In this series of articles, I explore the history of love as depicted through art. The fourth installment focuses on historical and artistic examples of the love of nature.
Ana's Thought: "My Art celebrates the Beauty of this World."
In my life as an artist, I have never needed to look further than my own garden for inspiration. I could fill ten thousand canvases with the marvels our magnificent Earth so graciously gives. The very thought of such incredible Design makes my heart overflow with unparalleled joy - how blessed we are to live among its ceaseless gifts! Within Nature blooms every hue the imagination can conceive, far more colors than one could capture in a lifetime of creating.
Ana Tzarev's Love in Bloom.
I am but one part of a rich tradition of painters who have filled their palettes with the vibrant notes of Nature. The Great Mother Earth is a master of Art, and mankind's most skilled artists have all been students of her patient tutelage. From Van Gogh's windswept fields and Monet's serene waters to Franz Marc's jaunty creatures and Dürer's phenomenal biological studies, a profound Love of the natural world has carved the way for enduring brilliance. These works speak to all people, as the language of natural beauty is universal.
Details from works of Van Gogh and Dürer.
There is sweetness in knowing that there are always more wonderful things waiting in the world outside our walls. For every gem that we are blessed enough to find, countless others remain to be discovered. It is the Wonder of the unknown that gives us constant hope. Passion drove curious spirits like Ernest Shackleton, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and Jacques Cousteau from charted terrain into the enchantment and allure of the unfamiliar. They strove not for fame or material gain, seeking instead to lose themselves in the immensity of this fantastic planet. Their Art was living fully, and their great Love was for Nature.
Detail from The South Polar Times, a collaborative illustrated periodical created by Ernest Shackleton and Edward A. Wilson.
Nature has been a guiding force for great men from all walks of life - scientists, philosophers, inventors, composers, authors, sculptors, and so many others have turned to the outside world to spark innovation. It provides for us the materials and the ideas we need not only to live, but to flourish. Ralph Waldo Emerson gained acclaim for his meditations on Transcendentalist belief, a way of thinking in which spirituality is tied directly to Nature. One of his truest quotes was, "Love of Beauty is Taste. The Creation of Beauty is Art." In all people is the power to be moved by Nature's beauty to create something greater than ourselves. May we grow to respect and Love the selfless offerings of our beautiful Earth, and be blessed with a bounty of inspiration and enjoyment of each precious day.