Crossover

What do a doctor, a baker, a pilot or a farmer and their craft have in common with art? At a first glance, not much. But what do they perceive when they look at a work of art? Looking at a picture can be emotional, described accordingly or it can be understood with rationality. What do I see? A tree, a mountain, a landscape. What do I know? The landscape is in France, more precisely in the south of France. The trees are typical for this region, the mountain is called Mont Sainte-Victoire. The work, I see it on the sign next to it, is by Cézanne from the year 1904. What do I know about the artist, about his era, the life of his contemporaries? Cézanne was an artist on the threshold of naturalism, impressionism and is described as the father of cubism. He was a self-sufficient artist, painted this mountain over 80 times and abstracted it more and more.

And suddenly a whole world opens up.

This is what a typical analysis by an art historian would look like when he or she is standing in front of a work. But when other professions stand in front of it, the knowledge, the interest can be laid out in a completely different way and the picture will be interpreted differently. Perhaps a special type of grain was grown there? Or an important hospital was built nearby 100 years later? Perhaps the artist's state of health suddenly becomes an additional important factor in the analysis of the work?

In the blog series «Crossover», we invite people from other professions and backgrounds to share their stories, which they discover in the artworks on art24. Be curious and come along with us on this journey!