01 Work, The Art of War, Max Ginsburg's War Pieta, with footnotes

Max Ginsburg

War Pieta, c. 2007

Oil on canvas

50 x 60 inches.

Private collection

I thought of a mother losing her son and the Pieta paintings of the Old Masters and of Michelangelo's sculpture, Pieta, showing the Madonna mourning the death of her son. In my painting I sought to symbolically connect, and contrast, the image of a real mother screaming in anguish over the death of her soldier son with the Old Master images of the Madonna mourning the death of her son in a rather unreal, quiet and serene way. 

For this painting I hired a photographer to do a photo shooting with models posing in various positions and expressions. I used photography because a model posing could not hold the intensity of this expression. About 100 photos were taken and I selected three to work from that had the facial expression and pose I wanted. I referred to scrap reference for certain details such as the dead soldier's facial expression and wounded soldiers in battle. In order to help express my outrage against the real horror of war I amputated the soldier's arm and leg in my painting..." Max Ginsburg

Max Ginsburg was born in France in 1931 to American parents. After the family moved back to the United States, he was raised in New York from an early age.

Growing up during the Great Depression and World War II had a profound impact on young Ginsburg, shaping his perspective on the world and influencing his artistic development. Art would be a means of visually connecting with other human beings on an emotional level to convey profound social meaning.

As his father was a painter, Ginsburg was surrounded by paints and canvases all his life. He first picked up a painting brush at age 2.

But his path as an artist began in earnest during his early teens. Ginsburg would enter art school in the 1950s. In 1953, Ginsburg graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor in Fine Arts. He received his Masters Degree in 1963 from City University of New York. More on Max Ginsburg

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.