Women's Studies 2158A/B Chapter Notes -Christian Mythology, Baluster, Exemplum

• School: Western University
• Department: Women's Studies
• Course: Women's Studies 2158A/B
• Professor: Sonia Halpern

Document Summary

Lecture 003 reading artemisa and susanna notes. The painting"s unorthodox interpretation of the biblical theme of susanna and the elders, is of wider significance, for both artemis"s art and her life. Presents the central confrontation between the principal characters, the moment when the two elders return to the garden to seduce joachim"s wife, susanna. The artist has also eliminated the sexually allusive garden setting, replacing the lush foliage, spurting fountain and sculptured satyr heads that appear in the. Carraci circle work with an austere rectilinear stone balustrade that subtly reinforces our sense of susanna"s discomfort. The expressive core of this picture is the heroine"s plight, not the villain"s anticipated pleasure. It is a remarkable testament to the indomitable male ego that a biblical theme holding forth an exemplum of female chastity should have become in painting a celebration of sexual opportunity.