Le déjeuner sur l’herbe del Jardín de las delicias (art is a private joke): A methodological critique of interpretive excess

Abstract

Contemporary art calls for explanation and this requirement is much in vogue today, to the point of excess.  On the one hand, there are some interpretations where it is extremely difficult to find the connection between the text and the work of art it is referring to.  On the other hand, there are texts that do nothing more than tell us what we see in a tautalogical and redundant manner.  As an analysis of a work of art, “Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe del Jardín de las Delicias (art is a private joke)” is a comment on these excesses.  Starting from visual elements and a personal point of view, the exercise consists of utilizing a classical method of analysis of a work of art.  The interpretations will vary according to the angle from which the analysis is approached; accordingly, a demonstration by reductio ad absurdum through a solid argumentation is proposed.