Danae. Out of acid flux.

I conceived the painting of Danae after visiting Galleria Academia in Venice with Tintoretto’s Pieta, depicting an antique looking arched cave, probably subterranean, and golden shower over the group.
To the legend of Danae: she was locked in subterranean chamber due to bad omen, and Zeus, distantly feeling her grace and beauty, impregnated her by coming down in form of golden shower. The story continues dramatically involving mother and child, further known as Perseus the beheader of Medusa, sent off in unknown direction due to prosecution of the King.
Coincidental similarity? immaculate conception, flight to…unknown territory, miraculously born child destined to conquer Medusa spreading the snakes from her head and thus fearmonering the rest of the peaceful community, as if allegorically finally conquering the snake of sin and filth from Eden who had initiated the human downfall?

Normally I would use live models for any artistic projects, but this time I decided to base it on a photo of myself, as the figure posture on a studio-made photo i have was quite appealing to the eye.

While I was working on a painting, two unexpected phenomena occurred. First, there appeared a landscape I was not planning in advance. I did not think through the composition around the figure before starting, but did not want it to be a house like rest of Danae paintings. After finishing it, I was reading about Hoffman, the writer of fairy-tales born together with Imanuel Kant in the town native to my own family on father’s side of Koenningsburgh, now part of Russia. Apart from having written Nutcracker, he had also written a not known story of Tannhauser, set to opera by Wagner.
Tannhauser is a mienesinger poet, taking part in poetry competition, location of which is….subterranean grotto of Venus, so similar to the one I had depicted.

Further, while painting, I could not get rid of strange effect in lower right corner. The paint would not sit, I was removing, repainting, removing, repainting, nothing helped. In the end it struck me: it looks like an acid burn. The spot had ripped edge, the effect was reminding of Sigmar Polke alchemical experiments on uneven layering of paint, or as artterms call it, “deliberate accidents”.
It was pointing, with invisible hand, to the episode in Hermitage museum, where an evil person threw acid on Rembrandt’s Danae, inburning a spot, about this size, which was hard the restore for 2 decades.

Ohyes, the word FLUX in the title of this blog is reference to Fluxus movement in which Yoko Ono used to start her artlife, because I, as her, love shouting out weird noises as part of Primal Scream therapy.