I followed through with the tasks and instructions depicted on Art Pedagogy, and these were my initial text responses and notes. Focused as I was, with Birdsong in my ears, I ended up with the artwork called "St Mark’s, Venice (Pax Tibi Marce Evangelista Meus)" by Walter Richard Sickert as my randomly generated starting point.
This is a traditional painting oil painting of the St Mark’s church in Venice. Its colour pallet is muted, and there is very intricate detail and attention in the mosaics in the painting. The subject is rendered with incredible depth and shadows, creating an almost design like quality. The title includes the Latin motto of the city: 'Peace be unto to you, Mark, my Evangelist'.
It's possible that it was created after Sickert saw Monet's paintings of Rhoun Cathedral, but it lacks Monet's attention to light and colour, and instead focuses on the detail and textures in the mosaic designs across the structure. St. Mark is the patron saint of Venice, represented in the lions on the coat of arms. Sickert's focus was conventional for the time,
The painting is evocative for the way it engages the viewer with the sensitivities of traditional art, as well as with the way it captures the architectural and historical heritage of the building while still emulating the important historical traditions and motifs of Venice itself.
There is a familiarity and likeness of other traditional art within the artwork, and it feels unproblematic and representational. Translation through time would perhaps focus on allowing more sensory input and freshness to the piece to give it a new energy that it lacks. The purpose of the piece is not to create a challenging and current piece of art, but to create a visually appealing and captivating architecturally accurate painting. Despite the almost simplistic message and motivations of the art, it does have a resonance with me for how detailed and rich the heritage and design of the building and painting are, but it still is not exactly captivating for me.
There is a clear focus here on themes of heritage, history and religion. All 3 are prevalent themes in this era, and have inspired the work of many artists.