Richard Wawro, 2279.
Rembrandt, The Mill, c. 1650, Oil on canvas, 34 1/2 x 41 1/2 in. (87.5 x 105.5 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington
Jurate Macnoriute
Presence of Time in Painting of Mentally Ill and Mentally Healthy Artists
Not only illusion of the third
dimension is brought to existence in two dimensional arts, but also the fourth
dimension -- time -- is constituted there too. In article
Time and Space in Painting I
analyzed time's dependence on picture's space and came to conclusion that
direction of slip of time in picture often coincides with slip of glance of
viewer. In other articles analyzing art of mentally ill and mentally healthy
artists I revealed that
representation of space by mentally ill and mentally healthy artists is direct
opposite: space of insane artists is open though not deep, their space as if
jerry-built from unbecoming fragments. Space of sane artists is indiscrete as in
nature. Let us go over time's
appearance in art of insane and sane groups of artists.
For analysis I chose autistic artist Richard Wawro's picture 2279 depicting rockbound coast with sitting on it white birds, sea and sky with sun or moon near horizon, clouds and six flying birds. Nearest sitting birds and their babies shown in very sensitive way. Rocs have no weight and upsurge upwards. As if rule direction of waters' weight in pictures of autistic artists is from the right to the left, sky is open, and objects (birds, clouds, sun) linger in sky. Sun almost is in geometric centre of picture. If we cover over black dab at the right on horizon signifying as if ship or other detail, the picture loses nothing. That denotes that the whole of painting is not strong enough. Near rocks bring viewer's glance into picture, what denotes that start time is in foreground below. In sky flying up to viewer birds show other direction of time, but eventually both directions slip along coast's line and horizon to indistinct depth. Hereby in near distance is the past, in far distance is the future.
If we compare Wawro's picture 2279 with Rembrandt's Mill, we must state that Mill has the perfectly strong whole. From top and left moving to the right the space is closed by dark clouds. The third part of the right side of picture has open outlet. For balance the left bottom side has also illusion of openness. Thus openness delicately given across line connecting the lower left corner with the middle of left side of picture. More drastic case of diagonal openness we saw in samples of contemporary Colombian painter William Pineda. Thus partial openness of Rembrandt does not upset harmony of painting. Rembrandt's time as I stated in earlier articles goes from far parts of picture to foreground, it is contrariwise as in image of Richard Wawro suffering from autism.
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Richard Wawro, 2279. |
Rembrandt, The Mill, c. 1650, Oil on canvas, 34 1/2 x 41 1/2 in. (87.5 x 105.5 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington |
For example of paranoiac picture I took Salvador Dali's Leda Atomica. There we see similar attitude as in art of Wawro. On the podium the naked woman sits and communicates with the swan. The scrappy podium and figures do not put themselves together into united formation, but they are desultory and plastically unconnected. They are also transparent as if tracery all through blue water and yellow sky are seen. By their extent this main group stays viewer's glance for a short time, and through gaps among details the glance is pushed to depth of picture, to horizon. Suspiciousness of visible, penetration behind objects and jostling to nothingness -- such representation of illness paranoia.
In a bit similarly planned picture of mentally healthy artist Michelangelo Madonna Doni we see inverse effect. The past is in background, the present in foreground. Main figures also are motley, but they form compact group and stay viewer's glance on it for a long time.
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Salvador Dali, Leda Atomica, 1949 |
 Michelangelo, The Doni Madonna. 1503-1504. Oil on panel. Uffizi Gallery, Florence |
This same effect is noticed in comparison of Munch's The Day After (Edward Munch, The Day After, 1895, 104 x 179 cm, oil on canvas) and Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lecture (The Anatomy Lecture of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, 1632, Oil on canvas, 169,5 x 216,5 cm, Mauritshuis, The Hague). Munch's past, tippled bottles on the near table; the present -- the spent woman lying on the bed further. Time slips to depth. Rembrandt's object of attention, the dead body, the future of everybody, lies in the lower part of picture.
 Vincent van Gogh, Village Street and Steps in Auvers with Figures, oil on canvas, 49.8 x 70.1 cm. Auvers-sur-Oise, late May, 1890 |
 P.Cézanne, Maison et arbres, 1890-94; House and Trees, oil on canvas, 65.2 x 81 cm (25 5/8 x 31 7/8 in), The Barnes Foundation, Merion, Pennsylvania |
Comparison of van Gogh and Cézanne's landscapes also gives similar result. Attention of viewer is pushed forwards distantly without stopping on any object in van Gogh's landscape Village Street and Steps in Auvers with Figures. Consequently, van Gogh's future is somewhere far where horizon is. Vincent van Gogh as it is known from his biographical data suffered from several mental illness. His time runs fast and it confirms his mania.
Attention of viewer is kept on objects by Cézanne, as you see in his Maison et arbres. Cézanne's time is as if stopped and it allows for viewer to inspect every detail of objects.
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V. van Gogh, Flowering Plum Tree (after Hiroshige), Oil on canvas, 55 x 46 cm, Paris, September-October, 1887. |
Ando Hiroshige, Plum Estate, Kameido, 1857, From "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo"; Woodblock print, 13 1/4 x 8 5/8 in. |
If we return to case of Hiroshige and van Gogh Flowering Plum Tree, we see that Hiroshige stops time on image of tree in foreground. The bright sight in distance as if the past slowly obtruding the present -- branches of the plum tree for viewer's inspection. The table of pure red color with inscription at the left strengthens the opinion that foreground is in later time zone than background.
Vincent van Gogh in Flowering Plum Tree (after Hiroshige) upraises viewer's glance and together invites to depth. His plum tree is as if obstruction for viewing main object blooming trees in distance.
Here we see conversion of main object from Hiroshige's tree in foreground to van Gogh's trees in background. We see also paradox: mentally healthy artists make deep space and push viewer's glance from far objects to near, mentally ill artists do flat space and push viewer's glance to depth.
Earlier my analysis of triptych St. Joan in wilderness of Giovanni da Paolo in article Time and Space in Painting shows that in Gothic epoch time's direction from foreground to background was applied. Consistency of this fact is explicable by another my research Stylistic Closeness Between Mentally Ill and Gothic Arts.
This same effect of pushing viewer's glance to depth and upwards we see in works of art of Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis suffering also from mental illness. From fragile happiness he often leads to eternal anxiety.
Hence time came to summarize results of this research and to gauge most important conclusions:
In pictures of mentally ill artists start time is in foreground, finish time in indistinct depth on horizon. Near figures do not put themselves together into united formation, but are desultory and plastically unconnected. Main object is moved to depth.
Time in pictures of mentally healthy artists slips from far parts of picture to foreground. Main figures form compact group and stay viewer's glance on it for a long time. Attention of viewer is kept on objects.
Slip's speed is different in both groups. Time in pictures of the mentally ill runs faster than in ones of the mentally healthy.
All articles
Introduction to Art of Mentally Ill and Healthy People
Mental Illnesses. Short Review
Art Testing for Mentally Ill and Mentally Healthy People
Stylistic Characteristics of Art of Mentally Ill Patients and Mentally Healthy People
Anti-weight of Depicted Objects as One From Two Supreme Criterions Diagnosing Mental Illness
The Drawing Test for Individuals Suffering Mental Illness
The Drawing Test for People not Diagnosed With Mental Illness
Diagnostic Example. Self Analysis
Stylistic Closeness Between Mentally Ill and Gothic Arts
Stylistic Characteristics of Criminals Art
Art Styles, Directions, Movements and Mental Illnesses
Presence of Time in Painting of Mentally Ill and Mentally Healthy Artists
Conclusive Result of Research on Art of Mentally Ill and Healthy Artists
Copyright © 2004, Jūratė Macnoriūtė
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