Hello everyone, I’m writing this from the airport, where I’m about to board a flight to Europe. I’ll be starting my trip in Brussels, and if all goes well I’m hoping to visit the Antoine Wiertz museum!
if you’ve never heard of Antoine Wiertz, he’s the grand master of “tasteless” 19th century art. His paintings were made on a massive scale (image below) and would do pretty well as contemporary video-game art designs. I’ve always had a fascination with his aesthetic sensibilities, which favors the grotesque, the exploitative, and the downright gruesome. He’s the kind of morbid wizard whose art always titillates, and nevertheless remains almost whimsical.
Consider, for example, “Napoleon in Hell”. We see a petulant, pouting Napoleon, defiantly staring down the wives and mothers of his victims. Even though it’s a grizzly scene, it’s also a bit comical, maybe even reminiscent of Donald Trump’s infamous mugshot. And if you looks closely at the physiognomy there’s something almost surprisingly modern, reminiscent of Goya.
Anyway, I’m quite literally boarding my flight as I write this, so soon I’ll be able to see for myself what the Antoine Wiertz museum is like. Can’t wait!
Julian