Title Creator Date Era City Country Emotional Sum (Sense of Life or emotional World View) Theme
Comedia Painter: Dewing, Thomas Wilmer 1892-4c 1800s Philadelphia United States Life is sumptuous and beautiful and alive.

Feminine vivacity and gaiety
Composition with Red Yellow Blue and Black Painter: Mondrian, Piet 1921 [Seems mute]
Confectionary Basket from Japan, Fukui region Designer: Anonymous unknown Life can be dynamic and purposeful and intriguing -- because of the dynamic form and economy of materials and diagonal symmetry of the composition.
Covered Box Designer: Otar, John 1930 1901-2000 Fun; complexity made from simplicity
Crane Under the Rain Ohara, Shoson 1928 1900s Life is difficult.
Cyrano de Bergerac Playwright: Rostand, Edmond 1897 1900s United States Life can be exciting. Life can be grand, literally.
There is also some great sadness about consummated love, since it is portrayed as unreachable.

The importance of independence and independent thought. Compromise is deadly to one's soul.
Sub-themes: a) Doubt of one's goodness because of an incidental fact (physical feature) is terribly damaging and tragic. b) Helping someone by faking reality is damaging and can come to no good.
Dangerous Beauty Director: Herskovitz, Marshall 1998 pre-1910 United States The world is a horrible split of conventional marital morality vs. honest but promiscuous morality. The way to live requires one sacrifice one's body for one's soul.

1. The importance of accepting your own rules for living, your own morality.
2. The grim metaphysical conflict for a Venetian woman of being a slave to a husband or a free woman requiring sexual work.
David Sculptor: Buonarotti, Michelangelo 1504 1500s Man is a strong, indomitable creature who has the intelligence to overcome terrible odds.

[requires assumption of some context of this work -- not a "cold" introduction to it]: A man able to face a daunting task, with tremulous calm and determination. This is the depiction of the David/Goliath story of the Bible in which David takes on the much more formidable Goliath and wins.
Day at the Beach Painter: Leyendecker, J.C. 1932 1900s Fun and cuteness.
Design for Living Writer: Coward, Noel 1932 1900s Life can be giddy and bright. Facing up to one's anti-conventional values is important. Conventional morality must be questioned if it causes suffering and conflict.

You should follow your deepest values and accept them no matter how unconventional the outcome.

A rare combination of the wittiest, lightest of Noel Coward's style, along with deeper themes of romantic love, proper morality and how should one live.
Diana Sculptor: Saint-Gaudens, Auguste 1892 1900s New York United States Serenity in action. But not a strong world view in any case, quite placid.
Die Hard Director: McTiernan, John 1988 July 15 The way to beat evil is to give no quarter, no compromise. Life is hard, but fighting for the right is rewarded.

Giving up in life is not an option.
Dirty Dancing Director: Ardolino, Emile 1987 Life is passionate and meaningful.

The joy and passion of love and life and dancing, while learning integrity and independence.
East of Eden Author: Steinbeck, John 1952 1951 - 2000 Life is filled with great and important choices.

The battle between good and evil, guilt and innocence. Takes the position that we are influenced by many things, but ultimately we have free will.
Ebben? Ne andrò lontana (aria from La Wally) Composer: Catalani, Alfredo 1892 1851-1900 United States

Longing is the overall emotional tone of the music. The lyric gives reason to this overall tone.

Sadness at having to leave forever the place where you were happy once.
Ebben? Ne andrò lontana (aria from La Wally) Composer: Catalani, Alfredo 1892 1851-1900 United States

Longing is the overall emotional tone of the music. The lyric gives reason to this overall tone.

Sadness at having to leave forever the place where you were happy once.
Eiffel Tower Designer: Eiffel, Gustave 1889 The works of Man are thrilling.
Enemy Below, The Director: Powell, Dick 1957 1951-1970 War is deadly and destructive for all parties.
Etudes Choreographer: Lander, Harold 1948 Pre-1950 Ballet/Dance United States

Thrilling pleasure at beautiful movement and great success at developing the best within you.
 

Hard work results in great achievement in life -- and that results in beauty and excitement in life.<br>
Euphronios Krater aka Sarpedon Krater Vase Painter: Euphronios 515 BC (empty) Exquisitely beautiful hardship.
Fame Director: Parker, Alan 1980 1971-1990 Life is hard, but you can succeed, and it is worth it and exhilarating.

Go after your heart's desire.
Far Country, The Author: Shute, Nevil 1952 1951 - 2000 Life can be bright, happy and successful, but hard decisions must be faced and dealt with.

A good and happy life is made up of self-directed actions, self-chosen goals.

A less important theme is:
Freedom from government control.
Whether the government control results from devastating wars, or from socialist control of medical care, freedom is to be sought and prized.
Feast of Belshazzar Painter: Van Rijn, Rembrandt 1635c. 1600s The only way to know the sense of life or world view of the painting is through it's history, since the image is very mixed. Shows an opulent and sumptuous world, but the people are obviously distressed over something. Assuming one knows its history, you could conclude it is an exercise in depicting the dangers of the worldly pursuits and wealth.
Ferrari Dino 246 GT Designer: Ferrari, Enzo 1969 The world is a place of speed and elegance.
Fireplace and Door Designer: Esherick, Wharton 1936c. 1901-2000 Very orderly exuberance, via "explosive" geometry