Powerful phenomena observed in the nature such as volcanos, storms, tsunamis, hurricanes… have always been an endless source of inspiration for artists...
Maelström is a word from Scandinavian origin: could it lead us in a way
to Edvard Munch? If in "The Scream", the Norwegian painter did not
represent a maelström as such, the surrounding environment is definitely
spinning as an echo of the high degree of panic of the screaming guy facing the public. The complementary colours (sea/sky - blue/orange) increase this
effect of anxiety. In the background, the elevated water is whirling giving the impression of an upcoming disaster. Has this work something to do with the a mental perception of reality (the subject has no eye on this version)? At a certain distance on the bridge, two people seems to witness with indifference this hopeless situation...
Another example may be picked up in Edgar Poe's tale "A descent to the Maelström" (1841) translated into French by Charles Baudelaire and grouped with other novels under the title "Histoires extraordinaires". In this short story, a man tells his friends how he survived a terrible hurricane as his ship was caught in a vortex. This novel, considered as one a first Science fiction tale, was illustrated according to Wikipedia by Harry Clarkes in 1919.
Hokusai's Great wave is one example among hundred others. The wave has not the exact shape of a vortex but gives however a quite scary impression: its power and its height are about to "swallow" the long (fishing?) boat
and the sailors onboard… Life looks very frail and not
much can be done against the power of the nature. This
drawing also represents Mount Fuji in the background: a stable element
contrasting with the transient move of the sea.
Hokusai (1760-1849), The great wave, ca 1830/34 (from the series 36 views of Mount Fuji),
Victoria an Albert Museum, London
Another example may be picked up in Edgar Poe's tale "A descent to the Maelström" (1841) translated into French by Charles Baudelaire and grouped with other novels under the title "Histoires extraordinaires". In this short story, a man tells his friends how he survived a terrible hurricane as his ship was caught in a vortex. This novel, considered as one a first Science fiction tale, was illustrated according to Wikipedia by Harry Clarkes in 1919.
Illustration for Edgar Poe's short story "A Descent into the Maelström",
Harry Clarkes, 1919
Credit: Wikipedia
From Earth to deep space...The Whirlpool galaxy gives a perfect example of the "organized chaos" in the universe. It is not sure which kind of ship or Noah's arch would resist or survive in a such maelström… Anyway, seen from remote, one can be amazed on one hand by the prowess of the technique to capture such an event and, on the other hand, by the artistic dimension of this picture.
The Whirpool Galaxy, January 2005?
Credit: Wikipedia
Hyeronymus Bosch died in 1517, the same year Martin Luther initiated the Reform in Wittenberg. Europe at that time was strongly under Christianity influence, the only stable institution after the collapse of the Roman Empire. People's life was driven by fear of Hell and Heaven was promised to those meeting lifelong the principles prescribed by the religion. In the painting below Bosch illustrates this sequence after the death where an army of angels help the "good ones" to reach it. Funnily, Heaven is represented with a spiral shape with a bright center not so different from the whirling galaxy above. Of course, no conclusions can be drawn, but this pure fantasy representation of what is beyond our own borders may surprise by its modernity from an artist who evidently never observed the sky with the modern equipment we have today...
Hyeronymus Bosch (1450-1516),
Part of the Polyptich "Visions of the Hereafter", Ascent of the blessed, 1505/10
Palazzo Ducale, Venice, Italy
Credit: Wikipedia
Unknown artist, Fresco on the Neptune building at the CSG
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