Robert Shillady: Triumph of Irrational Dogma

About the References Below is a list of artworks by other artists, both historical and contemporary, that Shillady referenced in his triptych Triumph of Irrational Dogma. Enjoy finding each reference!

About the Trilogy  Robert Shillady’s masterful trilogy includes three narrative paintings—a series he has spent the past eight years creating. Shillady recently completed the third painting in the series—an impressive 53 x 93 triptych, Triumph of Irrational Dogma (2022), which joins Icons of the Spiritually Certain (2015) and The End of Dada? (2012). The paintings reference the artworks of other artists, both historical or contemporary. This is the first time Triumph of Irrational Dogma has been exhibited, and the first time all three paintings have been on view together. A must see exhibition!

Click here to see the reference for Icons of the Spiritually Certain  and The End of Dada?

References for Triumph of Irrational Dogma
“Much as Manet, Jake and Dino Chapman, and Yue Minjun have adapted artwork from the past to address their own realities, Triumph of Irrational Dogma (2022) includes more than 30 images, altered for light and perspective, within a composition incorporating six landscapes I painted in Maine. In this triptych I attempt to point out the foibles, the irrationality, and the cruelty that have plagued mankind today, and since the beginning of civilization. Artists reflecting the zeitgeist of their age have addressed them, over and over.”  —Robert Shillady

1. The Parable of the Blind, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, c. 1568.

2. Desolation, Thomas Cole, c. 1836, fifth painting in the Course of Empire series.

3. The Execution, Yue Minjun, 1995; after Edouard Manet, The Execution of the Emperor Maximilian, 1867; after The Third of May, 1808, Francisco Goya, 1814.

4. The Third of May, 1808, Francisco Goya, 1814.          

5. Nandawendagwed, Tom Uttech, 2003.

6. The Feast of Pure Reason, Jack Levine, 193.

7. F–111, James Rosenquist, 1964–1965.

8. Great Deeds against the Dead, Jake and Dino Chapman, 1994, after The Disasters of War series by Francisco Goya, 1810–1820.

9. Untitled (Cowboy), Richard Prince, 2012.
Appropriated photograph from an advertisement.

10. A Virginia Gentleman, Walton Ford, 1989.

11. Sisyphus, Titian, c. 1548–1549.

12. Departure, Max Beckmann, 1932–1933.

13. Guernica, Pablo Picasso, 1937.

14. Calumny, Sandro Botticelli, c. 1495.

15. Make America Great Again, Illma Gore, 2015.

16. Luncheon on the Grass, Edouard Manet, 1863; after Fete Champetre, Giorgione, c. 1505–1510;  and Marcantonio Raimondi engraving after Raphael: The Judgement of Paris, c. 1525–1530.

17. Pit, Philip Guston, 1976.

18. Bonfire of the Vanities, Peter Welford, 2010.

19. Fastnacht, Neo Rauch, 2010.

20. Ship of Fools, Albrecht Durer, c. 1497.

21. Kindred Spirits, Asher Brown Durand, 1849.

22. Mercenaries 1, Leon Golub, 1997.

23. Duality of Humanity 2, Shepard Fairey, 2008.

24. Destruction is My Beatrice, quote from French poet Stephane Mallarme, c. 1870; Title of  book by Jed Rasula, 2015.

25. Andy Warhol cover, Artforum, April 1987.

26. Postminimalism, book by Robert Pincus-Witten, 1977.

27. The Triumph of Irrational Dogma, headline for opinion piece by Fareed Zakaria, The Week, July 1 –8, 2011.

28. Investments in a Weird World, Tiago Hoisel, 2010; after The Temptation of St. Antony by Salvador Dali, 1946.

29. Self-Portrait with Flat Top, Maine, Red Grooms, 1964.

30. Us and Them, Neil Jenny, 1969.

31. Saw and Sawed, Neil Jenny, 1969.

32. Untitled (Sin), John Baldessari, 1964.

33. Gone: An Historical Romance of a Civil War as it Occurred B’tween the Dusky Thighs of One Young Negress and Her Heart, Kara Walker, 1994.

34. Icarus, Henri Matisse, 1947.