Color Buzz

Travel Series: Fine Art in Ghent, Belgium

By Michele Coppin

If you enjoyed Monday’s post about the architectural beauty of Ghent, then you might also find today’s post interesting as well. One of Ghent's main attractions for tourists and art historians is St. Bavo's Gothic Cathedral. With its 22 altars and mixture of marble and oak, St. Bavo’s is home to the world famous polyptych "The Adoration of the Lamb" also known as "The Mysterious Adam's Apple.”

This Ghent altar piece is one of Belgium's greatest treasures and one of the world's marvels. This monumental master piece (12 feet x 17 feet) is the finest example of Northern Renaissance painting, replete with disguised  mystical and overt Christian symbolism woven into realistically portrayed  figures and landscapes. Unlike the Italians, Northern painters lacking antiquity for inspiration turned to nature which they embraced in all its detail - inventing an early form of hyper realism.

Painted by the Van Eyck brothers in 1432, this exquisite painting consists of 24 compartmented scenes featuring Christ, Mary, St. John the Baptist, angels, bishops, saints, martyrs, Adam and Eve. The imagery is full of symbolism and double meaning.

Day of the Dead

By Michele Coppin

Friday’s Project Series post centered on Mexico’s festive and colorful Day of the Dead. This celebration gets underway during the last week of October, when the streets are strewn with colorful papel picado, or paper flags, while town squares and cemeteries are decorated with wreaths of bright yellow, orange and deep, purple marigolds.



Markets are full of unusual sweets such as festooned calaveras, ornate sugar skulls, and garish, little calacas, skeletons in fancy dress sitting on coffins with defiant grins.



On street corners, large paper Mache skeletons greet passersby, beckoning them with a drink.



Portraits and effigies of the popular Catrina figure, a female dandy calavera created by Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada are present everywhere – in store windows, banners and billboards like this one made out of dried beans and corn:



As November approaches, cities become alive with parades and the buzz of one of the biggest celebrations of the year for Mexicans. Because it is so close to Halloween, The Day of the Dead is sometimes confused with the pagan American holiday. However, the Mexican Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, is not a dark holiday or one that harps on fear or death. The occasion is festive rather than morbid, and death is laughed at. It focuses on the idea that death is simply a part of life. It is a way to honor with both mourning and celebrating friends and relatives who have passed.

Families make altars and place ofrendas, offerings of food, candles, incense, and flowers alongside the photo of the departed.

The Day of the Dead coincides with the Catholic holidays of All Saints Day and All Souls Day, the first and second of November.

The multitude of the holiday's images of skeletons and sugar skulls may be a little surprising – these images are not meant to be frightening, they are reminders that death is a part of life and Mexicans face it with a brave smile.

The night of November 1st, the celebrations come to a climax with a mass, performances and even fireworks. Everyone comes together in this unique atmosphere; mariachis strumming guitars, priests mingling with little devils and baby skeletons and boisterous sexy Catrinas.

The whole night is aglow with color and noise; the sparkle of candle light, the warm bonfires, golden yellow, flamboyant orange wreaths, and garlands, singing, laughter and prayers. But this evening is especially alive with the joyous and sometimes bittersweet remembrance and gratitude for the departed who blessed our lives.

The Day of the Dead is also celebrated in art – like in these 2 paintings by Mexican painter Diego Rivera, who captured his country dichotomy of the spiritual and the grotesque.

Combining the Traditional and Modern in Maastricht

By Michèle Coppin

I love the contrast of old and new – antique furniture and modern art, contemporary and classic design – each style enhancing the other.

In the glorious city of Maastricht in the Netherlands, interior architects and designers have created wonderful spaces, successfully combining history with modern trends.

Maastricht, one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands sits on both sides of the Meuse River (Maas in Dutch) in the province of Limburg, near the Belgian and German borders.

It is a beautifully preserved city with many styles of architecture, lovely squares dotted with charming statues, gorgeous boutiques, delicious restaurants and several large universities. Maastricht is also very famous for its wild winter Carnival, its rich history and vibrant culture. Each year, Maastricht also hosts the world famous TEFAF arts and antiques fair.

The city of Maastricht has 24 churches. Over the years, the disaffected ones were used as bicycle depots, storage spaces, or were abandoned. Rather than letting them disintegrate, officials have restored these giant edifices into unexpected jewels.

Built in the 13th century, the Eerste Minderbroederskerk – or the First Franciscan Friars Gothic church – has been turned into the current archive center for the Limburg Province.  It serves as a library with researchers quietly reading among the stacks and as an art gallery with a variety of modern sculptures greeting you at every corner.

The Dominican church from the same period has become a magnificent bookstore.

The most spectacular however, is the former Kruisheren cloister.

Dating back to the 15th century, this church and its adjoining buildings have been transformed into a hotel.  The monks’ quarters were made into luxury rooms, and the nave into a restaurant with a mezzanine. The red wine bar is intimate and comfortable, despite the high ceilings and the otherwise austere surroundings.

The manager sits in a glass office suspended over a copper, tunnel-like door.

This interior was created by the internationally renowned interior designer Henk Vos. Modern art and antique sculptures contrast with the stained glass windows and the frescoes on the ceilings, a truly magical effect celebrating mankind's creativity over time.

So try to mix, match and contrast styles and time periods – it really works!

Turkish Delights

By Michèle Coppin

Spring is the time for renewal and this season, new styles are coming from exotic lands such as Turkey.

With a tradition of unique decorative arts, the Turkish culture, formerly the Ottoman Empire (1299-1923), is a treasure trove of divine inspiration. Arts and crafts were molded by its rich history and religion—Islam.

Islamic art varies hugely from Western art, primarily influenced by the Koran. In this Islamic tradition, depicting human form in art is forbidden. Therefore, Turkish or Ottoman art relies on the pure balance of color, line and rhythm in geometric patterns and designs. Rugs, tapestries, glass work, metal sculptures, mosaics and paintings all share similar characteristics of precise detail, harmony and elegance.

Turkey is also known for its famous blue Iznik ceramics, which are decorated with abstract and intricate patterns of floral and fauna designs. Ornamental square, rectangular, hexagonal and triangular tiles still adorn palace walls.

Iznik pottery melds form and function beautifully.

 
The colors used in this art form are blues, viridians, reds and golds. Touches of green pull these colors together and balance the red and the blue perfectly.

                   
      Dazzle 4005-10C            Berry Blush 1004-1A         Salamander 6001-8B

These colors and patterns are becoming more trendy. I have even spotted them in a window display on my street!

If you would like to expand your knowledge of Turkish history and art, I recommend one of my favorite novels, My Name is Red  by Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk.

The book is about the Ottoman Empire and the influence of art. The story follows the murder of a painter in 1591. In each chapter, the perspective and narration changes, even to such unexpected ‘characters’ as a coin, a dog, and even the color red! This beautifully written novel is a true work of art, full of color, history and suspense. Let me know what you think!

The Little Garden of Paradise

By Michele Coppin

When gardens spring to life, I am reminded of one of my favorite Medieval paintings, "The Little Garden of Paradise," by an anonymous German painter known as the Upper Rhenish Master. For me, this precious little masterpiece is a delicate, elegant and colorful poem, but for the people in the early 15th Century, it was a prayer and an homage to Mary. 

This tiny painting (26.3 cm x 33.4 cm) dating from the year 1410 shows details of a past world;  the corner of a garden within castle walls. This painting shows a pictorial antidote to the hardships of the time stricken by war, pestilence and famine.

The first gardens in Western Europe dated back to Antiquity, but they disappeared with the collapse of the Roman Empire and the subsequent chaos of the Barbarian invasions. Eventually, monasteries planted gardens in their cloisters for medicinal herbs and spices. In the Middle Ages, aesthetic gardens were very rare and reserved for nobility.

Medieval paintings were usually influenced by religion. This painting of paradise, however, is a charming mixture of botany, zoology and religious iconography complete with the Virgin Mary, Jesus, saints, an archangel, a devil and a dragon.

More than 20 species of plants have been identified, including symbolic flowers such as lilies for purity, violets for modesty, roses for virginity and primrose, which in German means "Himmels schlussel" or “key to heaven.”

Ten species of birds have also been identified including great tit, oriole, bullfinch, robin, woodpecker, waxwing, hoopoe and chaffinch.

The signs, allusions and symbols in this painting stand for concepts that represent paradise, as well as a growing awareness of nature, a first step on the long road to modernity.

Celebrate Holi

By Michèle Coppin

A few years ago while in Varanasi, India, I was advised not to leave the hostel because of a potentially wild Hindu festival. However, my curiosity won and I ventured out anyway. Within seconds, I was chased down the street and surrounded by a band of howling teenagers who gently covered me in colored powder. What started out as a scary outing turned into the most surreal, poetic and tender experience. This was my first introduction to Holi.

                                          

Holi is a joyous and colorful festival that ushers in the beauty of springtime. The holiday takes place each year on the full moon in February or March, predominantly in Northern India, Holi originally began as a farmer’s festival to mark the first wheat harvest, but today it is linked to several Hindu legends, which provide the inspiration for key elements of the festivities. 

                    

My favorite tells the story of Krishna, the dark blue skinned Hindu god who was jealous of his lover Radha's fair complexion. When Krishna complained to his mother, she suggested he apply different colors to Radha's face in order to change her appearance - which he did - and thus began a new and colorful tradition.

                             

On the eve of the festival, there is a huge bonfire made of dried leaves and branches left over from the winter. The purging of these elements signifies the cleansing of all things past, thereby making way for new beginnings. The next day, the festival of colors reenacts Krishna's playful prank as throngs of people douse and smear each other with colored powders. In some cases, the powders are mixed with water and sprayed from water pistols or plastic bottles.

The streets are filled with dancing, color-covered people swaying to music. Women's colorful saris are stained with indigo, fuchsia, vermilion red, golden yellows and viridian greens. The color of everyone’s skin is intensified by the streaks of ochre, jade, turquoise, and teal.

                          

The colored powder, or gulal, was originally made from dried seeds from tropical flowers and dried silt from river beds. Now however, synthetic dyes are used in the form of pigments. Sometimes, fine Mica dust is added for a glittering effect.

This year, Holi falls on March 11. Like Carnival in the West, Holi is associated with a loosening of social restrictions normally associated to caste, sex, status and age and everyone is equal for this joyous day.

Its Party Time!!!

By Michèle Coppin

                

Time to paint your body, wear a mask, stick feathers in your hair, grab a drum and go dancing in the streets! February is the month of carnivals and all over the world, people celebrate life with fantastic parades, music, dance and wildly-colorful costumes.

                    

This festival of fun, also know as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, finds its roots in the Pagan celebrations of the ancient Greeks and Romans. However, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII made it a Christian holiday, and placed it on the calendar just before Lent so all the debauchery would be finished in time to fast and pray. The holiday evolved into a massive celebration of indulgences—the last chance for fun before the 40 days commemorating the Passion of Jesus, ending with Easter.

Each country adds its own flare to the celebration, but all parades display explosions of color and sound. The colors of Carnival are bright, saturated and cheerful—a nice break from the dreariness of winter.

                

In any Mardi Gras parade you would find gold, silver, lemony yellow, aqua, lime green, turquoise, deep red, vermilion, brilliant purple, lively orange and hot pink. Each of these colors are intense and exaggerated and they mix together in joyful swirls of dance as the costumed party-goers dance down the street.

             

Whether you like the elegance of Venice, the wildness of Rio and New Orleans, or the eccentric atmosphere of Belgium, the colorful celebration is magic!

This year, Mardi Gras falls on February 24 - don't forget the confetti!