Just for a change this week I decided to try to equate the 12 zodiac signs with various art styles or arty -isms. Somebody has already been there, done that etc:
Click on images for clearer views.
ARIES
First sign, Mars-ruled - I first think of military-related paintings - and as Aries is the first sign, let's go for a very early example:
TAURUS
First of two Venus-ruled signs - beautiful, earthy...John Constable:
GEMINI
First of two Mercury-ruled signs - deals in communication, words...as, often, did Dadaism:
CANCER
Ruled by the Moon, relates strongly to family, home, emotion, sentimentality - all frequently found in the work of Norman Rockwell:
LEO
Ruled by the Sun - represents brightness, love of splendour and the spotlight. An old favourite painting of mine comes to mind - In years gone by (many years) I used to have a brooch, round, silver frame with a replica of this portrait embedded. I've always seen the portrait as bright, happy, warm and altogether splendid, just like the Sun-ruled sign.
VIRGO
Second Mercury-ruled sign - stickler for detail - has to be photo-realism:
LIBRA
Second Venus-ruled sign, said to represent beauty, grace, charm, balance, tact. So...Michael Parkes always produces variations of those attributes:
SCORPIO
Ruled by dark, sexy and transformative Pluto in modern astrology.
SAGITTARIUS
Jupiter-ruled sign of exuberance, richness, excess, philosophy and luck.
CAPRICORN
Saturn-ruled, business-oriented, earthy, practical and structured.
AQUARIUS
Ruled in modern astrology by Uranus, planet of the unexpected and all that is avant garde or a wee bit odd.
PISCES
Ruled by Neptune, planet of dreams, watery expanses, fog and illusion
[Note re post title:
"Signs that whisper" is a phrase from the song "Signs" by Neil Diamond.]
The signs as art styles
The signs as art movements.One could find numerous ways of attempting a similar exercise, endless examples of the art to present. I decided to find a painting which, for me, could represent each zodiac sign, in content and/or "feel" and spirit - not necessarily related to any art style, art movement, or Sun sign of the painter.
Click on images for clearer views.
ARIES
First sign, Mars-ruled - I first think of military-related paintings - and as Aries is the first sign, let's go for a very early example:
 |
| The Battle of Poitiers in 1356, in a manuscript of Froissart's Chronicles of c. 1410 |
TAURUS
First of two Venus-ruled signs - beautiful, earthy...John Constable:
 |
| The White Horse by John Constable |
GEMINI
First of two Mercury-ruled signs - deals in communication, words...as, often, did Dadaism:
CANCER
Ruled by the Moon, relates strongly to family, home, emotion, sentimentality - all frequently found in the work of Norman Rockwell:
 |
| Coming & Going - Norman Rockwell |
LEO
Ruled by the Sun - represents brightness, love of splendour and the spotlight. An old favourite painting of mine comes to mind - In years gone by (many years) I used to have a brooch, round, silver frame with a replica of this portrait embedded. I've always seen the portrait as bright, happy, warm and altogether splendid, just like the Sun-ruled sign.
VIRGO
Second Mercury-ruled sign - stickler for detail - has to be photo-realism:
 |
| Ralph's Diner by Ralph Going |
LIBRA
Second Venus-ruled sign, said to represent beauty, grace, charm, balance, tact. So...Michael Parkes always produces variations of those attributes:
 |
| Concerti Vivaldi by Michael Parkes |
SCORPIO
Ruled by dark, sexy and transformative Pluto in modern astrology.
 |
| Death and Life by Gustav Klimt |
SAGITTARIUS
Jupiter-ruled sign of exuberance, richness, excess, philosophy and luck.
 |
| The Wedding Dance by Pieter Bruegel |
CAPRICORN
Saturn-ruled, business-oriented, earthy, practical and structured.
 |
| By Piet Mondrian |
AQUARIUS
Ruled in modern astrology by Uranus, planet of the unexpected and all that is avant garde or a wee bit odd.
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| On the 1st March Crows Begin to Search by Kay Sage |
PISCES
Ruled by Neptune, planet of dreams, watery expanses, fog and illusion
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| Coq Rouge Dans la Nuit by Marc Chagall |
[Note re post title:
"Signs that whisper" is a phrase from the song "Signs" by Neil Diamond.]
An interesting de-pic-tion of the astro-signs, Twilight! Voyaging through your selections, it struck me that these paintings, pictorial analogs, were crafted by artists with their own particular astrology. I like your selection for the sign of Cancer, "Coming & Going" by Norman Rockwell, but the artist was an Aquarian Sun, late Scorpio or early Sagittarius ascendant, Moon in Capricorn. Likewise for Klimt's "Death and Life" representing Scorpio, which is more apropos than one of his "Judith"s that I would have selected as an astrological moniker, but Klimt was a Cancer Sun, Moon in either Aquarius or Pisces (TOB unknown, so no Asc). Or Piet Mondrian to represent Capricorn, with his Pisces Sun, Asc and Moon in Aquarius.
ReplyDeleteThe art you chose for each sign, while appropriate, are deceiving in their origins. The representational stereotypes of each painting selected produced by non-representational artists. "Can't judge a book by its cover".
mike ~ I do realise this, but I did state in the post at the top, clearly:
ReplyDeleteOne could find numerous ways of attempting a similar exercise, endless examples of the art to present. I decided to find a painting which, for me, could represent each zodiac sign, in content and/or "feel" and spirit - not necessarily related to any art style, art movement, or Sun sign of the painter.
The origins are not what I was doing - that's what I do when I look at an individual artist. There's more than one way to ....whatever. ;-)
Don't take my comment in the negative, Twilight. I thought you did a good job of selecting paintings to represent the astro-signs. AS I SAID, it occurred to me while looking at your choices that it's a bit of a twist that an artist with a very different astro-profile would select subject matter that deceives their astro-profile. I guess it's a reminder to me that an individual can express themselves in a manner beguiling to their astrology.
ReplyDeletemike (again) ~ LOL! Well, I half expected your comment! I responded as I did in case any stray astro-interested passer-by was confused by the selections.
ReplyDeleteAstrologers say, don't they, that we all have every sign within us somewhere, even if not highlighted by a planet's or point's presence in it?
I'm convinced there's "something" in astrology, otherwise I'd have dumped it long ago, but I do not believe everything astrologers put forward. I do not believe it's all-pervasive, all-encompassing in every choice, every step we take, every... everything. Sometimes when I take a quick skip around the few astrology forums remaining I find myself becoming very anti-astrology.
This is just me of course, and likely due to my own natal chart's arrangement.
So, having said that, astro-profiles for me are just kind of shadowy indications, nothing is chizled in stone - will not direct every single choice and action of the native.
I like most of your matches - a few at your links are rather odd to me. It might be fun to try and match the signs with different art mediums, say, sculpture (Cap?) or film (Pisces?) and so on with photography, literature....
ReplyDeleteSabina ~ Thanks. I stumbled over some at the links too.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, in a general way, as a kind of "rulership" I agree that Capricorn and sculpture go together well, and yes, Pisces for film, including still-photography. Literature: the Mercury pair, Gemini and Virgo would be good.
Taurus and Libra for music, but their Venus "vibes" could also enhance any of the other categories. :-)
Sabina ~ I think you are in Canada/Canadian - if so: Happy Canadian Independence Day!
ReplyDeleteThanks and/et merci ;P
ReplyDeleteHuh! Gemini always gets the boring scene: no sex, nothing earthy or arty. It looks like a badly done crossword.
ReplyDeleteRJ Adams ~ Awwwww sorry! I had another artist in mind for Gemini, but was in a hurry and couldn't remember her name - have now tracked her down - it's still not earthy or sexy but then y'all are so..ooo mental! (In the best possible way, of course)
ReplyDeleteThis is a good fit for Gemini:
http://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2010/10/arty-farty-friday-jenny-holzer.html