A colossal mistake? Art world baffled by 'Goya' masterpiece
(Museo Nacional del Prado/Reuters)Experts say that the the poor technique and difference between other Goya masterpieces cast doubt on The Colossus
For almost 80 years it has been regarded as one of Francisco de Goya’s towering glories. But yesterday it was revealed that The Colossus was not painted by the Spanish master at all, but by an understudy. After a seven-month investigation, experts at the Prado gallery in Madrid came to the reluctant conclusion that the masterpiece was probably the work of Asensio Juliá, one of Goya’s assistants. They said that the painting, which has hung in the Prado for 78 years, was “Goyaesque but not by Goya”.
Experts at the Prado started an investigation last year when José Luis DÍez, the gallery’s curator of 19th-century art, suggested that The Colossus was the work of Juliá after a detailed analysis of the picture. He based his claims on the discovery of the initials A. J. in one corner of the canvas. Yesterday The Colossus was still attributed to Goya, but this may change to “From the school of Goya”. It was uncertain whether Juliá would be acknowleged formally for his work.
Goya experts have been split for years over the authenticity of the painting. In 2001 Juliet Bareau-Wilson, a British art historian, claimed that The Colossus and another work, The Milkmaid of Bordeaux, had been created by others. Her theory was supported by Mrs Mena, who agreed that doubts had existed for some time about both the paintings. The Prado denied the claims at the time and many experts believe the quality of the work means that Goya must have been involved. Nigel Glendinning, a British art historian, doubted that anyone but Goya could have painted the work. He told the Spanish newspaper ABC: “I never said it would be impossible that [someone else] might have intervened in the work of Goya, but the painting is too audacious to be by Asensio Juliá, because of the centrifugal strength of the composition and its iconic power. I hope to be able to see the study and the proofs.” A pioneer of early 19th-century techiniques, Goya is considered to be one of the world’s first “modern” artists, with a penetrating and incisive view of humanity. The Colossus, which is dominated by the figure of a giant who bursts through the clouds to terrify villagers below, was painted during the Peninsular War against France by Britain, Spain and Portugal between 1808 and 1814.
An inventory of Goya’s possessions in 1812 refers to a work called The Giant. Experts claim the that giant represents the Spanish people emerging to expel the French invaders who occupied Spain at the time. Others say that the horrified figures of the people represent the madness of war.
|
|
|
By John Hiscock
Last Updated: 5:21PM GMT 29 Jan 2009
House husbands: Are you man enough?
More and more men are swapping PowerPoint for potty training and embracing the role of the stay-at-home father, says Casilda Grigg.
By Casilda Grigg
Last Updated: 5:02PM GMT 13 Feb 2009
It's 7.30 on a cold winter's morning and three bleary-eyed children are getting ready for school. Alarm clocks are ringing, eggs are frying and the kitchen table is a sea of cereal packets, chewed pencils and exercise books. It's just another frantic weekday morning in a typical British family home, except for one small detail: there's no mother in sight. She left half an hour ago in a sharp suit and a cloud of Je Reviens. This morning, just like any other day of the week, her jeans-clad spouse – aka house husband – is trying to tie shoelaces, pack lunches, blow noses, and get the children out of the house and off to school, without tears, tantrums or mishaps.
Across the land, more and more men are giving up work to become full-time fathers, putting their children's welfare before their professional ambitions, and bucking the trend for selfish career-driven parenting recently criticised by The Good Childhood Inquiry. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that there are 192,000 house husbands in the UK, compared to 119,000 16 years ago.
Some are doing it through economic necessity, others as a positive lifestyle choice. And as the recession starts to really bite, numbers look set to rise further as thousands of redundant men find themselves marooned at home, reliant on their wives' earning power. So fashionable is this new phenomenon that a film is in development, starring Anna Chancellor and John Hannah, about five stay-at-home fathers.
For many fathers who step off the career ladder, the real challenge is not the childcare itself but the isolation. For others it's the small challenges, whether it's doing up the tiny buttons on a toddler's coat, or getting the neck of a jumper stuck on a child's nose. But such blips are of no consequence to the cherished child of the stay-at-home dad. ''What children need is love and boundaries, as well as structure and routine,'' says Dr Frances Goodhart, a consultant clinical psychologist. ''That can be provided on a day-to-day basis by either parent.''
|
|
|
British mother-of-three Laura Watts, who lives in Holland, believes that men excel at childcare but often flounder when it comes to the minutiae of domestic life. ''My hunch is that men are less good at the day-to-day running of the household. It's all those little extras like remembering to send birthday cards or buying the children new shoes."
True though this may be, for many fathers the struggles of multitasking are amply rewarded by the deep closeness they develop with their offspring. But that isn't to say the picture is entirely rosy. Divorce lawyer Vanessa Lloyd Platt has warned of the strain such role swapping can place on marriages. And even when such arrangements are happily consensual, the trade-off can dent a man's confidence, particularly if he feels a loss of kudos.
Perhaps the way forward for a happy, healthy society lies in parents sharing the childcare and the breadwinning, rather than exchanging roles. ''In Amsterdam there are lots of men and women who work part-time so they can spend time with their kids,'' says Laura Watts. ''At my children's school, half the parents picking up their kids are men and they do perfectly normal jobs. Part-time work is built into Dutch society. Now isn't that just wonderful?''
Дата добавления: 2019-09-02; просмотров: 124; Мы поможем в написании вашей работы! |
Мы поможем в написании ваших работ!