Art Humanities served as a gateway for my interest into the psyche and internal inspiration of artists. One of the artists that particularly stood out to me was the renowned painter Francisco Goya because of his 1799 etching The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters. I was fascinated by the idea that dreams could conjure such vivid imagery, inspiration and intense anguish in the human mind that is translated into art. I subsequently became completely engrossed in my own inner thoughts and dreams; fully inspired by the stories, visuals and emotions and that arose from my subconscious.

The Night of Retribution is a compositional homage to the legendary artist Raphael Sanzio’s 1512 Sistine Madonna painting. I chose this famed composition to juxtapose its elegance, beauty and grace with a powerful dream I experienced one night. The background colors here are bright and intense, the figures in the foreground are contorted, and the dark drapery flanks the scene to produce a dramatic and claustrophobic setting.

This chimpanzee in the center is representative of a particularly unforgettable scene from my nightmare where oppressed animals retaliated against humanity. I chose the chimpanzee to represent the animal world because of the striking resemblance we humans share with them. The monkey depicted here wears an elegant white suit while the human figures are covered in rudimentary garments. This blurs the difference between the two species and suggests humans are more closely related to animals than we believe, only afforded this privilege of a perceived higher position by our consciousness.

Overall, the studying of artists and their various forms of inspiration in Art Humanities has motivated me to search within myself for artistic influence.