“Lust/Envy” by Jon Wos portrays a brilliant, yet familiar story within this painting. This story is that of jealously among the humankind in its extremities. Due to the lack of scenery, one is forced to lay their eyes upon one of the two men. Some may choose to focus on the bound and gagged man who was seemingly throw onto the floor out of defeat against the stunning figure who is posing in the corner, and yet the angelic figure is not in the center of the drawing but many choose to focus upon him instead. The lack of juxtaposition of the red headed divine being to the simpleton on the floor brings forth incredible symbolism. The fact that the beatific man is far away in the background should indicate unawareness of the being entirely; however, it is still worth more than the man in the foreground creating the almost tangible envy. The said envy can be interpreted in many ways.
Many artists hide meanings within their paintings, and some such as Wos hide images also. At the first glance, one sees two men who foil each other completely in many ways; however, between them in the background of the piece is the very faint outline of a face. This face concludes another form of envy if one chooses to conclude that the outline is secretly praising the angelic being and in turn making the jealously of that being even more powerful. The possible narratives that can be drawn from Wos’s painting is that of an infinite amount, but all contain that of resentment from the defeated character. Others may consider the possibility that the face in the background is the id, the inner demons, and the bound and gagged many is the superego, restricting oneself, and the divine figure is the ego, the self-esteem. There are numerous reasonings for which this painting was created, and the stories that can be concluded from it are absolutely endless.
Color, in many aspects, is more important than the content of a painting. By focusing on darks shades for the background and bright shades for the main subjects the artist makes the prominent attention towards the important parts of the image. Wos perfected his chiaroscuro in his painting creating a more dramatic and potent feel. Overall the chosen colors of browns, deep reds, and whites pull the image, “Lust/Envy,” together in a masterful way. Jon Wos has an amazing technique of portraying beautiful stories within his original paintings of serenity.
No comments:
Post a Comment