Simpsons Spoofs: Old Art

Since the last Simpsons art spoof was so popular, let's take a look at some pre-20th Century Simpsons art. This time we'll have a peep at some Italian Renaissance painters (turtle power!) and some influential Dutch artists. Learning is fun! Hurray!

Here we have Bart in the most well known panel "The Creation of Adam" from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling created for Pope Julius II. FYI That isn't the only Simpsonized version of that Sistine Chapel panel, in fact check the end of the Simpsons episode in this post for Homer's Sistine chapel ceiling. Anyway, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni painted the Sistine chapel for 4 years between 1508 and 1512. The ceiling is in the large Papal chapel in the Vatican in which Papal conclaves and other important ceremonies take place. The Sistine Chapel also features the work of other important Italian Renaissance painters including several large tapestries by Raphael.

Which brings us to our second feature. Here are two Simpsons takes on the detail of the cherubs at the bottom of Raphael's painting "Sistine Madonna" (c.1514). Raphaello Sanzio (1483-1520), like Michaelangelo, was an Italian artist during the High Renaissance. He lends his name to one of the 3 High Renaissance ninja turtles (Donatello was the odd man out because he was in the early Renaissance). This detail image has become much more recognizable than the complete original due to it's widespread use in pop culture, greeting cards, coffee mugs, etc.

And now, just to make our High Renaissance ninja turtle triumvirate complete we have Homer as Leonardo Da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man". This famous sketch was named after the Roman writer, architect, and engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio. Da Vinci illustrated his Vitruvian Man from Vitruvius' writings on geometry and human proportions in Book III of De Architectura. The sketch is probably the most recognizable Renaissance image as it has been used for many different kinds of symbols for logos, medical professional, etc. and it's even on the Euro. It is the embodiment of the Renaissance idea of the marriage of art and science. Da Vinci's notebooks are available at Project Gutenberg. Also from Da Vinci we have Homer painting the "Mona Lisa" (Simpson). The painting itself is smaller than you might think (only 77cm x 53cm)and is a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo. The Mona Lisa is owned by the Louvre in France but has actually been stolen twice. In probably the most famous art theft ever, the painting was removed by a museum employee Vincenzo Peruggia who was an Italian patriot who believed the art should be back in Italy. After hiding it for 2 years he tried to sell it to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and was caught. Italians in general agreed with his motives however so he only did a few months in jail for it. The painting was taken again in WWII and moved around. It has also survived several vandalisms as well as aggressive preservation techniques to continue to smile enigmatically at us today.

And last we have three drawings imitating some famous works by Dutch painters from www.limpfish.com (the artist has some pretty neat and funny art, mostly politically and/or socially relevant mash-ups, cool beans):

First, here is Homer as Rembrandt's "Self-portrait". Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn is generally considered one of the most important painters in European art history. He painted during the period known as the "Dutch Golden Age". So many brilliant paintings! I love his landscapes like "Mill", "Stone Bridge" and "Stormy Sea". I generally don't prefer his portraits but I like "Monk Reading". I also love "Philosopher in Meditation" and "Artist in His Studio", the way he uses light and shadow in the indoor scenes is beautiful! It has been suggested the Rembrandt may have had stereo blindness, which would have played havoc with his depth perception but would have allowed him to better adapt the 3D world to a 2D canvas.

Here is a Simpsonized version of Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring"(and here's a version with Lisa instead of Marge). Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) was a Dutch Baroque painter, famous for his vivid and detailed paintings often featuring individuals or scenes from every day domestic life. Baroque art was characterized by dramatic, vivid images using rich colours, intense light and dark shadows. The painting is undated but is considered a Vermeer masterpiece and is often called the Dutch Mona Lisa.

And finally, our most recent feature is Willie Van Gogh, a re-imagining of Dutch painter Vincent Willhem Van Gogh's September 1889 self-portrait (and here's a version with Homer instead of Willie). Van Gogh is was a highly influential Post-Impressionist painter and was the pioneer of the Expressionist style. This painting was one of several famous self-portraits Van Gogh created while in Saint-Rémy de Provence at Monastery Saint-Paul de Mausole sanitarium. He went there after "the unpleasantness" which included stalking Gauguin with a razor, chopping off his own earlobe (probably) and giving it to a prostitute, and all in all going pretty cuckoo although no one knows exactly why. All of the self-portraits from this period show the artist's head from the left (i.e. the side with ear not mutilated) and one of them, "Self-Portrait without beard", was one of the most expensive paintings ever sold, going for $71.5 million in 1998. Some of his most well known works date to this year in his life including what is widely considered to be his magnum opus "Starry Night", painted in 1889 and depicting the view outside his sanitarium window at night using swirls and densely painted impasto. The next year Van Gogh, in a deep depression, walked into a field and shot himself with a revolver, dying 2 days later, with the final words "La tristesse durera toujours" (French: "the sadness will last forever"). Despite the popularity and melodrama associated with his later works, one of my personal favorites is his early work "Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette" (painted in 1885). I guess I'm just a sucker for comedic yet anatomically correct skeleton art.