Saturday, February 25, 2012

Bloody Work

Judith Beheading Holofernes (1598-99) by the Italian Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610).

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Seductive Orient

Potiphar’s Wife a modern Illustration, maybe from a religious book for children.

Despite the costumes and architecture seem well done it’s anything but a good painting. The gestures are ridiculous, it looks much more as if they are playing or acting in a cheap theatre. But above all it’s very interesting that she is depicted as an oriental woman our hero in contrast looks like an all American boy.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Action Movie

This poster for the movie "Esther and the King" (1960) shows how Hollywood liked to interpret those stories. There is a lot of action violating and plundering soldiers, harem scenes and so on.
But the best is Joan Collins as Esther with her absolutely modern hairstyle and cleavage dress.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Bloody Reward

The Dancer's Reward (1907) by the English artist Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (1872–1898).
In this illustration to Oscar Wilde’s Salomé the wicked heroine seems as terrified as her victim.