Abstract
È vero, è vero, è vero
Installation
Kingsley Ng
“Baroque… can be useful in that it teaches us to examine the cultural phenomena of every period through a certain lens… that is, art as a self-reflexive instrument for describing–on an immanent–level forms of sensibility that speak about the way we feel alive.”
- Stefano Jacoviello, in “Conceptions and Reworkings of Baroque and Neobaroque in Recent Years,” Perspective, 2015-1.
Art historians, semiologists and philosophers have rethought the Baroque. Instead of just demarcating a historical period in Europe, it represents a kind of sensibility that transcends chronological and geographical boundaries. È vero, è vero, è vero is not a straightforward re-interpretation of the Baroque. It is inspired by a bold sensibility that defines some remarkable lives.
The title of the work draws reference to the story behind one of the paintings in this exhibition, Judith and her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi. The work belongs to a series of paintings of the same theme, whose first rendition was painted between 1611-12 when the artist was 19. It is generally considered that the painting is autobiographical, symbolically retributing for the artist’s traumatic experience of rape.
In the subsequent humiliating trial, to make sure that Artemisia told the truth, the judge ordered to “test” her with the sibille. When the torturous cords were tightened around her fingers, to the point of almost crushing them, the unyielding demandant firmly proclaimed, “È vero, è vero, è vero”—“it is true, it is true, it is true.”
The work pays tribute to Artemisia’s adamance, and also to her earth-shaking friend, Galileo Galilei.
Installation
Kingsley Ng
“Baroque… can be useful in that it teaches us to examine the cultural phenomena of every period through a certain lens… that is, art as a self-reflexive instrument for describing–on an immanent–level forms of sensibility that speak about the way we feel alive.”
- Stefano Jacoviello, in “Conceptions and Reworkings of Baroque and Neobaroque in Recent Years,” Perspective, 2015-1.
Art historians, semiologists and philosophers have rethought the Baroque. Instead of just demarcating a historical period in Europe, it represents a kind of sensibility that transcends chronological and geographical boundaries. È vero, è vero, è vero is not a straightforward re-interpretation of the Baroque. It is inspired by a bold sensibility that defines some remarkable lives.
The title of the work draws reference to the story behind one of the paintings in this exhibition, Judith and her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi. The work belongs to a series of paintings of the same theme, whose first rendition was painted between 1611-12 when the artist was 19. It is generally considered that the painting is autobiographical, symbolically retributing for the artist’s traumatic experience of rape.
In the subsequent humiliating trial, to make sure that Artemisia told the truth, the judge ordered to “test” her with the sibille. When the torturous cords were tightened around her fingers, to the point of almost crushing them, the unyielding demandant firmly proclaimed, “È vero, è vero, è vero”—“it is true, it is true, it is true.”
The work pays tribute to Artemisia’s adamance, and also to her earth-shaking friend, Galileo Galilei.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Media of output | Other |
| Publication status | Published - 22 Jul 2022 |
| Event | Road to the Baroque: Masterpieces from the Capodimonte Museum - Museum of Art, Hong Kong Duration: 15 Jul 2022 → 2 Nov 2023 https://hk.art.museum/en/web/ma/exhibitions-and-events/the-road-to-the-baroque-masterpieces-from-the-capodimonte-museum.html |