Another historical figure, Charles
Darwin, whose theories of natural
selection were scurrilously
distorted and manipulated by
the Nazis, is presented in a more
complex and even sympathetic
manner, evincing a combination
of dignity, pathos and genius
in the heroically ironic painting,
The Death of Charles Darwin.
Crowning the figure of Darwin
is a near perfectly formed arch
as bridge, civic, thoughtful,
embodying the achievements
of man in the made world.
Below it, a docile stream flows,
earthly fertility, nature's domain.
A strong dose of primary colors
randomly splattered, primarily
at the top of the canvas, evokes
the presence of the heavens,
of godly light. Darwin's stalwart
figure, clothed in somber black
is surmounted by an allusion to
the great man's beard, but most
importantly by daubs of a shrill
violet absent elsewhere in the
Untitled 2012
HYLAND
