#Rome c. 1645-1672

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Giovanni Stanchi

Rome c. 1645-1672

Oil on canvas

38 5/8 x 52½ in.

98 x 133.5 cm.

Courtesy Christie’s

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Giovanni Stanchi (Rome c. 1645-1672). Oil on canvas. 38 5/8 x 52½ in. (98 x 133.5 cm.) / Courtesy Christie’s

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Virtual Sketchbook 3

Narcissus, c. 1645 by Gerard van Kuijl

The painting, Narcissus, is made of oil on a canvas. The painting is 114 cm x 143 cm large. There are a few colors and shapes used in this painting. For shapes, there is the defined circular shape of the man’s muscles in his arm. The painting is mostly a dull color, with pops of color in the mans red skirt and a bright blue in the background for the sky. The subject represented is a man named Narcissus, based on Greek mythology. The work is designed to bring your eyes to the emphasized man sitting near the water. Shadows and lighting are used to bring emphasize to the man staring at his reflection in the water. The background is fairly dull, and the man himself highlighted by the sun. The work is not so much balanced as a whole but balanced in proportion. The man is painted to look accurate to real life size with his surroundings. There is variety in the painting, with a human figure and nature, that brings everything together to look unified. I would say this work makes me feel calm. These feelings are evoked because of the way the man is just calmly staring at himself in the water. It looks like he does not have a thought behind his eyes but himself.

The artist behind this work, Gerard van Kuijl, is associated with Dutch culture. Kuijl was a Dutch painter and a follower of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, whom which he drew inspiration for this painting from. Kuijl settled in Rome between 1629 and 1631. There, he saw Caravaggio’s Narcissus. The object of the painting, a man named Narcissus, is based on a Greek mythological story. Narcissus was a young boy who rejected a nymph named Echo. She died after being rejected. When she died, he was made to fall in love with his reflection. Since Narcissus was too intrigued with himself to look away, he too, perished. When he died, he was transformed into a flower.

The movement the artwork is associated with is the Dutch Golden Age (1588-1672). At this time, human figures were the primary focus of the canvas. This is shown in Narcissus, with the main human subject being Narcissus. What the artwork says about the artist who made it, Kuijl, is that he was heavily inspired by Caravaggio. Kuijl was known for being inspired by the Caravaggist style. That is, lots of shading with baroque shapes. I can tell what the artist is trying to say in their art. I think the artist clearly got the negative vanity message across with the man just staring at himself in a pool of water.

This work of art is very important to society. In the 1600s, and even now, this art has a strong message. From the story of Greek mythology, the message of being aware of your own vanity is clearly shown. Kuijl did a great job of trying to paint what he is expressing here. This art is telling us that beauty is not everything. This message really inspired me because I think it relates a lot to society today. We put beauty standards on a higher level than a lot of other valuable things in life. Today, people worry so much about their looks, like Narcissus, and become full of themselves. Narcissism is more than just being stuck on yourself though.  It is when you project yourself in a way that creates a false reality. You are in a fantasy with yourself, like Narcissus here, being entranced by his own reflection.