These Adorable Paintings Will Ease Your Anxiety
Edition #34 - Beauty or terror, no feeling is final
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These Adorable Paintings Will Ease Your Anxiety
A year ago, my mind felt constantly burdened. Frequently overwhelmed with an “information glut”, I constantly judge my actions. And even when working for hours, my productivity waned.
Perhaps I was nostalgic; wanting to go back to simpler times.
An anxious and self-doubting individual. Overstretched, burnt-out.
At that moment, I came across this innocent beautiful painting on Quora, it immediately melted my heart.
The Hard lesson (1884) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
Was this painting a metaphor for that “very moment” and self-realization to not take life so seriously?
I think it was.
I saved the painting on my phone, closed my laptop, downloaded a quirky read, took a sip of wine and went for a bubble bath.
The memory is etched in my heart.
Bouguereau is the same painter who painted Dante and Virgil. It is frighteningly beautiful. A personification of terror indeed in Cappocchio’s eyes.
Bouguereau was obsessed with women’s anatomy yet portrayed them with extreme sensuality, sophistication and grace.
His women’s nudes look ethereal and out worldly.
He also created a wide variety of aesthetically beautiful paintings of children. The children in these paintings look so naïve that they evoke a deep realization of “living life like a child.”
Remember Bouguereau’s feet fetish? He emphasized this again in these paintings. Pretty feet and his ability to capture flesh tones were outstanding.
Don’t miss the soft colors, velvety brushstrokes, rosy cheeks and wispy golden hair. The fabric is lively.
I was fortunate to personally see Childhood Idyll (1900) at the Denver Art Museum.
L’Amour et Psyché, enfants (1890) is a child version of cupid and psyche.
Wings appear delicately through their shoulders and the theme of young love is captured beautifully. The golden curls, silky blue cloth, and the clouds tie all the elements of the painting perfectly together.
It is said that The Story Book (1877) came to life when one of his children died at a very young age.
I’d like to pair these paintings with my favorite quote by Rilke.
Let everything happen to you
Beauty and terror
Just keep going
No feeling is final
If you wish to dive into the world of cuteness, check out his other children’s paintings.
Which is your favorite painting by Bouguereau? Do comment.
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