Salomé is posing here as a triumphant victor. She is totally aware of her sexual power. And maybe feels a kind of pity with her poor victim. The tiger skin on the floor is only another symbol for his dangerous feline predator.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Triumphant Salome
Salomé by the French Academic painter Pierre Bonnaud (1865-1930).
Salomé is posing here as a triumphant victor. She is totally aware of her sexual power. And maybe feels a kind of pity with her poor victim. The tiger skin on the floor is only another symbol for his dangerous feline predator.
Salomé is posing here as a triumphant victor. She is totally aware of her sexual power. And maybe feels a kind of pity with her poor victim. The tiger skin on the floor is only another symbol for his dangerous feline predator.
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It's peculiar how the Christian faith has presented Salome as a wicked seductress when nothing in the Bible suggests that her dance was erotic in nature. Further, she was probably an unwitting tool in the death of John the Baptist, who was only following her mother's orders when requesting his head on a platter.
ReplyDeleteBonnaud's painting is still a very powerful and alluring portrayal of her popular legend. The tiger skin really sets it off.
Thats right for the greater part. But you should think that Salome as seductress isn't so much Christian, because older paintings are focusing more on John the Baptist. In my opinion the seductress is more a typical invention of the 19th century. There she's a symbol for male reaction on emancipation.
ReplyDeleteBecause the movie BLUE BEARD [BARBE BLEUE] ends unexpectedly with a mysterious image of the heroine posed as Salome, I was looking for a picture to illustrate to my readers the tradition of painting her with John's head on a plate. Your site turned out to be just what I needed to fill them in. If you're not aware of the movie, you may want to check out the final image, which I've included as the illustrative still in my review. (http://366weirdmovies.com/capsule-blue-beard-barbe-bleue-2009). Even though you specialize in painting rather than cinema, I’m sure that you’ll find the use of this image as the film’s parting shot interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot. The image is really very interesting and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteEven though it looks like I'm focusing on painting, I'm as well interested in other interpretations like advertising, comics and movies.