Jansons idea of an Image made by Chance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Jansons idea of an Image made by Chance - Essay Example pp16) Mantegna finds that an affirmation for accidental images or image made by chance leads to a denial of the classical heritage.2 (Gamboni, Dario, pp27) The cloud images in his work show different representations, such as the horse man in the top left-hand corner in his Saint Sebastian of 1459. Janson is of the view that the horse man appeared while the artist was painting the cloud and was retained as a â€Å"visual pun† in accordance with classical theory, but he did not take it to its final complete rendering because of mismatch with his work. (Gamboni, Dario, pp27) This image is most unremarkable and left incomplete in order to retain the contours of the cloud which has primacy in his schematic theorization. An image made by chance finds difficulty in acceptance as a work of art when taken in the context of the definition, that all art springs from a purposeful activity. When we look at a work of art as the image of chance, it necessitates that we attach to it divinity or a supernatural force which has shaped it or else support its existence based on an individuals imagination. In classical times, the chance images were mainly of three kinds-those found in the rocks, clouds and blots. Plinys Natural History tells of an image of Silenus chanced upon when a block of Parian marble was split open with wedges. (Page 341, Volume 1(XXXVI, v) In describing another work by Protogenes, (XXXV,x) and another painter Neacles, a great deal of emphasis is placed on the â€Å"strokes of luck† which made their work possible to achieve. In the Middle Ages the chance images were used more in theological writings than in artistic pursuits.3 Anslem of Canterbury (Cur Deus homo, ed. F. S. Schmitt, Darmstadt [1960], p. 16) compares arguments to â€Å"figments painted on clouds† (Page 343, Volume 1) By the end of the Middle Ages several relics were the only instances where chance images were given prominence, save for some works of art such as the Nativity scene from Germany,