Introduction to the Gallery
The images in this part of The Educated Wrestler Society website represent a small sampling of the treasures of western art. Many of the images have a wrestling connection, although in some cases Coach Thomas had to wrestle with metaphors to make the connection.
Leonardo da Vinci
This sketch was made by the always-inquisitive Leonardo in the year Columbus sailed the blue (i.e. 1492). It is based on ideas about human proportions developed by a Roman architect named Vitruvius. As wrestlers we look at the piece and see an athlete in a circle, and we recall that the referee will grant our opponent a point if we step outside the circle.
Leonardo da Vinci – Vitruvian Man (1492)
Raphael
Along with Michelangelo and Leonardo, Raphael was considered to be one of the masters of renaissance art in Florence and Rome. In this piece Raphael pays tribute to the intellectual and artistic giants of antiquity and of then-modern times. It includes portraits of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Leonardo and Michelangelo, as well as influential Islamic scholars.
Raphael – School of Athens (1510)
Paul Gauguin
What you see is only a part of a huge painting (now in the Boston Museum of Fine Art) which Gauguin considered to be his greatest masterpiece. It is a wonderful piece, and educated wrestlers gotta love the title. Surprisingly, the answers to the title questions are quite simple:
Paul Gauguin –
Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? (1897)
Where do we come from? You come from a long tradition of excellent wrestlers, whether from the North Shore, Alberni or at other locations. What are we? You are wrestlers….. educated wrestlers. Where are we going? You are going on a pursuit of excellence, both on and off the mat.
Each of the nine sections of the website will contain instruction and videos on the following aspects of high school wrestling:
Beginning of Art and Wrestling – comments and videos on Stance
Interesting Art of Early Cultures – comments and videos on Profile and Motion
Your body is Your Temple – comments and videos on Finishing the Attack
Creation of Gods and Men – comments and videos on Set-ups [under construction]
Gods walking with Men – comments and videos on Takedowns [under construction]
Let the Heads Roll – comments and videos on Defense [under construction]
Historical Art – 99 Moves
Modern Art – Hot Dog moves [under construction]
Portraits – Miscellaneous videos [under construction]