IDENTITIES QUESTIONS Flashcards
Who was Artemisia Gentileschi’s father?
Orazio Gentileschi, Rome’s most innovative painter
What did Artemisia Gentileschi do for her father?
She was a model for a father, during a time when women were not allowed to pose naked for men
Which artist taught Artemisia Gentileschi and what did he teach her?
Agostino Tassi taught her how to paint complex perspective effects
What did Agostino Tassi do to Artemisia Gentileschi?
Tassi, along with a friend, harassed Artemisia. A year after she painted Susanna and the elders Tassi raped Artemisia and a lengthy and public case ensued
Why did men want the painting of Susanna and the Elders in their homes?
Men wanted to have this painting in their homes to show their religiosity and admiration for Daniel’s heroism, however, in truth, they just wanted a source of a naked woman to look at
What was Susanna and the Elders influenced by?
Caravaggio’ techniques, in particular the handling of light and subtle chiaroscuro
What suggests the depiction of Susanna is loosely based on Artemisia’s body?
Susanna is depicted with a naturalistic figure, she has unusually realistic breasts and abdomen
Where was ‘I Am A Man’ originally displayed?
The National Portrait Gallery, surrounded by portraits of heroes with a colonial undertone
Give examples of the people Jazz’s sculpture was surrounded by.
Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole, Lord Kitchener
Why did Perry style ‘I Am A Man’ as a Benin bronze?
To deliberately draw parallels with what the bronzes historically represented: power, kingship and heroism
Why was the portrayal of men in the Benin Bronzes very stereotypical?
Men were very masculine and depicted as strong and victorious. Women were also never depicted as they were not valued in Benin society
What could the weight around Jazz’s waist be symbolic of?
The way in which Jazz is being dragged down by the stereotypes needed to fit into male expectations
What objects does the figure carry around its waist?
A variety of stereotypical masculine objects and personal items to the sitter
- A football, a penis, a beer bottle, a pitbull terrier
- A guitar, a book ‘Jazz’s poems’
Why was Elizabeth I’s reign precarious?
As a Protestant, unmarried, female monarch, Elizabeth’s position was precarious. Her reign was blighted by plots and attempts to overthrow her
How old was Elizabeth I when the Armada Portrait was painted, and why is this significant?
It was painted when Elizabeth was 52 years old. She is therefore idealised, represented looking much younger than she actually was
What did Elizabeth I’s speech say?
“I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king - and of a king of England too”
What do the pearls in the Armada Portrait symbolise?
-The pearls symbolise her wealth and travels as pearls originated from distant lands
- They also had connotations of purity, virginity and chastity in her role as the ‘Virgin Queen’
What does the ruff symbolise in the Armada Portrait?
The ruff extends outwards from her face like sun rays, as if she is the central source of warmth, beauty and goodness in her realm
What does the bow symbolise in the Armada Portrait?
The bow over her genital area is a blatant display of her virginity
What does the globe symbolise in the Armada Portrait?
Her fingers are crossed over the Americas, specifically Virginia, where she had been named as the ‘Virgin Queen’. This shows her desire for an empire
What does the crown symbolise in the Armada Portrait?
The crown is a symbol of her royal lineage as it was originally made for her grandfather, King Henry VII
What does the mermaid symbolise in the Armada Portrait?
Mermaids were believed to lure many a solider to their end, and the gilded mermaid might allure to Elizabeth’s similar ability
What does the fan symbolise in the armada portrait?
The fan, made of exotic feathers - possibly a gift from a courtier, shows how she if favoured by her male subjects for her feminine beauty
Why has Rembrandt long been considered the master of self-portraits?
Throughout his career he created between 80 and 90 self portraits in paintings, etchings and drawings
What were Rembrandt’s three-periods of self portraits?
- 1620s: developing his technique
- 30s and 40s: self-promotion (portraying himself as a successful artist)
- 50s and 60s: self-exploration (exploring the frailties and quirks of old age)
What technique did Rembrandt experiment with and when?
One of Rembrandt’s first self-portraits, painted around 1628, when he was 22 years old experiment with chiaroscuro, which incorporates light and shadow, he continued with this technique throughout the development of his self-portraits
What did X-rays of the Self portrait at the age of 63 show?
X-rays of the painting show he initially intended on depicting himself in the act of painting. He held a paintbrush and a white painters cap
What events had Rembrandt endured by the time he painted Self-Portrait at the age of 63?
He was suffering from bankruptcy and his wife, along with all four of his children’s deaths
Which artwork did Rembrandt’s portraits take inspiration from?
Titan’s ‘Portrait of a Man with a quilted sleeve”
What are the two incidents which occurred in Friday Kahlo’s life?
- She was severely injured in a car crash when she was 18; during this time she took up painting while confined to her bed
- Her tempestuous relationship with the renowned Mexican muralist artist, Diego Rivera, who was 24 years older than her
What event altered Frida Kahlo’s sense of national identity?
Her burgeoning sense of national identity was thrown into stark relief by her experience of living in the United States for almost four years
What was Diego Rivera commissioned to do in America?
He was commissioned to produce murals for the Detroit Institute of Art, depicting Ford production lines at the River Rouge
What happened around the time Diego Rivera was working at the River Rouge?
Kahlo’s suffered a miscarriage as a result of the long-term injuries she endured from the car accident. The River Rouge then became a potent symbol of her personal trauma
Explain the political situation during the time of Frida Kahlo.
Kahlo lived through the Mexican Revolution where she saw the establishment of a communist government and was exposed to communist thinking. As she was innately disdainful of capitalism and all it stood for, she found herself in the middle of two conflicting worlds: capitalist America and communist Mexico
What is Kahlo’s Self Portrait on the borderline between Mexico and the United states a manifesto for?
The painting serves as a manifesto for Kahlo’s Mexicanidad, a sense of pride for being Mexican
What did Kahlo say about her opinion of America?
“Although I am very interested in all the industrial and mechanical developments of the United States, I find that American’s completely lack sensibility and good taste. They live if in an enormous chicken coop that is dirty and uncomfortable”
What did Kahlo say about her style of painting?
“I paint my own reality”…”the only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration”
What did Kettemann say about Frida Kahlo’s self portrait on the borderline between Mexico and the United States?
“Kahlo becomes the personification of Mexico itself, building upon its history and exploring technological progress as if stirs its own course between two poles”
What Mexican symbols does Kahlo include in her self portrait on the borderline between Mexico and the United States?
- Skulls (day of the dead)
- Fertility gods
- Vegetation (cactus plants and lilies)
- A temple with Mexican gods above it represented by the sun and moon
- Roots of plants in contrast to USA’s wires
What did Kahlo sign her name as and why?
She signed the work with her married name, paying to the feminist power in the face of a patriarchal society. She stands on a plinth, inscribed with the words ‘Carmen Rivera painted this in 1932’.
What did the press often dub Frida Kahlo as?
The press often dubbed her merely as Diego Rivera’s ‘wife’ who ‘dabbed in painting’ rather than in her own artistic light
Explain Kahlo’s choice to paint on tin.
Kahlo’s choice to paint oil on tin is a traditional Mexican process. Small scale paintings like this are known as ‘retablos’. She uses retablos for reference her own religious background, and to celebrate her Mexican artistic heritage and culture
What is the Mexican flag in Kahlo’s self portrait a reference to?
Papel picado - a form of paper cutting in Mexican art
What does Shiva Nataraja depict?
Shiva Nataraja depicts the Hindu God Shiva as ‘Lord of the dance’, engaged in the dynamic, victorious ‘dance of bliss’ (ananda tandava) which he performed after defeating arrogant sages in the Chidambaram forest
What is the name of the dance that Shiva Nataraja engages in?
The ‘dance of bliss’, ananda tandava
What does Nataraja represent?
Nataraja represents Indian tradition, cosmic principles, Tamil identity, and classical dance
Explain the Hindu Pantheon.
Within the Hindu pantheon, there are a number of gods, goddesses and deities; however one entity is superior, Brahman. Brahman is traditionally said to manifest on earth as the Trimurti: Braha (the creator of god), Vishnu (the preserver) and Shiva (the destroyer)
What does the Trimurti consist of?
Braha (the creator of god), Vishnu (the preserver) and shiva (the destroyer)
What does the circular arch of flames represent in Shiva Nataraja?
The cycle of life, as he uses the cosmic fire to destroy the universe in its cycle
What do the multiple arms illustrate in Shiva Nataraja?
Divine power: they are all in different positions showing his strength and constellation of skills
Discuss Shiva Nataraja’s earrings.
On Shiva’s right ear is an earring depicting a makara, a mythical water creature. On his left ear, he wears a circular earring which was typically worn by women. This represents Shiva’s male and female aspects, illustrating the cosmic balance of female and male energies
What is the name of the drum that shiva Nataraja beats and what does it symbolise?
Shiva beats a rhythm into a damaru drum that brings the universe into creation. As creator, preserver and destroyer, Shiva and his drumming play an essential role in the cycle of the universe
What does the snake represent in shiva Nataraja?
In the story of shivas triumph in the Chidambaram forest, a snake was hurled at Shiva by one of the malicious sages. Shiva took the snake and coiled it around himself, thereby using it as a weapon
Explain what is under Shiva’s right foot.
The demon of ignorance is pinned down under Shiva’s right foot, who looks up at the conquering Lord Shiva. The demon was one of the weapons launched at Shiva, who crushed it, thereby declaring his triumph over ignorance
What does the lotus flower represent in Shiva Nataraja?
The lotus flower represents purity in Hindu tradition. It grows from the depths of muddy water to emerge above its surface, pristinely beautiful
Why does White Crucifixion mark a turning point for Chagall?
White crucifixion marks a turning point for Chagall as it was the first of an important series of paintings that feature the image of Christ as a Jewish martyr, not necessarily the son of god
When was White crucifixion painted?
In 1938, after Hitler had thoroughly consolidated power in Germany and had began his campaign of genocide against the Jews
Where was Marc Chagall from?
Marc Chagall was a Russian french Jew of white Russian Jewish origin
