Research Seminar - Invention and reinvention in the landscape symbolism of Joachim Patinir

Invention and reinvention in the landscape symbolism of Joachim Patinir

Presented by: Mike Levy

Date: Friday 8 April 2022
Time: 12–1pm
Location: Online via Zoom 

Abstract

The Flemish artist Joachim Patinir (c. 1485-1524) painted vast panoramic landscapes in which tiny figures are dwarfed by their surroundings. Prior to Patinir, in the tradition of western art there were few (if any) precedents of artists who gave such emphasis to landscape in and of itself.

Patinir’s landscapes are rich in symbolism, and were used to express and convey complex metaphors and doctrinal issues. A particularly good example is Patinir’s Landscape with Charon Crossing the River Styx (hereafter Charon) where the metaphor of the two paths through life is presented. Falkenburg explains that towards the close of the Middle Ages this idea emerged through a complex program of distinct but interrelated metaphors of the choice between the easy and the difficult paths through life. The broad, easy road leads to the seductive figure of vice, or hell; the narrow road to redemption is harder, up a steeper, rocky path, but leads to virtue, or paradise. To make the right choice, one needs to know the difference between what is seen outwardly and what is known inwardly (sight and insight).

Remarkably, half a millennium later, Charon was one of four masterpieces selected from the Prado Museum collection to be reinvented for a campaign on behalf of the World Wide Fund for Nature. The campaign, entitled “+1.5 degrees C Lo Cambia Todo” (1.5 degrees changes everything) formed part of the climate change summit held in Madrid in 2019. In the new version of Charon, landscape symbolism is used to convey a different message, again hinging on the metaphor of the choice between two paths. Seeing this distinction, or lack of it, in the landscape symbolism of the version of Charon for the climate summit is as significant now as it was originally 500 years ago, with the caveat that the meanings be applied to a world that is secular rather than sacred. 

Presenter

Mike Levy is a candidate in the MPhil (Art History) program, focussing upon the world landscapes of Joachim Patinir. His supervisors are Dr Andrea Bubenik and Dr Paolo Magagnoli.