Laughing in the Garden
There couldn’t be a better time for a laugh than right now. The days are getting shorter and so are tempers. Those of us who have PTSD and all who have suffered trauma can use something to pull us together—to chuckle just because something is funny.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo was a “serious” painter in the professional sense of the word: he did traditional portraits of rich patrons. As a court painter to the imperial Hapsburgs, he amused them with paintings of vegetables, fish and sundry objects that he could ingeniously fashion into pretty good portraits (including Rudolf II—above) without being boiled in a big pot along with the squash and cabbages. He’s kept everyone amused to this day.
If you want easy mirth, nothing does it like paintings of Dutch peasants. In the works of Adriaen Brouwer, and others, they always appear to be having a wonderful if whacky time—even when they should be miserable. They drink, smoke, fight and dance. What do they have to lose?
You can’t miss them as you stroll through the art garden. They’re loud, crude and having the time of their lives, while wealthy, proper people are afraid of living and terrified of dying.
Dana Ellyn’s art is all about laughing when life may be at its worst. In the “Magic Flute,” the Mozart opera, a flute has the power to turn sorrow into joy. The opera is replete with dancing animals, magic bells, loves lost and rekindled…and whatnot. There are threats and darkness, but in the end the sun triumphs over the night and the fraudulent power of hypocrites. A happy ending! Yes, it is sorrow turned into joy. And much laughter. Could there be a better time?
So, showing only one Giuseppe Arcimboldo is like eating one potato chip: impossible. So here is another. Giuseppe not only gives us a laugh in the art garden, but a literal portrait of an actual garden with all the healthy food any royal family could feed on, and flowers too.
When life is beating you up…take a walk through the art garden and listen for laughter. Allow yourself to be lifted above the dark.
“Vertumnus” – Giuseppe Arcimbolo
“Youth Making a Face” - Adriaen Brouwer
“The Magic Flute” Dana Ellyn www.danaellyn.com
‘Autumn” - Giuseppe Arcimbolo