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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/2207100
The history of British Rock Music is as fascinating and entirely as worthy of study as any other cultural medium. It charts the shifts in society from the 1950s onwards. In my painting, I’ve illustrated significant factors in its history, such as the import of blues albums from the US and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. And I’ve shown some of the means of listening to music – the radio, Dansette record players, and cassette tapes.
Rock music is one of Britain’s most dynamic industries. It’s a sonic economic success story of global proportions. So as well as my favourite bands and artists as well as other influential acts, you’ll find references to various other parts of the British music industry, From record labels to Marshall amplifiers and all manner of stuff to interest guitar-freaks. You’ll find references to lyrics, album covers, history, some universal icons, publications, and people. Some you’ll know – The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple. And some perhaps you won’t – Julian Cope, Nick Drake, Ozric Tentacles, The Cult. Of course, I couldn’t include everyone and everything, so I’ve tried to show things that cover the spirit of most genres and styles of rock, inevitably with an emphasis on my favourites.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_Devouring_His_Son
According to the traditional interpretation, it [the painting] depicts the Greek myth of the Titan Cronus (in the title Romanised to Saturn), who, fearing that he would be overthrown by one of his children, ate each one upon their birth. The work is one of the 14 Black Paintings that Goya painted directly onto the walls of his house sometime between 1819 and 1823.
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Note: this piece is also referred to as the "Paint-Makers Plight"
It was produced as an ad for Johnson's Paint in 1941, and likely doesn't have an official name. More info here.
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We see an elegant beauty focused on a letter as she walks in high geta in light rain. The design creates a clever comparison with Ono no Komachi–a celebrated poet of the Heian (9th c.) court, as well as a woman of legendary beauty. The theme of “Seven Komachi“ relates to the famous nana (seven) legendary acts of Komachi (ca. 825-ca. 900), and variations on this theme were used as inspiration by ukiyo-e artists since the time of Harunobu.
Here we see an early 19th century beauty holding her partly open umbrella against the rain, focused on the letter she holds in her hand. Although it is not open, we can sense the importance of the letter, which must surely be a love letter. The fugitive purple on her umbrella is completely unfaded, and the light blue on the flowing stream on the lower part of her kimono is also extant. The orange lead (tan) on the cartouche has oxidized, and flowers surround the the cartouche in a springtime burst of pink.
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Ono-no Komachi was a 9th century poetess famous for her beauty. Her life inspired seven significant noh plays, each reflecting a period in her life. The last, “Sotoba Komachi” or “Grave-post Komachi,” shows her as an old beggar woman sitting on the fallen post and regretting the passing of her beauty. Yoshitoshi conveys this famous scene with a melancholy mood. Dressed in the noh robes worn by her character, Komachi’s tattered hat reveals her struggle, but her face retains a very slight flicker of beauty and a wealth of wisdom.
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