Создание комрозиции

Masterclass: Developing compositions

The idea for this painting evolved as I was working on some of my other
chalice-themed pieces. The title of the painting – And Do We Not
Live In Dreams – is a quote fromTennyson, which seemed to fit  very well. I wanted to create a rather grand painting that drew quite liberally from historical,mythical and romantic imagery.
A chalice is an intriguing,sacred and mysterious object that can be a work of art in itself.I am interested in the way they have been used symbolically
throughout history, in stories and legends. The cup or vessel is one of the oldest man-made objects and I wanted to convey the idea of the chalice’s inherent attributes in the painting.I also wanted to reference work by other artists including the Ingres painting Angelica Saved by Ruggiero, Paolo Uccello’s Saint George and the Dragon,Donatello’s relief of Saint George
and the Dragon and Ghiberti’s Baptistry doors in Florence.
The idea of setting this chalice in a niche or window served three purposes: to allow for a view or backdrop into an Arcadian landscape; to act as a
compositional device where I could architecturally reference imagery I had in mind; and to allow me to indulge my love of architecture and perspective.
Niches act like altars and they often tell you stories, whereas windows are like pictorial portals – a view into the inner world of the sitter or the object.
I should maybe point out that every element in this painting is invented and formed in my imagination – apart from the marbles and the apple blossom.