Tag: Art
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Rothko vs Mondriaan
Rothko vs Mondriaan The painting (Untitled, 1970) in this photograph must be one of Rothko’s last, if not the last. In February of the same year he took his life. For over 20 years he had worked in his typical style: combinations of horizontal blocks of colour, one above the other. Some of his paintings are of…
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Rothko
Rothko It was during my visit to the Rothko exhibition in The Hague last year that I was reminded of the frescoes by Fra Angelico in the monks’ cells of the convent of S. Marco in Florence (see last week’s post). Rothko had seen them too and had been equally impressed by them. One enters an…
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Convent of S. Marco, Cell 39
Convent of S. Marco, Cell 39 Around 1440 the artist and Dominican friar Fra Angelico, aided by his pupils and assistants, painted 45 frescoes in the cells and corridors of the Convent of S. Marco in Florence. In the Encyclopaedia of the Italian Renaissance (Thames and Hudson 1981) we read about him: “He is one…
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Lingam novelty
Lingam novelty Can an old dismantled water pump and the drainage space around it be regarded as a lingam and yoni? A certain resemblance cannot be denied. The person who has placed the tiny flower in the middle of the pump plate has nicely made his point. For the last 8 weeks I have taken you…
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In all shapes and sizes
In all shapes and sizes The creative presence of Shiva can be felt anywhere in nature, not just in the temples and shrines dedicated to him. A rock can inspire to cut a relief of a lingam and yoni as we see in the photo above, complete with worshipping devotees on both sides. Any smooth…
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Lingam cult
Lingam cult The lingam and yoni is worshipped in thousands of temples and shrines dedicated to Shiva all over India. Devotees come, present flowers and other offerings, do puja, pray and go. Sometimes they bath the lingam in milk, rub it with ashes and other ingredients, pour water over it, load it with flowers and…
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Showing off
Showing off This priest can boast of looking after the biggest lingam and – matching – yoni in Hampi, once the capital of the old Vijayanagar Empire. It looks as if he is suffering under the heavy responsibility on his shoulders. At the Kalinjar Fort in Uttar Pradesh (see earlier post) I once let myself be…
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Lingam and yoni
Lingam and yoni or Shiva and Parvati The blissful union of Shiva and Parvati finds its ultimate expression in the combination of their sexes. In an earlier post you can read a short citation from the Brhaddharma Purana explaining the essence of the lingam and yoni idea. It is the form in which life, creation, the universe, is…
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Shiva and Parvati
Shiva and Parvati In last few weeks’ posts we have identified the creative aspect of Shiva in his ithyphallic representation. But without his female half, Shiva is incomplete and deprived of his creative powers. In the image above, Shiva’s consort Parvati is seated next to him. Together they are the two complementary poles of one…
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Ithyphallic Shiva Nataraj
Ithyphallic Shiva Nataraj In last week’s post we saw the ancient sculpture of an ithyphallic dancing Shiva inside Kalinjar Fort in Uttar Pradesh. Here we have one on a 9th century temple in Bhubaneshvar, Orissa. It is better preserved, with the erect phallus clearly visible. This may be due to its high placement on the…
καιρός remembered 