THE TEMPEST by Giorgione
“There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.”
Willa Cather
Giorgione, The Tempest, c. 1508, oil on canvas, 83 cm × 73 cm, Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice
When we look at the paintings in the Renaissance period, the theme of the second module, there is rich symbolism included in all these works and we can find the allegorical meaning of the scenes, either mythological or religious. But then Giorgione comes around with its beautiful The Tempest which seems to be inspired by neither. Or at least not an obvious one and that is why many art historians and amateurs alike are trying to find the allegory behind the scene since. And it is this ambiguity which borders on the mystical, which draws my attention to this masterwork of Venetian art. The multitude of symbolism offers many interpretations and in that lies the power of the image, that everybody can come with their own story. I think this was the intention of Giorgione in the first place, his other works contain this mystical element as well, but nowhere is it as profound as here. Giorgione was a musician and it shows in his paintings and especially in The Tempest, because he managed to create a mood more than a visual scene, the meaning of the picture is more lyrical than allegorical, it is about the transient effects of the weather, the sense of incoming storm, all appealing to your feelings in the same way as music might. The most important element here are the colours and his amazing skill with the oil paints creating the imposing landscape, The Tempest is considered the first landscape painting in Western history. It is also a meditation on duality, man and woman, life and death, beginning and end. A lot has been assumed about this painting, including a range of interpretations ranging from pastoral Arcadian, mythological, to biblical. Among all this speculation however, two things are certain, the dominance and beauty of the natural setting – with the impending storm stirring away in the background. Then there are the deliberate motifs associated with the two figures. Even if they were portraits of actual persons, the poses and situations they have been placed in, give them a meaning more than their identity alone. The male is youthful, healthy and handsome. The woman is also youthful, but also has the sparkle of fertility and motherhood, as well as a deep underlying sensuality.
But if we were to allow an allegorical explanation as countless art historians tried, very interesting is the theory of Waldemar Januscak presented in his documentary “Every painting presents a story”. He makes a very strong point with his argument, that the painting handles the lesser known story from Homer’s Odyssey, the tale of Demeter and Iasion and the vengeful Zeus, who struck Iasion with a thunderbolt, cutting his life short.[1] Intriguing is also the explanation from Dr. Frank Stefano, who is not an art historian at all, only an amateur fascinated for many years with “The Tempest”. His conclusion is that it is an original take on the “Rest on the flight from Egypt” and he dedicated several blogs to exploring this theory. One of the interesting points from his research is his focus on the flower in foreground, to which nobody else seems to pay any attention. He talked to several botanists and he found out that the flower is Belladonna, so suggesting that it is Maria with baby Jesus. He is also explaining by length the discovery of another nude female originally in the place of the male figure and how this fits into his theory.[2]
Czech poet Ladislav Novák wrote a poem called “Giorgione’s Tempest” where Meister Eckhart explains its symbolism in a wealthy man’s study. According to him, the man is a shepherd who represents Giorgione and the lady is a woman the painter loves, without hoping his love will be requited. And if I were to choose this story would be the closest to my heart. But in my mind it is not unrequited love, but forbidden love between the artist and a gypsy, and their secret child. The storm on the horizon is symbolizing the oncoming trouble out of such union, and again on another level the oncoming trouble of war, that actually broke out in Venice two years later, in contrast to the miracle of birth. I also like how the woman looks straight at us and if we look at the male figure as he is watching her, we create this triangle and become part of the scene.
So we can see even after 500 years The Tempest does not cease to inspire. Giorgione initiated a new genre called Visual Poesia besides inspiring many artists and non-artists alike. Jan Morris, a Welsh historian, wrote that the picture changed the way she looked at painting. She was fascinated with the subject and “its sense of permanently suspended enigma”, and calls it a “haunted picture”, inhabited by the actual presence of the artist.[3]
Now look at the man in the painting, the sometimes shepherd sometimes soldier, who I think is really the artist himself. He is looking at the woman, already during Giorgione’s lifetime described as a gypsy; and she in turn is looking at us. We are creating a triangle and are drawn into the story and then there is the storm above us “The Tempest” together with it we are forming a compositional tetrahedron. My interpretation story is about the artist dressed as a shepherd, watches his secret gypsy lover and their “love” child. And the oncoming storm represents the trouble brewing on the horizon, but it has a second underlying meaning of an oncoming war threatening the city of Venice (actual war broke out 2 years after finishing the painting) bringing death in its wake and this is put in contrast to the miracle of birth.
My friend said it is a 09/11 warning
and what is your interpretation story…?
[1] Waldemar Januszczak. Every Painting Tells A Story (2003-4 Video documentary)
[2] “Giorgione Et Al…” : Tempesta “Pentimenti” N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2013
[3] Morris, Jan. Pleasures of a Tangled Life. New York: Random House, 1989. Print.p.170
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