- Luis López Cabán
- All Artworks
- On Human Wisdom
On Human Wisdom (2025)Acrylic painting by Luis López Cabán
135 x 180 x 1.5cm (unframed) / 135 x 180cm (actual image size)
£3,548.35
Original artwork description
On Human Wisdom, 2025
In this painting I reflect on the unsettling contradictions of the human condition and on the fragile promises humanity often makes after devastation has already taken place. Two figures stand facing one another in what appears to be a gesture of reassurance or reconciliation. One of them is a soldier, still holding his weapon, while the other, dressed in a yellow protective suit marked with a radioactive symbol, suggests the presence of a chemist or scientist. Both wear gas masks, as if the very air around them has become unsafe.
The scientist gently places a hand on the soldier’s shoulder in what could be interpreted as a gesture of comfort, agreement, or perhaps uneasy recognition. Yet beneath their feet lies a landscape composed entirely of skulls and bones, silent witnesses to the destruction that preceded this encounter.
Across the top of the image appears the phrase: “And from now on we will live happily in peace.” The sentence carries a strong sense of irony. It echoes the hopeful declarations humanity repeatedly makes after wars, catastrophes, and technological disasters, promises of peace that often arrive only once irreversible damage has already been done.
The title On Human Wisdom is inspired by a chapter from the book Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche. In that philosophical context, the idea of “human wisdom” is not presented as certainty, but rather as something fragile, questionable, and deeply tied to our contradictions. This reference adds another layer to the scene: the uneasy coexistence of knowledge, power, responsibility, and consequence.
By bringing together the figures of a soldier and a scientist, I wanted to suggest the complex relationship between warfare, technological progress, and human decision-making. Both figures appear protected from the contaminated world around them, yet they stand directly above the traces of what such knowledge and power can produce.
What I also find deeply absurd in this scene is the strange indifference of the two figures toward their surroundings. They stand calmly above a ground of bones and skulls — the very consequences of actions like their own, while speaking of peace and a better future. Around them lies devastation, death, and a landscape already poisoned by radiation. The promise of a peaceful future appears almost tragically misplaced, because everything that could sustain such a future has already been destroyed or contaminated.
Through this image I wanted to create a moment that feels both disturbing and contemplative. The painting invites the viewer to reflect on the paradox of human wisdom, our extraordinary capacity for knowledge and progress, and at the same time our recurring tendency to repeat the same destructive cycles throughout history.
Artist note:
The artwork offered here is a unique original painting created by me in 2025 in Hamburg.
My paintings are part of private collections in Berlin, San Juan, Los Angeles, Dallas, Paris, Buenos Aires, Singapore, Bogotá, New York, Michigan and Madrid.
Please note that the perception of colors may vary slightly depending on individual monitor settings.
If you have any questions about my work or would like additional photos or videos with more detailed views of the painting, I would be happy to provide them. Please feel free to contact me.
SHIPPING DETAILS
◾ This painting will be carefully packed with the utmost attention and shipped free of charge, rolled in a strong protective cardboard tube to ensure safe international transportation. The artwork will be sent via UPS with tracking and is expected to arrive within approximately 4–7 days, depending on the destination country.
◾ Rolled canvas works can easily be stretched onto wooden stretcher bars and/or framed by a professional framer upon arrival.
◾ The artwork is signed by the artist.
◾ Please note that the artwork is not externally framed. The canvas is shipped rolled for safer international transport and can be professionally stretched or framed once received.
◾ Buyers are responsible for any import duties, customs fees, or local taxes that may apply depending on the regulations of the destination country.
◾ Returns are accepted within 14 days of delivery. In the event of a return, the buyer is responsible for the return shipping costs, and the artwork must be returned in its original condition and packaging.
◾ If you have any questions regarding shipping, packaging, or the artwork itself, please feel free to contact me. I will be happy to assist you.
Materials used:
Acrylic on canvas
Details:
- Acrylic painting on Canvas
- One of a kind artwork
- Size: 135 x 180 x 1.5cm (unframed) / 135 x 180cm (actual image size)
- Signed on the front
- Style: Expressive and gestural
- Subject: People and portraits
Tags:
#landscape#painting#people#canvas#apocalypse#war#bomb#atomic energy#atomic bomb#atomic age
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Original artwork description
On Human Wisdom, 2025
In this painting I reflect on the unsettling contradictions of the human condition and on the fragile promises humanity often makes after devastation has already taken place. Two figures stand facing one another in what appears to be a gesture of reassurance or reconciliation. One of them is a soldier, still holding his weapon, while the other, dressed in a yellow protective suit marked with a radioactive symbol, suggests the presence of a chemist or scientist. Both wear gas masks, as if the very air around them has become unsafe.
The scientist gently places a hand on the soldier’s shoulder in what could be interpreted as a gesture of comfort, agreement, or perhaps uneasy recognition. Yet beneath their feet lies a landscape composed entirely of skulls and bones, silent witnesses to the destruction that preceded this encounter.
Across the top of the image appears the phrase: “And from now on we will live happily in peace.” The sentence carries a strong sense of irony. It echoes the hopeful declarations humanity repeatedly makes after wars, catastrophes, and technological disasters, promises of peace that often arrive only once irreversible damage has already been done.
The title On Human Wisdom is inspired by a chapter from the book Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche. In that philosophical context, the idea of “human wisdom” is not presented as certainty, but rather as something fragile, questionable, and deeply tied to our contradictions. This reference adds another layer to the scene: the uneasy coexistence of knowledge, power, responsibility, and consequence.
By bringing together the figures of a soldier and a scientist, I wanted to suggest the complex relationship between warfare, technological progress, and human decision-making. Both figures appear protected from the contaminated world around them, yet they stand directly above the traces of what such knowledge and power can produce.
What I also find deeply absurd in this scene is the strange indifference of the two figures toward their surroundings. They stand calmly above a ground of bones and skulls — the very consequences of actions like their own, while speaking of peace and a better future. Around them lies devastation, death, and a landscape already poisoned by radiation. The promise of a peaceful future appears almost tragically misplaced, because everything that could sustain such a future has already been destroyed or contaminated.
Through this image I wanted to create a moment that feels both disturbing and contemplative. The painting invites the viewer to reflect on the paradox of human wisdom, our extraordinary capacity for knowledge and progress, and at the same time our recurring tendency to repeat the same destructive cycles throughout history.
Artist note:
The artwork offered here is a unique original painting created by me in 2025 in Hamburg.
My paintings are part of private collections in Berlin, San Juan, Los Angeles, Dallas, Paris, Buenos Aires, Singapore, Bogotá, New York, Michigan and Madrid.
Please note that the perception of colors may vary slightly depending on individual monitor settings.
If you have any questions about my work or would like additional photos or videos with more detailed views of the painting, I would be happy to provide them. Please feel free to contact me.
SHIPPING DETAILS
◾ This painting will be carefully packed with the utmost attention and shipped free of charge, rolled in a strong protective cardboard tube to ensure safe international transportation. The artwork will be sent via UPS with tracking and is expected to arrive within approximately 4–7 days, depending on the destination country.
◾ Rolled canvas works can easily be stretched onto wooden stretcher bars and/or framed by a professional framer upon arrival.
◾ The artwork is signed by the artist.
◾ Please note that the artwork is not externally framed. The canvas is shipped rolled for safer international transport and can be professionally stretched or framed once received.
◾ Buyers are responsible for any import duties, customs fees, or local taxes that may apply depending on the regulations of the destination country.
◾ Returns are accepted within 14 days of delivery. In the event of a return, the buyer is responsible for the return shipping costs, and the artwork must be returned in its original condition and packaging.
◾ If you have any questions regarding shipping, packaging, or the artwork itself, please feel free to contact me. I will be happy to assist you.
Materials used:
Acrylic on canvas
Details:
- Acrylic painting on Canvas
- One of a kind artwork
- Size: 135 x 180 x 1.5cm (unframed) / 135 x 180cm (actual image size)
- Signed on the front
- Style: Expressive and gestural
- Subject: People and portraits
Tags:
#landscape#painting#people#canvas#apocalypse#war#bomb#atomic energy#atomic bomb#atomic age