COVE

Display Explanation: When thinking in terms of how I would display these three paintings, I first wanted to understand their stories. After looking at these images and really trying to understand the stories behind them, I think the best order for these paintings would be The Siren by John William Waterhouse, The Roman Widow by Dante Gabrial Rossetti, and Lilith by John Collier. These images, to me, told a story of love and the disappointments that it can bring. The Siren, specifically, told me the story of the lies that love brings. Looking at this image, the man looks at her and is just mesmerized by her love and beauty, while she is just trying to trap him with the lies that she’s giving him that promise him her love. That being said, I thought this piece would be a great fit for my first installation piece and I would put this piece on the left side of The Roman Widow, because she’s promising him love, which is very similar to what a wedding ring on a left ring finger symbolizes. This is quite a betrayal, because as I mentioned, you can see in her face that he doesn’t mean anything to her. In the middle I wanted The Roman Widow, which is piece that was completed in 1874 by Dante Gabrial Rossetti. I thought this piece would be the perfect one for in the middle, because it tells the story of loss, and teaches you about how to grieve through losing the one you love. In this piece, there’s a woman who is visibly trying to grieve her departed husband. His urn is even painted in the picture, which further adds onto her visible pain, and how much she’s trying to let go and move on from her grief. I thought this piece would be perfect for in the middle, because she was so loyal to him and life took him from her, so it’s not like either of them committed the betrayal to one another. However, this still tells the story of a betrayal because they’ve made it until death do them part, and now he’s just gone. On the right side, I put Lilith, which was a painting completed in 1887 by John Collier. I wanted this painting on the right side, because it symbolizes the ultimate betrayal. For a little context, in Judaism, Lilith was the first woman created for the first man, or by name Adam. Lilith was having some difficulty in the Garden of Eden with submitting to Adam and to God – which is considered the ultimate sin when you don’t submit to God. Due to her ultimate sin, she was banished and then transformed into one of the most prominent demonesses and is considered the mother of demons. With that being said, I felt that the right side of my installation would be the best place to put this painting, since she broke her left-handed promise to her husband. So, in terms of how I would display these, I would just hang them from the wall. I think allowing them to sit on the wall would give our Roman Widow some stability since she’s just lost her husband, and it would shelf Lilith and The Siren who are deceiving their men and going completely against their partners. I also wouldn’t want to take away from their stories by doing something extravagant in their displays. Allowing these deep and controversial stories, to hang from the wall would allow museum goers to fully observe the beauty that these paintings display and take in the betrayals that I’ve previously explained.  

Installation Note: In terms of the philosophy of these images, I thought about this a lot and what these paintings could have in common. For starters, The Siren, completed in 1900 by John William Waterhouse, depicts a siren playing the harp to a man. The sexuality in this image is in the history behind the image itself. A siren is mythological creature known for seducing men and trapping them to their deaths. The siren in this painting is meant to empower women and represent their growing desire for power and control. During the 19th century, there was a rising feminist movement that expanded into the 20th and 21st centuries as well. In this movement, women began to grow more of a desire for social and sexual autonomy and slowly began to fight the social normal. This painting by John William Waterhouse taps into these ideals a little bit. With continuing to look at this painting, the man that’s picutred is very vulnerable. During the time this was completed, men we’re still supposed to be seen as strong and like the “head of the house,” so vulnerability was totally out of the question. The Siren, after looking further at it, really challenged the ideals of the time. Moving onto the next painting, The Roman Widow by Dante Gabrial Rossetti, was completed in 1871 and depicts a young wife whose just lost her husband. Thinking of the background of this image is where a much deeper meaning will arise. This painting was completed during the Victorian era, where women did not have a lot of freedom. After a wife becomes widowed, she is stripped of everything her, and her sole job is to go through the mourning process. Her job is to display her devotion to her husband but somehow remain open for another man. While I don’t necessarily understand that Dante Gabrial Rossetti has depicted this woman in the entering stages of her mourning period. I say this, because she still seems to be devoted to her husband being the fact that his urn is still in the picture, but her hair is down. Her hair being down, to my understanding, is supposed to be her willingness to accept a new husband. With the last painting in my installation, we have Lilith by John Collier. This painting was completed in 1887, and before looking into the history or analyzing it, this painting seems to be the most sexual from my installation. Like The Roman Widow, Lilith was also painted during the Victorian era. Women during this era were expected to be quiet and reserved and to do whatever they were told by their husbands. Lilith on the other hand, depicts a woman of confidence and sensuality. She seems perfectly content with being nude, and the serpent around her seems to let her give into herself. I feel like the snake also can represent her desire and her sexual drive. In biblical terms, the serpent represents sin and temptation, and Lilith being painted with a serpent feels like she’s taking ownership of her sexual drive.  In terms of what these paintings have in common, I feel like for the time they were painted in, they all challenge what society expected of women. It seems like these paintings each were advocating for women's sexual freedom in their own ways.