Renaissance
The piece of art I have chosen for my renaissance blog is "A Grotesque Old Woman", more modernly called "The Ugly Duchess" painted by Quentin Matsys.
I'm not sure awe is the correct word for what this piece of art inspires, but it certainly inspires a specific reaction in every person I've shown it to. I would describe the emotion it elicits as a mixture of surprise and disgust. Disgust at what the artist intended to be disgusting, and surprise that it was ever painted in the first place. I personally would not purchase a copy of this painting, I place very little value on artwork in my personal life, so if I were to purchase art I would probably go for something I find pretty or mesmerizing, not disgusting.
The exact reason for the creation of this piece is unknown, but the most common theories are that its a satirized depiction of women who prioritize their looks much past the age that the artist thinks they should, or that it is a depiction of Countess Margaret of Tyrol, who was apparently ugly enough that people made fun of her looks centuries after her death. I think that people should be allowed to focus on their looks without being shamed for it, so I don't connect with the backstory at all.
Assuming "A Grotesque Old Woman" is in fact a depiction of a Countess, it would be connected to the influence of royalty in that way
Sources:
Long, Carola. “What a 16th-Century Painting Says about Beauty and Aging.”, 15 Mar. 2023, www.ft.com/content/577f0d6d-da20-4580-984a-887829af7f9f
“The Ugly Duchess.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Dec. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ugly_Duchess
I love this. Not a- sit back and admire it while I drink my tea in the morning- kind of love. But a love for the silly artist that pulled this idea off so well. I think the satire of this piece makes it that much more interesting. The idea of women placing too much concern in their beauty at such an old age, during that time period, is laughable. But I suppose humans are humans and the same ideals that exist now- have likely existed before. What I find curious about this painting are the hands. The face, neck, and bust are wrinkled, and you see this is a visibly aged “woman”. But the hands are so youthful, dare I even say pretty. The nails are neatly trimmed and shiny, and the fingers are adorned with gold rings. The hands are neither too bony nor fat, with very minimal wrinkles. These could easily be the hands of a beautiful young woman. I wonder if this was done purposefully, and if so, suggesting what?
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ReplyDeleteSawyer Good Evening; This is an ugly woman for sure. I was immediately drawn into it as soon as I saw the picture. I know it says Quentin Matsys as the artist but from doing some additional research and seeing some drawings I think Leonardo Da Vinci is the original artist. Around 1490 he also had a very similar drawing named Grotesque Head on paper using Red Chalk. Matsys definitely puts much more detail in his drawing with the colors and charm by her horned headdress. The Portrait of an Old Man is not nearly as ugly. Really looking at the portrait and getting rid of the horned headdress it looks like a man with breasts. Great portrait.This is an ugly woman for sure. I was immediately drawn into it as soon as I saw the picture. I know it says Quentin Matsys as the artist but from doing some additional research and seeing some drawings I think Leonardo Da Vinci is the original artist. He as well has a very similar drawing named Grotesque Head on paper using Red Chalk. Matsys definitely puts much more detail in his drawing with the colors and charm by her horned headdress. The Portrait of an Old Man is not nearly as ugly. Really looking at the portrait and getting rid of the horned headdress it looks like a man with breasts. Look at the link below to see the similarities between Da Vinci and Matsys.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ugly_Duchess