Hot air balloons: protagonists or details

ORIGINAL OIL PAINTING "CAPPADOCIA" 60X70 CM (2023) (2023)Painting by Evgeniya Roslik.

Hot air balloons: meaning

Within the narrative of the history of art, the subject of the hot air balloon has taken on the most varied meanings, tying itself, for example, to the explication of historical events, or referring, in a more or less direct way, to more profound and irrational allusions of a dreamy-psychological nature, since, generally, this sort of flying balloon is identified as the symbol par excellence of a desire aimè internalized by the human being: the dream of flying, being light, becoming capable of moving with rapidity where the heart commands! In fact, the aforementioned means of transportation realizes that much coveted idea of allowing us to float free in the vast sky, putting us in direct contact with the rarefied air, as well as allowing us to see the world from above, thus assuming a broader and more detached perspective, capable of transforming us into omniscient narrators of our lives, ready to locate our place in the world in the temporal dimensions of the past, present and, possibly, future. Such revelations tie in well with the hot air balloon also understood as a symbol of curiosity, indelibly associated with the theme of the experience of travel, aimed at bringing us into contact with new places, people and cultures through the assumption of an open and revealing attitude, with which we may be able to honestly glimpse the depths of our being. From introspection, it is also possible to come to let go of past sufferings, just like the hot air balloon, which, in order to fly higher and higher, needs abandon of some burdens, but without forgetting to keep in mind some painful but fruitful lessons to avoid ending up like Icarus.

2055: DAY AFTER TOMORROW III (2020)Digital Arts by Jaqueline Vanek.

Hot air balloons: protagonists or details

Having made it clear what man's most ambitious dream is, to which the introspective, dreamy and self-conscious means of transportation of the hot air balloon is inextricably linked, it is now time to highlight two modes by which the latter was painted, namely, both as the main subject and in the appearances of revealing detail. Julius Caesar Ibbetson's masterpiece, titled Lunardi's Second Ballon Ascending from St George's Fields (1785-90), is part of the first type of work explicated above, as it leads the viewer to direct his attention primarily to the balloon of England's colors, which is also "worshipped" by the crowd arranged at its lower end. Such a vision, as revealed to us by the very name of the painting, speaks to us of a historical event, as it depicts the hot air balloon of Vincenzo Lunardi, inventor of the hydrogen-inflated gas balloon, which he used for his first ascent of Chelsea (England), an event that was followed by others taking place in other cities, including Naples and Lisbon. Another historical balloon made in the foreground, which tells us about the same character, is the one depicted by John Francis Rigaud, British painter creator of Captain Vincenzo Lunardi with his Assistant George Biggin, and Mrs. Letitia Anne Sage, in a Balloon (1785). Affixed to the English context is the American one, revealed by the triptych of woodcut prints by Utagawa Yoshitora, a Japanese painter and draughtsman, who, active from 1836 to 1882, made America: Enjoying Hot Air Balloons, a masterpiece in which the subjects depicted are caught contemplating the floating of three hot air balloons captured in the right side of the support. Finally, the close-up of a surreal hot air balloon containing flowers and a cool drink is provided to us by Still-life of Four Roses, Glass of Bourbon, in a Hot Air Balloon Basket, a shot by Anton Bruehl, an Australian-born American fashion photographer.

LANDSCAPE WITH AN AIR BALLOON. #2 (2023)Painting by Vita Schagen.

All of these works with references, both historical and dreamlike, highlighted the subject of the hot air balloon, presenting it as the undisputed center of the figurative narrative, which is not the case in paintings of similar subject matter, such as, for example, Letitia Ann Sage (1785) by unknown artist, James Millar's (1735-1805) Allegory of Wisdom and Science (1798), John Hollins' A Consultation prior to the Aerial Voyage to Weilburgh (1836), and David Tindle's Balloon Race, Clipston (1980-1981), where the means of transportation appears "silently" in the background. In fact, taking Letitia Ann Sage (1785) into consideration, the masterpiece primarily immortalizes a female figure, while, only by paying closer attention, it is also possible to discern the presence of a hot air balloon in the background, intended to make explicit the identity of the effigy: Letitia Ann Sage (1750-1817), the first British woman to fly, ascending on June 29, 1785 on a balloon launched by Vincenzo Lunardi from St George's Fields in London. As for Allegory of Wisdom and Science, on the other hand, English painter James Millar's work immortalizes a hot air balloon in the distance in the background, favoring the depiction of characters and objects, which, in line with the best-known iconographic tradition, repurpose the most popular ways of depicting wisdom and science. In fact, the first of these two takes the form of a woman, perhaps alluding to the "classic" example of Paolo Veronese's Allegory of Wisdom and Strength (1565), while the second takes the form of the more typical depiction of young figures accompanied by books and scientific instruments, as the well-known Allegory of the Arts and Sciences (1649) by the Flemish Ignacio Raeth also did years earlier. Finally, the account of hot air balloons in art will find its continuation in the analysis of some works created by Artmajeur artists, such as: Flying Snail by Jérémy Piquet, The Whale and the Balloon by Jean-Marie Gitard (Mr. STRANGE), and And Why Not by Emmanuel Passeleu.

THE FLYING CITY OF CARDU (2022)Digital Arts by Lukas Kruschenski (Lasimov).

FLYING SNAIL Painting by Jérémy Piquet.

Flying Snail by Jérémy Piquet

The most typical image of the hot-air balloon takes the form, in Piquet's surrealist reality, of a snail shell, which, now as light as a balloon, is capable of carrying aloft, probably pulled by a decided breeze, even the weight of the slimy body of the little animal in question, accustomed to being tethered to the earth's surface, on which it crawls delightfully. In doing so, the slowest animal in the world becomes a rapid traveler, so much so that it is possible to imagine how its slime, from the top of its house-slug, might drip down, hitting, perhaps, the head of some unfortunate person. The Artmajeur artist's description of the Flying Snail leads me to address an important topic for now only here and there furtively mentioned: the history of the birth of the hot air balloon. The latter finds its origins in 18th-century France, when Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, sons of a wealthy paper merchant, developed their innovative means of flight by drawing inspiration from the very paper cuttings, which, burned in the fireplace, defied gravity to rise thanks to heat. Through this insight, after a series of private experiments, the first hot-air balloon flight took place on June 5, 1783, an event in which the lucky passengers were, returning to the theme of Piquet's work, three animals, although these were not properly snails, but a rooster, a goose and a sheep.

THE WHALE AND THE BALLOON (2020)Digital Arts by Jean-Marie Gitard (Mr STRANGE).

The Whale and the Balloon by Jean-Marie Gitard

The horizontal, earthy sea surface is opposed by the lighter motion of three subjects, who point, more or less realistically, to the sky. In fact, if the gull and the hot-air balloon can aspire to the home of the sun and clouds, the heavy whale can only attempt to acquaint itself with it temporarily, by means of a leap that brings it close to the above-mentioned means of transport, probably speventing its hosts. The mammal's action seems to be driven by jealousy, just as if he wanted to try to emulate the abilities proper to lighter beings or objects, rather than appreciate the underwater world for which he is destined. This paradoxical and amusing image introduces us to the discovery of some hilarious anecdotes regarding the hot air balloon, such as, for example, the fact that, in order to experience the presence of man aboard the means of transportation in question, King Louis decided to opt for convicted criminals, recognized as the most justly expendable people. In any case, the co-inventor of the aerostat, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, along with the Marquis François d'Arlandes, objected to the above, arguing how important it was that at least one of the pilots of the aerostat was actually qualified and not accompanied by a dangerous criminal. Another of the many curious tales in question is that the first balloonists who successfully crossed the English Channel did so without pants, as, after realizing that they were losing altitude, they had to lighten up, showing up at the end of the feat in their underwear.

AND WHY NOT (2020)Photography by Emmanuel Passeleu.

And why not by Emmanuel Passeleu

It behooves us to describe Passeleu's digital photography by referring to the artist's own words, "Near the Matabiau station in Toulouse, southwest France, a crumbling old building stands alone, with only a few diehards resisting the inevitable destruction that is approaching. The flight of this balloon, the liberation or resilience of these inhabitants. This little net, real and true, I don't know what it's doing there, as a shot in the arm to the recalcitrants who would like to try to show themselves stronger than the machine." These somewhat hermetic words may suggest the presence, behind tall buildings that have survived demolition, of a hot air balloon, which, intent on playing hide-and-seek, would seem to represent the desire to animate a now dying place, asking for help from the element air, indelibly linked to the invincible celestial sphere. Still speaking of photography and hot air balloons, it is noteworthy that the photographer Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, known by the pseudonym Nadar, was immortalized with his wife in about 1865 in a print depicting them in the basket of a hot air balloon mounted in the artist's studio. In addition, Nadar is famous because he took the first aerial photographs, capturing Paris from a balloon at an altitude of 1,600 feet!