Gold in Art, Discovering Jane’s Golden Works
2011 — The Prophet’s Introduction
Why are there touches of gold in many of the paintings, including those by Jane Gemayel ? This precious metal is an integral part of the artist who uses it abundantly on some paintings, and with light touches on others.
Did you know that the tomb of Tutankhamen contained a ton of gold ?
Indeed, gold has been used since antiquity, in Ancient Egypt as well as in Ancient Greece. Sublimated over the centuries, gold has been used throughout the history of art.
Klimt, in ‘The Kiss’, knew how to merge his two characters by using gold. This fascination with gold in painting is said to come from a trip to Italy, to the Basilica of San Vitale. During this excursion, he fell in admiration of the Byzantine mosaics and in 1902 began what is known as ‘The Golden Cycle’. One of his mosaics is entitled Theodora’s Procession, which dates from the fifth and sixth centuries and was made in honour of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I and his wife the empress Theodora.
Yves Klein also magnified this precious metal in the Monogolds by meticulously superimposing gold leaf on canvas.
Jane in turn was fascinated by these touches of gold, which can be seen in many of her works.
Gold is particularly prominent in her current ‘The Prophet’ and more specifically in the introduction and conclusion of this work. In these works, we find a woman from the front (for the beginning of the current) and a woman from the back (for the end of the current).
True to the artist’s representations, the woman is voluptuous. The naked torso, her position is reminiscent of the Christ on the cross. For these two representations, Jane has decided to place the colour of gold in the background. Despite this position, this golden circle seems to support the figure in the painting and hold her back. In Christianity, gold is a symbol of Christ and symbolises heavenly light.
However, this colour also represents wealth and fortune.
The painting that ends the stream of ‘The Prophet’ shows the same woman, but this time from behind. In the first work, she might have been seen in a posture reminiscent of the crucifixion. In this painting, she seems to be running towards a golden sphere, more oval than the first one.
She advances towards it and closes this current in a magnificent way.
If you’re curious, you can find many of Jane’s paintings and sketches on Instagram that are peppered with touches of gold, especially via the real ones. Some of them have been exhibited in Rome, at the Maison Bosi since 10 June.