THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2009
What's My Favorite Painting?
This beautiful painting is by Italian painter Raphael. The Triumph of Galatea is a fresco and he completed this lovely masterpiece in 1512. It's one of those paintings that I love because of all the extra things going on in the scene. It's taking place in the open water and there are many sea creatures around. There's a nymph being taken by a Triton while a cherub flies by them over the water. Galatea herself is riding a shell chariot and is gazing upwards, perhaps looking at the other cherubs in the heavens. The colors of this painting are muted but the hues seem to vibrate. Galatea's robe is red which is definately a bold color but it's a muted red. The green of the Triton's body is almost seaweed in color. I can see that Raphael used these colors to represent that they were of the sea.
The two reasons this is one of my favorite works is yes, because of the brilliant story it tells and the genius of the painting itself but for me, it's the little cherub hiding behind the cloud in the upper left corner with his quiver full of arrows. He's just sitting there watching....and perhaps smiling as his other cherub friends partake of Galatea's triumph.
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