Sunday, April 26, 2015

In an Artist's Studio by Christina Rosetti and The Blessed Damozel by Dante Gabriel Rossetti


Background
  • Pre-Raphaelite paintings:
    • Lizzie Siddal was the subject of a lot of Gabriel Rossetti's paintings and the subject of his poem "The Blessed Damozel"
  • "In an Artists's Studio"
    • It doesn't really matter who he is painting because in Gabriel's poem, it's all the same face (could mean Siddal is the subject of all his works?)
  • "The Blessed Damozel"
    • An idealization of Rossetti's other artistic works

When assigned to bring a picture of a woman to class, I immediately thought of Marilyn Monroe because of her similarities to the women we have studied in Dr. Linker's class. Monroe is still to this day, one of the biggest sex symbols the world has ever seen and ultimately succumbed to her drug addiction in 1962. In my opinion, Monroe is a sort of Roxana figure, as both courted many wealthy, powerful men in efforts to maintain their relevance, although Monroe never had to try THAT hard to remain in the spotlight. I also chose a picture of Monroe because she is such a controversial figure in the entertainment industry and while she was often caught up in Hollywood style drama, she is still an admirable role model for many people, myself included, for her ability to have fun with her work and break down gender conventions/stereotypes.




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