Medusa in Venus' Bedroom
Artwork details: gouache, 12 x 8 inches (30 x 20 cm), 2008.
Medusa in Venus' Bedroom - whole picture
27th January 2008
It's becoming a good year for Medusa. This is the second painting of that redoubtable femme fatale so far this year, in fact all paintings have so far been of Medusa and it is high time she had a gallery all of her own - an issue I shall shortly be addressing...
This is a painting thought up rather on the spot last week as I sat making a sketch of the shapely behind of a life model. This picture is more or less the same pose, and though I generally don't work from life for my paintings (the life-drawing being more like practice than actual source material) it did seem a shame not to use the pose, which reminded me of 'The Rokeby Venus' which hangs in the National Gallery - see below. Of course the thing with the mirror in this case is, I suspect, rather because to painting was done for someone who rather liked bottoms, and wasn't overly interested in faces.
The Rokeby Venus, by Diego Velázquez (1599 - 1660)
There's no reason why one shouldn't see Venus, the Roman goddess of love, face-on. But Medusa now - she's a different prospect entirely - quite deadly to look straight at her, though according to the story it's perfectly safe to view her reflection in a mirror. So I've swapped Goddesses. Yes I know that Medusa isn't technically a goddess, but she was around at the time in any case before she met an untimely demise at the hands of Perseus.
Detail of Medusa and Cupid
So here is a Medusa safe for the viewer, though no-wonder Cupid is covering his face - one glance at into her eyes and he's a garden ornament, like the one outside. Of course had this had a medieval Christian setting I might have littered the garden outside with petrified cherubs, but this being Classical times there seems to have been only the one small winged fellow available so the statue behind Cupid is either his imagination or may serve as a warning...
Detail of Medusa and reflection
The colours are a little far from my usual pallet - VERY pink and purple, but then again this is Venus' pose, so perhaps it's her bedroom, too, or Cupid would not be nearby. Don't ask me what Medusa is doing there, she just is. The Apple - detail below - belongs to Venus, too, though for the story of that and how she 'won' it you'll have to look to the story accompanying one of my other paintings: 'For the Fairest'.
Venus's Apple (very much enlarged)
All images and prints are © Nancy Farmer. Please email me if you wish to reproduce any of these images, or see my permissions page in the 'info' section.
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