The above painting is disturbing upon first glance.
It should come as no surprise that the Hungarian artist, Tivadar Csontváry Kosztca, was thought by many during his lifetime to be mad, and several scholars surmise that schizophrenia might also have been a part of his mental landscape.
Yet this picture begs more attention, if only to answer the question: how could or why did a professional artist paint someone so asymmetrical, so misshapen?
Cleverer minds than mine came upon the idea to place a mirror down the middle of this work, and the results are shocking.
Good side.
Here is the left side of the painting, with mirrored half.
You'll notice the features have softened. Now the "Fisherman" looks like a wise and strong old man, possibly praying. But note:
–the town behind him has receded.
–He stands/sits before a tranquil body of water.
–That town itself is quaint, rustic, in harmony with its surroundings.
–A magnificent mount lords over all.
Now the other, lovely side of the painting:
Yikes!
All of a sudden the seas aren't so placid, are they?
The factories, not quaint cottages, are busy belching GAS, GAS, GAS!!! into the sky.
This version of the fisherman has horns and an evil eye. Wait...are they blue, too?
He is also a hulking figure, which is important for my Final Point, and, worst of all, he's a LOT closer to civilization than the other guy.
This is important, because it echoes a popular theme in religious and philosophical circles: God is way on up in his Heaven while the Devil is right below us, tickling our toetips and whispering his sweet nothings all day every day.
This video:
also points out that his hands are locked in a peculiar, pyramidal form. Hmm...
The last thing I'd like to add to this is that the once magnificent mountain behind the latter image has had its top blown off – it is most assuredly a volcano now.
The reason why this is important is that Kosztca seems to be associating volcanoes with destructive underground forces – so strange!
He really must have been crazy. Why would anyone in their right mind equate an exploding mountain with the devil?
Umm...In the very same year that this painting was revealed to the world, Mt Pelée on Martinique erupted, killing almost all of St. Pierre's 28-odd thousand citizens.
In fact, the image in my profile pic is of the phenomenon which grew at the tail end of this very same eruption. Below the same image in huge. One might say hulking, even...
There's a lot more to art, religion, and what most would deem "crazy" than meets the eye.
