape as various Parisians traverse the rain-dampened streets.

Seven years later, in 1884, Georges Seurat completed Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, which is set west of Paris along the Seine River and captures a peaceful moment of relaxation. Another massive work that enables you to enter its timeless world—nearly seven feet by over 10 feet—Seurat employs the technique of pointillism which relies on dots of color rather than more typical brush strokes.

There are so many stories here—yes, I’m always amused by the woman with the pet monkey. But no lesser talent than Stephen Sondheim was sufficiently inspired by the painting that he composed Sunday in the Park With Georges, a Pulitzer Prize- winning musical with lyricist James Lapine (premiering exactly 100 years after the painting in 1984). Its opening line, delivered by Seurat: “White: A blank page or canvas. The challenge: bring order to the whole through design, composition, tension, balance, light and harmony.”

I always make a stop in front of Grant Wood’s iconic American Gothic, completed and first exhibited at the Art Institute in 1930. Wood described the stiffly posed figures as “tintypes from my old family album.” The museum notes that the painting was “an instant sensation” and “its ambiguity prompting viewers to speculate about the figures and their story.” Once again, this work transports me to an earlier time less bombarded by the modern world. While some see satire in this rural vision, Wood sought to convey “a vision of reassurance at the beginning of the Great Depression,” according to the museum’s curators.

I also always make a point of drinking in Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s At the Moulin Rouge from 1892-1895, as well as Vincent Van Gogh’s The Bedroom from 1889. Besides the vivid colors, the composition and strong perspective reminds me of two things: One, the story is told by both what you include and what you exclude and, two, how you see and present it—that is, your point of view—determines what importance viewers will perceive. These lessons from the art world are helpful as we confront a lawless regime bent on distorting or denying our capacity to know what’s true.

There are many other paintings that I’d love to share here, but I won’t inundate you now. I’d love to hear from you: What paintings move you? Perhaps you’d like to focus on a single work or a particular artist. Maybe you’d like to share a particular museum or city that you have visited to look at art. Another time I may have to write about Berlin and the German expressionists, whose work leading up to the 1930s feels particularly relevant to the moment in which we are living.

As always, I look forward to reading your observations and the opportunity for this community to learn from each other. Please do be respectful in your remarks. Trolling will not be tolerated.

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