Fritz Eichenberg
The Artist and the Seven Deadly Sins, 1975
On Tuesday the class attended the
Palmer Museum of Art. I wandered around waiting for something to hit me. I
walked for 10 minutes until I realized that I had missed a back hallway. The
hallway was entitled, “Me, Myself, and The Mirror”. The words “The Mirror” were
written upside-down underneath of the original writings to display an actual
two-dimensional mirror image of the words. This play on words is a creative
title to what I was about to see, and helped me understand the piece I was
about to choose.
The piece
itself is applying solely to the life of Fritz Eichenberg. I believe he is
saying that he lives with these seven deadly sins, and they haunt him, yet they
inspire his work. They are always ever present in the works he does. This
creates the pathos in the work. The piece is illustrated in dark coloring of
black and grey. This creates the haunting appeal to the piece. The intended
audience is meant to be scared or haunted by these figures. Also, each person
in the piece surrounding Eichenberg represents one of the seven deadly sins. It
is very relatable to the audience, for every person is affected by these sins.
Envy is sitting next to Eichenberg, peering at his work with jealousy. The
obese looking bear represents gluttony. The vulture represents greed. The
sleeping fat man represents sloth. The grim reaper represents wrath and
revenge. The naked woman represents lust.
And finally, the figure in the top left has a smug face that represents
hubris, or excessive pride. All of these figures relates directly not only to
the life of Eichenberg, but also to the audience admiring the piece. Going back
on where the piece was located in the museum, the title of the hall suggests
that this is exactly how Eichenberg views himself at work. I don’t think it
holds a meaning relating to politics or its time. This piece is timeless
because no matter when it was made, throughout time people have been affected
by these seven deadly sins as Eichenberg is.
The artist
creates credibility by putting himself in the image. He does not just put any
person in the piece. He is the artist, and these are his seven deadly sins.
Fritz Eichenberg is said to be most famous for his wood engraving works of
famous artists like Edgar Allen Poe. But in this case, the Eichenberg appeals
to ethos by putting himself in the image, and showing that the seven deadly
sins are attracted to him.
After
attending the museum, I found myself more interested in art. I realized that
every piece has its own rhetorical situation, and sometimes the artist means something
more then what I perceive of a picture of a person or a simple vase. I don’t
see myself being inclined to make my own “masterpieces”, but I can grow to
appreciate the finer things in art and the little subtleties that I would never
notice before. Overall, I thought the trip to the museum opened my eyes to art,
and shows a correlation to our class. Everything has a deeper meaning than
maybe it suggests.
Glad you enjoyed!
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