From Olympic surfer to Donald Trump: 12 most memorable photos of 2024

An airplane bisects a total solar eclipse over Bloomington, Indiana on April 8th. Its long contrail was silhouetted against the shimmering corona. Of course, this isn’t the first time the paths of the plane, moon, sun, and Earth have intersected. In January 1925, the U.S. Navy airship USS Los Angeles was equipped with a 500-pound (227 kg) telescope and seven scientists to get as close a view of the long-awaited solar eclipse as it passed directly over New York City. Brains were loaded. According to some, this is the most observed solar eclipse in history. American painter Howard Russell Butler was not on board the ship, but watched closely from behind his easel, capturing the event in his third panel. Stunning solar eclipse triptych (1918, 1923, 1925) He hoped to inspire schoolchildren.

Knowing your art history can save you a lot of stress and heartache. At least that was one of the lessons learned from the controversy surrounding the decadent tableau photos taken during the Olympic opening ceremony. The image, which depicts a naked figure lying decadently on a platter in an oversized table setting, surrounded by drag queens and a seductive singer seated at a fruit bowl, has attracted some Christian and conservative critics. It was misinterpreted by some as a satire of The Last Supper. Who denounced this work as disgustingly blasphemous. Apologizing for the confusion, the Paris 2024 organizing committee said the painting was not intended to evoke Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, but was instead intended to summon the Greek god Dionysus. and revealed that it reminded him of Jan van Bylert’s later paintings, instead of contours. Feast of the Gods, 1635.

Sudanese refugees wait in a crowded line for aid at a transit center in Lenku, South Sudan, in February. By early 2024, more than 500,000 people had fled fighting between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, and South Sudan’s resources were stretched to breaking point. The joyful fluidity of the colorful fabrics and the rich rhythm of the patterns contrast sharply with the austere conditions of the immigrants. The intensity of this photo recalls the rhythm and texture of the abstract works of famous Sudanese artist and filmmaker Hussein Sharif. poetic painting The line between the colors we see and the colors we feel becomes blurred.

Images of Mount Luang, Indonesia’s powerful volcano that erupted multiple times in April, throwing columns of hot lava and smoldering ash into the sky, were both menacing and mesmerizing. The terrifying power of volcanic activity has fascinated filmmakers for thousands of years, but the sublime images of incandescent volcanic ash, vaporized pumice, and molten ore spewing into the atmosphere were first created by British Romantic artist John – Strangely aligned with Martin’s violent visions. Two centuries ago, he reimagined the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD for his apocalyptic paintings. Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum, 1822.

Some of the photographs are self-choreographed, foreshadowing their own enduring symbolism. Raising the U.S. flag over Iwo JimaFor example, the sight of U.S. athletes raising their fists in a Black Power salute during the medal ceremony at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City comes to mind. Reflecting elements of both of these two milestones in image production, the photo of a defiant, fist-pumping Donald Trump with a bullet pierced through his right ear by a would-be assassin, his face covered in blood. This is a photo of him climbing up. At a campaign rally in July, a disproportionate American flag was tilted behind him, and many wondered if this was the moment he won the election.

Two Palestinian girls prepare for Ramadan by lighting lanterns to decorate a crowded refugee tent in southern Gaza on February 29. The soft light of the lantern contrasts sharply with the eerie darkness of the eerie sunset flickering in the distance. By summer, 90% of Gazans (approximately 2 million people) would have been exiled in the war. The enchanting act of lantern lighting reflects famous scenes from art history. John Singer Sargent’s charming portraits of his friends’ daughters in a garden at dusk in south-west England. carnation, lily, lily, roseThis work was painstakingly painted over many months in the fall of 1885, with just a little light each night. All that is missing is green grass and wildflowers and a lasting sense of peace.

Emotional images of Brazil’s Gabriel Medina soaring into the sky after taking on a giant wave off the coast of Tahiti, French Polynesia, during the third round of the men’s surfing heat on July 29th It spread. I remember Medina’s seemingly effortless levitation. Myriad religious expressions of mystical ascension In Western art, from Giotto to Rembrandt, from Il Garofalo to Salvador Dali. What seals the remarkable simultaneity of athletic and spiritual ascent is Medina’s raised right arm and the coolness of his index finger pointing precisely where his body and soul seem to be headed. It’s a punch.

On October 30, a woman in Valencia, Spain, watched from her balcony at the flooded neighborhood below as swept vehicles crashed into each other like a herd of steel bulls tearing through the streets. A weather phenomenon known as DANA (Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos), or “cold drop,” hit Valencia the previous day, causing unprecedented rainfall. In just eight hours, 500 mm (20 inches) fell, devastating the area. The dizzying perspective of a Valencian woman observes the world crumpling and twisting through her eyes, recalling the crumpled perspective of Italian Cubist Carlo Carra’s 1912 painting. Let me do it. At the same time, La Donna al Balcony. (Simultaneous scene, woman on balcony).

At a listening party celebrating the release of her album Hit Me Hard and Soft in New York City in May, American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish revealed that her body was suddenly amplified. It seems to evaporate into a heavy sound and dissolve into a dream of light suspended in smoke. , silhouette if intangible. The dissolution of the self into a glowing mist recalls the evaporating visions of British painter JMW Turner. His intricate paintings Light and Color (Goethe’s Theory) – The Morning After the Flood, 1843imagines a seemingly unfathomable moment of sublime illumination that sets the stage for every shimmering hue of existence that follows.

On December 9, a circle of civilians in Syria stamp on the head of a toppled statue of former President Hafez al-Assad with their shoes in a sign of deep contempt. After Syria’s Ba’ath regime collapsed and the Assad family fled the country, Syrians were seen in cities across the country destroying countless statues of ousted President Bashar al-Assad’s father. There is, of course, a kind of communal catharsis in the shared joy of removing the pedestal of a statue of a rejected ruler, as seen in the following work. William Walcutt’s 1857 painting In July 1776, a circle of ecstatic New Yorkers pull down a statue of George III by British sculptor Joseph Wilton after enthusiastically reading the just-adopted Declaration of Independence.

More than 350 dancers gathered in April, setting a record for the most ballerinas posing at the same time. en pointe. Photos of many participants excitedly preparing to compete capture the grace and energy of this momentous occasion. The claustrophobic crush of so many young women would definitely have been appealing. French Impressionist artist Edgar DegasApparently, she not only enjoyed watching the master dancers he called “little monkey girls” practice and perform, but also the agonizing sounds of their joints “cracking”. It seems so. “Probably too often.” He confessed to the painter Pierre-Georges Janiot.“I think of women as animals.”

A Korean woman fearlessly grabs the barrel of a soldier’s loaded rifle. The image, taken shortly after President Yoon Seok-yeol declared martial law, shows Ahn Gwi-ryong, 35, a spokesperson for the opposition Democratic Party, carrying heavily armed soldiers ordered to prevent a gathering of lawmakers. The photo shows him struggling with soldiers. Anne later said of the collision: “My only thought was to stop them. I pushed them away, shook them off and did the best I could.” Anne’s unflinching determination, and even the steely glow of her clothes, recall the stirring work of British artist John Gilbert. 19th century watercolor portrait of Joan of Arc.

*The numbers in this work do not represent rankings, but are intended to make different entries as easy to understand as possible.

—

If you liked this story, Sign up for the Essential List newsletter – Hand-picked features, videos and can’t-miss news delivered to your inbox every Friday.

For more culture coverage from the BBC, follow us on facebook, × and Instagram.