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Author
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Comment
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Saffron
Unregistered User
(8/1/06 12:21 pm)
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fairytale stereotypes of the female and art
Hi, this is my first post so hi! i love this site!
I was wondering if anyone can help me. I am doing a dissertation on the stereotypes of women in fairytales and their representation in art, have looked at a few artists like paula rego, sarah moon, kiki smith and shelly silver but i'm having difficulty finding other artists, any suggestions?
Also any help with reading material would be greatly appreciated!
thanx :)
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korin
Unregistered User
(8/8/06 1:19 am)
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female stereotypes
The two female stereotypes that immediately come to mind (especially prevalent in Victorian literature and art) are the innocent, often victimized maiden (exemplarized by Ophelia, Juliet, Elaine, Sleeping Beauty etc.) and the alluring but predatory femme fatale (Lilith, La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Carmen). Both these archtypes are expressed in 19th century and fin de siecle artwork -- the Pre-Raphaelite movement often drew inspiration from folklore, literature and historical subjects, and many of the Pre-Raphaelite paintings portray both concepts. The Pre-Raphaelites, like many Victorian artists, were fond of using symbolism in their work, and many of the 'props' in their paintings are actually a commentary on the main subject -- for example, in Frederick Sandys's portrait of 'Vivien' the enchantress, she is holding a sprig of daphne, traditionally associated with charm and coquettishness but also known to be very poisonous -- a comment on the nature of the seductive but wicked character depicted. Frederick Sandys had a particular fondness for depicting 'femme fatales', including Medea, Morgan Le Fay and many others. If you want a picture showing the juxtaposition of both stereotypes, the best one is probably 'Queen Eleanor and the innocent fair Rosamund' by Evelyn de Morgan, depicting the predatory witch Eleanor threatening the innocent young maiden Rosamund. The fin de siecle Symbolists often portrayed the predatory femme fatale, using the concept in a broader exploration of archtypes, sexuality and the subconscious -- examples are 'The Kiss of the Sphinx' by Franz von Stuck and 'Art' (also known as 'The Sphinx' or 'Caresses') by Fernand Khnopff. Edvard Munch painted a picture in 1889 called 'The Dance of Life' showing the three stages of womanhood -- the maiden, the nymph and the crone. In the background, the rather phallic reflection of the female moon hints at one of the major rights of passage. You might also want to examine his 'Woman' from 1895 and 'Madonna'. Munch, of course, seldom portrayed women in a favourable light, but that in itself adds interest to his work since his paintings reveal as much about the artist as the subject. Dante Gabriel Rossetti -- one of the original Pre-Raphaelites -- was the opposite, since he was known to be very appreciative of 'the fair sex' and of beauty, even if his emphasis on their physical attractions could be considered a somewhat reductive view by some -- his fondness for female company led one critic to opine that 'Rossetti is not an artist, Rossetti is a lady's maid.' He had a few favourite models -- his mistress and, eventually, wife Lizzie Siddall, and later Jane Morris, the wife of a friend and reputedly his mistress, spring immediately to mind -- and his almost obsessive adoration of them is apparent in the way their faces appear again and again in his artwork,their features idealized. Jane Morris in particular was idealized and exaggerated, since her extreme features lent themselves so well to it, and since she appeared later on during his life when his art was moving away from realistic depiction and into an almost pre-Symbolist idealization and stylization of his subjects -- one of the best examples of this is his 'Astarte Syriaca', where Jane appears as an enigmatic and beautiful Eastern goddess, her strong features and graceful body stylized almost beyond the point of recognition. Rossetti was also a poet, and often wrote poems to accompany his pictures -- reading these can give you more insight into his artwork. He was also very fond of stories such as King Arthur, holding a very idealized view of the medieval period (like most Victorians), and the attendant stereotypes from such literature influenced his work. However, since his models were often important figures in his own life, his own personal dramas also inform his interpretation of these characters, giving another level of interpretation to several classic stereotypes.
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korin
Unregistered User
(8/8/06 1:51 am)
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female stereotypes 2
Also, if you're looking for more artists who depict fairy tales or mythical subjects, I recommend the Endicott Studio Journal of Mythic Art, a free online journal . They often feature an artist, and you can check through the archives. You could also try www.deviantart.com, an online community of artists (my sister's best friend is one). Deviantart is a pretty mixed bag, since anyone can join, but there are some really superlative examples of art in many different media, and there's a 'search' feature that will let you search for any art related to whatever you type in -- you could try searching with the names of fairy tale characters, or evocative words that are related to your subject. With the previous artists I mentioned, you could explore www.symbolistart.net, which has many fin de siecle artists including some of the Pre-Raphaelites (though they are not strictly Symbolist, and indeed many artists are called Pre-Raphaelite using a broader definition of the term than the originators intended). An excellent book about the Pre-Raphaelites is 'The Pre-Raphaelite Dream' by Robert Upstone, which contains paintings and drawing from the Tate collection with informative blurbs about the history, composition and symbolism of each picture, including comments about female stereotypes in Pre-Raphaelite artwork (and in society in general at that time). If you are interested in the rich symbolism of the Pre-Raphaelite paintings and the layers of meaning they add to the subjects, try the wonderful 'Flora Symbolica: Flowers in Pre-Raphaelite Art' by Debra N. Mancoff. The latter may seem somewhat specific, but it contains excellent insights into the artwork, and dealing as it does exclusively with the meaning and symbolism of each picture it gives you a good view of the stereotypes and motifs present in the paintings, including the depictions of female stereotypes. Rossetti in particular is an excellent source for fairy-tale and folkloric subjects, especially 'literary' folklore like King Arthur, but also check out John William Waterhouse, who had a great fondness for nymphs, fairies, mermaids and the like. You might want to look at Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, as well -- they have a good basic article about 'femme fatales'. You might also try examining fairy tale illustrations -- Walter Crane, Elanor Vere Boyle, etc.
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midori
snyder
Registered User
(8/8/06 3:27 pm)
ezSupporter
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Old Wives Tales and Women's Fairy Tale art
you might find this article from Terri Windling, of the Endicott Studio, Journal for Mythic Arts a useful place to have a look at a wide range of fairy art produced over the last two centuries by women artists:
Old
Wives Tales: An Exhibition of Women's Fairy Tale Art, Old and New
At least it will give you a nice list of names and their different work. And the final page of the article lists sites for all the artists, plus a handy bibliography in print and on the web
We also have a tribute to the French artist A
Tribute to Adrienne Segur. Terri brought back some examples
of Segur's art that haven't been seen in the US that you might find
interesting.
Edited by: midori snyder at: 8/8/06 3:29 pm
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midori
snyder
Registered User
(8/8/06 3:33 pm)
ezSupporter
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Re: Old Wives Tales and Women's Fairy Tale art
Ok...one more recommendation from the Endicott site and that is
Jeanie
Tomanek's work. She is a contemporary artist--deeply mythic
in her appraoch--and has done some really beautiful "fairy
tale" motif work. I have used a number of her illustrations
of the Armless Maiden in my article The
Armless Maiden
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Saffron
Unregistered User
(8/14/06 2:10 pm)
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Thanks
Thnkyou so much for your help, it's been really useful! If anyone has anything else to add i'd love to hear it.
Saf :)
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