Cool paintings that depict hedonism?

Asklemmy@lemmy.ml – 73 points – 3 months ago

Hey 🙂

i'm trying to find a painting that'd look cool on the wall above the head of my bed.

I like art, but don't know much about it.

Goya, Caravaggio, Blake, ... love that kinda stuff.

But i'd like to find an image that somehow depicts hedonism (preference hedonism / desire satisfaction theory) in a not so creepy way. Don't wanna scare away my potential companions 😅

Do you have an idea?

Thx!

well ... this is pretty much perfect 😄

I don't know why I love this so much, but I do.

Is that the one robot from Futurama who binges grapes?

Yup!

https://youtu.be/e6XXCip04us

It's as if you've read my mind.

I apologize for nothing.

Garden of Earthly Delights - Hieronymus Bosch

I want to be them

Have you been to Burning Man?

Relatable

I still haven't found Waldo

I love el bosco, but the evolution of this painting was probably Bruegel in 'the triumph of death'. If you include the other panels of the triptych, it is less salutary.

This is the one I'd recommend.

While it certainly fit's the description it's a bit busy, lol.

I might consider a few sections of it though, if i can find a source with high enough resolution.

Thx!

How about The Romans in Their Decadence? (Thomas Couture)

With the soundtrack of Caravan of Fools, by John Prine.

Looks like a fun situation ☺️ Thx for the suggestion!

The Feast of the Gods- Giovanni Bellini & Titian, oil on canvas (1514)

It's not exactly hedonism, but is kind of adjacent.

The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard

I know it's probably meant to be semi-serious but I can't stop giggling at their faces

That's intentional. Jean-Honoré Fragonard had a goofy style.

Self portrait

Marie Emilie Coignet de Courson with a Dog

The English Bed - by Guillermo Lorca García Huidobro (2020)

To me nothing says hedonism like the Belle Epoque.

Degas has fantastic depictions of urban leisure: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-ballet-scene-from-meyerbeers-opera-robert-le-diable-30908

This is one of my favorite paintings of the time, though you might want to pass due to the "implication". Show me the "Manet": https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/a-bar-at-the-folies-bergere-207293

If you want more merry colors and simpler times then probably going back to Jan Steen might be a good idea: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/merrymaking-in-a-tavern-209153 He liked painting people having a grand time: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-interior-of-an-inn-the-broken-eggs-115662

If you like alcohol as a motive, but also seeing hedonism pushed to the metal, here's some moral teaching in fantastic colors: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-last-day-in-the-old-home-200702

If you don't like sermons but enjoy light: https://www.wikiart.org/en/peder-severin-kroyer/hip-hip-hurrah-1888

For maximum debauchery, Gin Lane's your lane: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/work-of-art/gin-lane-1

In case you need something more Mediterranean, Triumf of Bacchus has some of that vivid face depiction Velazquez provides: https://www.museodelprado.es/coleccion/obra-de-arte/los-borrachos-o-el-triunfo-de-baco/4a23d5e2-9fd4-496b-806b-0f8ba913b3d8

As a piece of resistance, James Bartolacci does clubbing art: https://anatebgi.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/James-Bartolacci_JB1006_1664490656.jpg

If there's nothing you fancy, please let me know.

Excellent recommendations, but I have to say those artUK links are absolutely infuriating on mobile, you can't actually zoom in on the (quite small) painting for some reason.

Sorry about that I'm cursed with excellent taste and unparalleled laziness.

Still a very generous post, no faulting you there

omg, what an incredible answer!

Some of these are amazing.

I feel like i need to hang more than the one i planned; turning my little flat into a tiny gallery ^^

No seriously. Great suggestions!

I especially like "The Broken Eggs", "Hip, Hip, Hurrah!" and "Gin Lane" 🙂

Hip, Hip, Hurrah! comes from a Norwegian-Dutch painter that makes fantastic captures of life "as it is" in my opinion. Not what you've asked but this is a favorite of mine: https://www.wikiart.org/en/peder-severin-kroyer/in-the-store-during-a-pause-from-fishing-1882

Plus anything on the beach is fantastic from this author.

Jan Steen (the author from The Broken Eggs) has a deep repertoire of people just "cooked", having great fun, with lots of color.

If you enjoyed Gin Lane, you could also pair it with "Beer Street", from the same author: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/work-of-art/beer-street-1

Basically this author thought that Beer is great, but Gin is rubbish, and his depiction of both are fantastic. Plus, as any interior designer worth their salt would say, "it's a conversation piece". ;)