Antiquity

Jeff Koons - Antiquity 

In his series Antiquity, Jeff Koons emphasizes his interest in metaphysics, and reinterprets some of the most famous themes in art history, such as fertility, eros, and female beauty. 

Alongside paintings of Greco-Roman sculpture, Jeff Koons Antiquity series features images of contemporary, photorealistic beauty, such as that of the famous actress Gretchen Mol in the same pose as the pin-up Bettie Page. 

The almost childlike drawing of a sailboat is the motif that runs throughout the series. Jeff Koons depicts it with simplified, rough strokes as it passes through two hills, illuminated by the rays of the Sun. 

Through the element of the sailboat in Antiquity, Jeff Koons leaves room for a fascinating double entendre, tracing a path to the painting by Gustave Courbet L'Origine du monde. 

Jeff Koons' roughly-detailed description of the boat, in fact, seems to sketch the contours of the image of one of the nineteenth-century painter's most famous masterpieces, a provocation towards society’s reluctance to accept realistic representations of its most intimate desires. 

Jeff Koons' Antiquity series, begun in 2008, lays the foundation for a line of inquiry that continues to evolve in the artist's most recent works.