Paolo Veronese, Lucretia, c. 1585
Historical Background:
In the time of King Tarquinius Superbus, the Romans were attacking Adrea and the Kings son rode his horse and lodged at the home of Lucretia with his men. In the middle of the night the King's son snuck into Lucretia's room and raped her, when her husband returned home she told him what happened and to seek revenge and took her own life
Representation of Gender Role:
This painting shows the power of the female gender and the pride women took in being pure and that they would rather die than be impure even though in this case it was rape that caused the impureness. This painting shows the strength of Lucretia and the power of the female gender.
RESEARCH
Austin, Shame, 2015
I chose to discuss sexual shaming for women for my gender issue.
I chose to reform Rembrandt's "Lucretia" because it deals greatly with the topic of sexual shaming due to the historical context behind the painting. Lucretia was raped and did not want to live with that shame so she committed suicide.
I reformed the artwork by putting a modern twist on a Rembrandt painting by utilizing a dead flower representing her female dignity. I used a skull instead of a face to represent the death of her said purity. I also used the glowing religious outline to play on the fact that she was raped against her will to save the lives of herself and her male servant. The message I am conveying is that rape is often looked at as shameful act of the female, but in reality, in most cases, there is nothing the victim can do.​
INDIVIDUAL ART MAKING
"This process of the art practice helps me understand more about gender issues from various perspectives because seeing gender issues from the past definitely opens my eyes to gender issues in today's world."
REFLECT ON THE PROJECT
Austin
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