Medusa in the Victorian Era
Aspecta Medusa, Dante Gabriel Rosetti
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To the left we can see Aspecta Medusa, a painting by Dante Gabriel Rosetti, a well known painter of the Victorian era. Medusa is portrayed as the beautiful woman mentioned at the beginning of Ovid's version of the story. Moreover, she embodies the vision of beauty in the Victorian era: pale skin, light colored hair, and overall large size. Rather unlike today's vision of beauty, women with large figures - waist, hips, chest, etc - were considered the most attractive.
The painting contains a rather gloomy atmosphere. This goes to indicate that Rosetti is portraying her as a tragic subject, perhaps even a victim. This view of Medusa is substantiated by the predominant theme of Victorian painting: Feminism. Although no one knows exactly why feminism became incorporated with the time, it is seen throughout many different paintings including another of Rosetti's works - Lady Lilith, which portrays a woman unwilling to submit to the demands of men. In the painting she displays loose hair and an untightened corset. In the case of Medusa, the feminist ideal is represented by rejecting the transformation of Medusa. As stated in the origins page, Medusa was punished by Athena for being raped by Poseidon. In presenting Medusa as beautiful, Rosetti liberates Medusa from her masochistic, unjust punishment. |