This piece represents the afterlife of the human spirit floating forever in space. The composition is one of eternal balance; the circle representing infinity and the cycle of life from birth to death. The essence of space represents the void from which we came and also that to which we someday return. The simple two dimensional circle and square composition pays respect to the famous Leonardo da Vinci piece Vitruvian Man (1492). Some believe that Leonardo symbolized the material existence by the square and spiritual existence by the circle. Thus he attempted to depict the correlation between these two aspects of human existence. This was one of my first paintings using oils. It was also done at a time when I was studying human anatomy and made the muscles look overly defined to create a contrast of human strength constrained by the chains of death. |
