Brendel Speaks

Using slides, Doctor J. Otto Brendel indicated that "nothing is new under the sun," during the third Thursday afternoon lecture, held on July 23. Brendel, a professor of fine arts and archeology at Columbia University, spoke on "Classical Style in Modern Art."

The art of today, stressed Brendel, is only a modern interpretation of past art, just as Renaissance art was based directly on early Graeco-Roman figures. "This imitation," said Brendel, "may sometimes help creativity; it will not hinder it."

In more recent times, Gaughin and Picasso have used Renaissance and Egyptian figures as inspirations, said Brendel. The Medici Venus statue was the basis for one of Gaughin's figures in his Tahitian paintings, while Picasso has used an ancient statue of a kneeling Venus in his series of paintings: La Comedie Humaine.