The Seven Deadly Sins are classic expressions in Western Christian culture that encapsulate the seven evil deeds of mankind. Our most intuitive understanding of the Seven Deadly Sins begins with David Finch's Seven Deadly Sins movie. The story is very exciting and exciting, making people feel the sin and weakness of human beings from the image.
The art of painting is also a kind of art that can intuitively bring people feelings and excitement. Today, Xiaoyu will start with you through Western paintings to see how art history expresses the Seven Deadly Sins.
The image of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the decisive moment of temptation, is perhaps the most representative of the Seven Deadly Sins. The first seven deadly sins began in the field of religion, and artists were the first to express this sin in religious themes.
Adam and Eve
In early Christianity, sin was considered a violation of divine law, and individuals believed that certain actions would damage the relationship between man and God. These are all grouped into a series of vices—desire, gluttony, greed, laziness, pride, anger, and jealousy—also known as the "Seven Deadly Sins." The ethical struggle between evil and virtue is fertile ground for artistic imagination. Artists began to focus on depicting human errors in their work.
Of course, examining religion is also about looking at everyday life. An attempt was made to examine "complex theological ideas and depictions of everyday acts of sin that blur the lines between religious and secular art." As society became more secular, the representation of these fables became less popular. Artists also gradually began to shift the sin of desire to the expression of everyday subjects.
Hogarth's "Fashionable Marriage"
William Hogarth's "Marriage Pattern" series is particularly typical in expressing the everyday nature of this sin. After the success of his subsequent moral stories, The Progress of the Prostitute and the Prodigal Son, The Marriage Pattern satirized arranged marriages. In the painting, the newlyweds are exposed as a "convenient couple", the two get up in the morning to meet in the living room, and at night they each do unspeakable things (desire) with others.
The house was in chaos, chairs had been hit, and bills had not been paid. The picture shows the Viscount tired, probably spent the night in a brothel, because he had a large black spot on his neck, which was a sign that he was infected with syphilis. The pet dog sniffed the lady's hat he had tucked in his pocket, which was further evidence of his adultery. The Viscountess was drinking tea as a person, which represented her own independent existence, while her lazy posture and untidy demeanor indicated her own infidelity. In addition to criticizing their greedy habits, there are other symbols associated with other vices, such as the broken sword in a fight (anger) and their satisfaction with the dirty family (laziness).
Augustus, Past and Present, No. 1
In Augustus's painting Past and Present, in which he was unfaithful to women in 1858, multiple symbols are hinted at: first, the wife lies at the feet of her husband: this is a literal translation of the "fallen woman". Although in Victorian times, men had mistresses, communicating with women was seen as a reprehensible crime. In this painting, the husband holds a letter revealing her extramarital affair and prints a stamp on the miniature portrait of her extramarital lover. Behind the children, a collapsed house of cards (the fallen cards also appear in Hogarth's paintings) is displayed, balanced in a book by Balzac, who is known for depicting adultery.
The painting on the left side of the wall depicts Adam and Eve expelled from the Garden of Eden: Original Sin. In an extension of this biblical story, an apple is cut in half. Half rotted on the floor (representing the wife) and the other half were stabbed in the heart with a knife (representing the betrayed husband).
Augustus, Past and Present, No. 2
Augustus, Past and Present, No. 3
The second painting, Past and Present, depicts two poor daughters orphaned and living in a cold attic, while the third, Past and Present, depicts a mother, now destitute and forced to hide under the arches of Adelphi.
Jane Steen, "The Debauched Family"
Jane Steen's The Debauched Family, created in the 1660s, paints a comedic picture of sinful overeating, overconsumption, and binge-eating, with characters indulging in excess food, drink, and sex. The painting is based on the artistic tradition of Dutch moral painting, often in a more relaxed way. Steen depicts his mother being pickpocketed while asleep in a drunken coma, while the owner of the house has sex at the other end of the table. While they were distracted, a fire accidentally ignited the next door, the dog was eating a plate of meat, and the maid (holding the necklace she had stolen) was entertaining a violinist. The real ominous fate hangs over this reckless family like a barrel filled with symbolic objects. There is a clapping board that warns of infectious diseases such as the plague, while birch branches represent justice and punishment.
In the next issue, we'll continue with the Seven Deadly Sins in works of art.