Description
‘Feast of Fortuna’ by Sarah Boyce
Artist: Sarah Boyce
Title: ‘Feast of Fortuna’
Medium: Acrylic on cradled panel
Dimensions: 10″ x 8″
Framing: Unframed – Ready to hang
Year of Creation: 2022
About the Artwork:
“Fortuna is the Roman goddess of luck and fate. She is a deity of abundance and prosperity as well as fickleness and fluctuation. Often, she is depicted carrying a horn of plenty, representing a bountiful harvest, a ship’s rudder showing that she can steer fate, and a wheel alluding to the changing nature of luck. She may be related to the earlier Etruscan deity Vortumna, whose name means She Who Turns the Year, or possibly She Who Brings. I’m particularly interested in Fortuna’s connection to and difference from other goddesses of prosperity, fertility, and bounty. Of the many motherly, giving goddesses who nurture and provide, Fortuna gives and she also takes away. She is often portrayed blindfolded; unknowing of and indifferent to our fate. This representation of her touches on the idea that fortune is random and changeable. As much as we may like the idea of affecting our fate, control is an illusion.
The objects in the painting are stacked in a precarious arrangement, suggesting instability. I’ve included images referencing harvest, abundance, and luck, as well as vanitas symbols which signify life’s ephemerality.” – Sarah Boyce
About the Artist:
(Artist Bio)
Sarah Boyce (Garlands & Gravestones) is a painter and illustrator from Michigan, living in Washington, DC. Her work explores imagery and folklore related to holidays, the changing seasons, and our relationship to the natural world. With equal interest in classical painting and imagery from popular culture, she is particularly influenced by horror films, Halloween, memento mori artwork, still life painting, and ancient mythology. She received a BFA from Western Michigan University and an MFA from the University of Memphis.