A Tale of Two Circles and Three Mandalas
Self Portrait with Two Circles / c.1665-69 / Rembrandt / Kenwood House, London.
Once upon a time, long before digital cell phones, internet, and lap-tops, there lived a young English art student in the South of London, who had a love for circles, and a love for the drawings and paintings of Rembrandt. In his spare time he would check out the art books from his local library, and visit the art galleries and museums of London in search of the works of his favourite artist. Traveling around London on public transport was arduous and time consuming in those days, with many stops and interconnections from one bus or train to another. One day, the young artist made a wonderful discovery when visiting Kenwood House in the North of London. A most magnificent self-portrait by Rembrandt, and maybe one of his best, but there was something very unusual about the painting. On the back wall behind Rembrandt were two partly visible large circles, which gave the painting a certain air of mystery, but what did these circles signify? Over the years the young artist tried to find out about Rembrandt’s circles, but to no avail. Many years past, until the artist, who was now not a young man anymore, decided to visit Rembrandt’s house in Amsterdam. The house had become a museum, so maybe the enigmatic circles could be found within Rembrandt’s house, and the old mystery could be solved. Most of the rooms in the large house were open to the public, including Rembrandt’s studio, so room by room the artist searched the house while recording each one on his camera, but alas, no circles were to be found!
Information about Kenwood House in London, including history, visiting times and directions can be found at this link…
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/kenwood-house/
Enigmatic Mandala / 2013 / Terry Long
The young artist described in the story above, as you may have guessed, is me, and my love of circles, and the work of Rembrandt has not diminished. Circles have a strong significance for me, and my current personal artwork shown on this blog consists of many mandalas. The word mandala means” circle” in Sanskrit. There have been many theories over the years about Rembrandt’s circles, and you can find some of them mentioned at this link… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_Portrait_with_Two_Circles and also here…http://www.rembrandt-signature-file.com/remp_texte/remp071.pdf
Mandala Symphony No. 5 / 2013 / Terry Long
This drawing and painting composition of light was inspired and created while listening to Vaughan Williams Symphony No. 5 in D major. You can hear, and learn about the piece here… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9YoEETzYsE
O Magnum Mysterium / 2013 / Terry Long
This mandala was created by drawing and painting with light, and was inspired by the musical adaption and arrangement of O Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen. The version I listen to while creating my mandala was by the Robert Shaw Ch0rale. You can hear it at this link… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR4eYQMN6s8 You can find information on the musical piece here… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Magnum_Mysterium and on the composer Morten Lauridsen here… http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204555904577169562197268518.html
Rembrandt’s Studio / 2013 / Terry Long
This is a photograph I made of Rembrandt’s studio in Amsterdam, and it was the last room that I visited on my tour of his house, so it was a great disappointment to find little of Rembrandt’s life and work in his studio, and with no traces of any circles. With the exception of the area in my photograph, the ornate fireplace, and a simple wooden easel in one corner, Rembrandt’s studio was empty. I have placed three of my mandalas (shown above) on the studio wall, as a kind of offering and remembrance to the great artist. Maybe Rembrandt’s choice of placing two large circles in his self portrait was purely intuitive and spontaneous, and it could be that he simply loved circles, but maybe it should all remain just a mystery. I think I much prefer it.
Information about Rembrandt,s House in Amsterdam can be found at this link…http://www.rembrandthuis.nl/index.php?lang=en
Rembrandt’s House in Amsterdam.
Terry Long imagery 