Tuesday 14 December 2010

Bite 13: Francisco de Goya - Head of a Dog, 1820-24

Cabeza de un Perro (Head of a Dog), 1820-24, oil transfered to canvas from mural, 134 x 80 cm
"Goya is my favourite artist. His painting Cabeza de un Perro (Head of a Dog) found in the Black Paintings that decorated his house Quinto del Sordo, sums up my understanding of the meaning of art. This dog, struggling against all odds, looks to the right - to the furture - barely keeping his head above the sand, and thus symbolises a struggle for life, in spite of emptiness, humiliation, sadness and age. The image reduces the human condition to the solitude which is essentially ours, using light and an almost empty canvas"
                                                                                            - Marion Lambert
                                                                                  
Source: 
Veronica's Revenge: Contemporary Perspectives on Photography, LAC, 1998.