Saturday, February 14, 2009
Assignment 1
In Jan Van Eyck's painting, Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfi(?) and His Wife, Giovanna Cenami(?) , I was ammused by the fashion of creating a garment for the woman to be worn in such a way as to make her look pregnant. The fact that her appearance of fertility is considered attractive is still applied to our world today. The advent of botox to plump a woman's lips, which makes a woman appear more voluptuos and sexual as well as the "baby doll" tops that make even the slightest of girls look pregnant and were all the rage a few years back are remnants of the historical context that a fertile woman is more valuable than an infertile one.
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In some cultures if women are infertile then they are useless. Women are considered to be women with their bodies and how their bodies are defined by sexual and reproductive functions. This was the main thought back in the days when this painting was created.
ReplyDeleteI like that you chose this piece.
Then it was also needed to have a child to further the last name of the husband. That's why so many rulers and kings wanted boys to further the crown with the last name. I also thought that the illusion of her being pregnant in this picture was very interesting.
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