Hucepe de Rivera, , 1642, Oil on canvas, Louvre Museum, Paris, France
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“The most beneficial thing in the Bible’s words is this,’The poor will always be with you,’ and because of them we can always be merciful.” It is part of an epistle novel published in 1912 by American writer Jean Webster. Judy, the protagonist, transcribed the bishop’s sermon he heard at the church into a letter to’Uncle Long Legs’, and Judy expresses his dissatisfaction with the sermon and adds: “The bishop says that, does the poor become any useful livestock?”
The meaning of a note with a bright facial expression, ‘Baeban boy’
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If I get a letter like this from Judy, I will show you the picture instead of replying. This is because the traces of what the rich thought of the existence of the poor remain intact in the old paintings. First, let’s take a look at the 1642 work of the Spanish painter Huseppe de Rivera (1591~1652). A boy with bare feet in old clothes stands against the open sky. At a glance, he is a poor boy. Besides, the feet are curved. The boy seems to have a’varus foot’ disorder, where his feet bend inward. It’s probably hard to walk without long crutches over your shoulders. But the boy reveals his teeth and laughs. I don’t seem to care about the double trouble of poverty and disability. The painter Rivera was mainly active in Naples, Italy, which was ruled by Spain at the time of this painting, and seems to have been quite influenced by the optimistic attitude of the boy I met there. It is also true to see that the boy’s appearance is dignified by drawing with the point of view underneath, and the wide and expansive landscape that serves as the background for portraits of nobles and royalty is placed behind the boy. Perhaps that’s why Eun was usually introduced in Korea as a painting expressing respect for’a human being who affirms life even in difficult circumstances’. However, if you think about it a little more, there is a strange point. The vertical size is 164cm. It’s almost a person tall figure. Was Rivera painting this gigantic picture with one human love that simply wants to record the lush vitality of a poor boy? Rivera lived in the 17th century. Before the modern era, when painting as a pure hobby appeared, paintings were only drawn when there was an orderer. In that context, it means that there was a person who asked Rivera for a portrait of a poor boy with a disability. Different scholars have different opinions about who the client was. There are some theories that it is the Duke of Medina Derastores, the governor of Naples, or the Duke of Stiliano of Naples, and there are claims that it was commissioned by a Flemish merchant. Anyway, only one thing is clear. It is true that no matter which of the three ordered them, they were all rich. If so, why would the rich man dare to order the money to order. This is because the existence of the poor was the’insurance’ that guaranteed heaven to the rich. In Matthew 19:24 it is written: “It is easier for a camel to get out of a needle hole than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” It means that he was nailed to’the rich cannot go to heaven’. What was the feeling of rich Westerners in those days every time they read this verse? I am afraid to go to hell after death, but it is difficult to give up the money that guarantees the comfort of this world. It must have been a dilemma. At this time, the church came up with a light solution to the rich. ‘God sees our actions, and if we give alms to the poor, we can go to heaven.’ In other words, if you give out a little of the money you have, there is no problem. Fortunately (?) the poor were all around, so the rich were able to give them charity as if they were buying tickets to heaven. The pride of doing a good job and the pride of’I am a good person’ came as a bonus. And I left the evidence as a picture and hung it at home. Rivera’s is also one of those’proofs of good conduct’. On the note the boy held in his left hand, it was clearly written in Latin, “If (you) want to be loved by God, please give me alms.” At the time, the only people who could read Latin were well-educated upper classes. The client of this picture would have wanted to show off that he was realizing the contents of the note well.
Beggar boys who decorated the walls of the Electoral Palace
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The same is true of the genre paintings by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1618~1682), who worked in Seville, Spain at the same time as Rivera. In Murillo’s paintings, beggar boys with bare feet and rags appear. They are eating grapes and melons ravenously as if starving for days. The peels of the finished melon are scattered around the floor, but they don’t seem to have any intention of stopping eating. But how could these boys be able to eat expensive fruit? Perhaps there was a rich man who presented a basket of fruit on the left side of the picture and watched with warm eyes as the boys eat fruit. Art historian Hidehiro Ikegami, a professor at Tokyo University of Art and Design, defined the genre paintings of Rivera and Murillo as “a painting drawn to naturally reveal to God and other citizens that the rich man himself, who requested and bought the work, is compassionate.” In fact, silver decorated the walls of the palace of Elector Max Emanuel, who was governor of the Netherlands in 1698, after passing through several aristocratic rooms. Considering Professor Ikegami’s statement that “the principle is that there are no pictures drawn without thinking about the necessity,” it is likely that the reason Elector Max Emanuel needed this painting was because he thought it was helpful for’after death relief’.
Bartholomew Esteban Herd, , 1645, Oil on canvas, Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany
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Of course, for whatever reason, there will be no doubt that the rich are better off giving charity to the poor than turning away. If so, how about this case? What if you were asked to become a’sculpture’ to poor people who desperately need money on condition of a large sum? In fact, until the 19th century, English aristocrats used to hire living’human statues’ to decorate their gardens to a higher level. How did it happen? Since ancient times, British nobles and rich men have spent long-term study abroad with their children in advanced countries such as Italy. British brethren used to explore the ruins of ancient Rome, appreciate works of art, and then return home stained with classical ideals. And he wanted to recreate what he had learned while designing his own home and garden in England. In their opinion, a garden that was just beautiful was slender. In order to create a proper garden, a device was needed to express the impermanence of life and the fleetingness of wealth in the depths of the bush. That was the’human sculpture’. In 1738, British aristocrat and politician Charles Hamilton (1704-1786) struck the following conditions, asking for a’human sculpture’ to live in his garden, Paines Hill, in Surrey, England. “I am looking for someone who will be a human statue for 7 years. A copy of the Bible, glasses, a rug for your feet, a cushion for a pillow, an hourglass, water to drink, and food are provided free of charge. You must wear clothing woven from camel hair, and under no circumstances should your hair, beard, nails, or claws be shaved. Also, you may not go outside Hamilton’s garden or mix words with a servant.” How many people will endure these harsh conditions? However, there were always overflowing people who couldn’t afford to cover everything. They walked on their feet to the gardens of the rich and turned into statues by’crying and eating mustard’. There is a rare painting that can be used to guess how the’human sculpture’ lived. The act of installing’human statues’ in one’s own garden also spread to European countries outside of England. Johan Baptist Schmidt(1768~1819) left it as a work called.
Finally, even the’human statue’
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Johan Baptist Schmidt, , 1795, painted in sepia, Hamburg Art Museum, Germany.
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The’Human Sculpture’ in the painting lives like a hermit in a garden in Plotbeck near Hamburg, Germany. On the table of the hut, which was going to fall, only symbols representing the impermanence of life, such as skulls, hourglasses, and books, would have been barely placed. The old man who just came out from inside the hut where the light is not well lit is looking like a dazzling hand to cover the sunlight. However, this relaxation was allowed only when there were no people around. If the employer comes to Floatbeck with a guest, he will immediately take a ponderous pose and not move. Employers liked to show off their human statues to others, so both posture and outfit had to be undisturbed. If the employer didn’t do what he wanted, he could have breached the contract and missed the promised money. This is because the contract stipulates in the contract that the rich must hand over money after work to prevent the human statue from giving up halfway. It is said that the poor who were hired by the rich as human statues had to live completely isolated and unhumanly for the contracted years. What if Judy, the main character, saw these pictures? He must have been embarrassed because he had spoken’uncomfortable truth’ with his mouth. The poor in the picture are not very different from the useful livestock of the rich. Sometimes it is a tool to express one’s compassion under all heavens and as a key that opens the door to heaven. Sometimes with expensive accessories that will upgrade your garden to a more serious place of thought. Poor people were like’all-round keys’ to the rich. The same is true now. When the election season comes, those who hold the money prepare to run for the run, and they dare to seek out the old market and the village. Then, they tinker with buying tteokbokki or sundae, saying that they will count the lives of the poor and marginalized. Of course, the photographer must be accompanied by this time. Why are they like this? This is because the majority of poor voters are the tools that will bring them power, the key to guaranteeing Yeouido. At this time, the poverty and common people’s play that they awkwardly put on their bodies can be said to be the best accessories for the election season. These photographs pouring out during the election season today will be evidence that will allow future generations to know how those in possession of money and power have used the poor. As we see the paintings of Rivera and Murillo and Schmidt.
▶ Lee Yoo-ri. I wrote books in the field of art, etc. Tie the’Woman in Lee Yuri’s Painting’ serialized on Saturday I made it. This time, I will try to reveal the various levels of power relations operating in human society through paintings, and deal with the absurdity arising from this. Serialized once every three weeks.
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