Eliza Turner

Ever since I wrote the original posting on Giaquinto’s Penitent Magdalene, I have had unanswered questions brewing in the back of my head about this intriguing painting. So, when I was in Manhattan last August, I jumped on the first chance to get to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and took that long awaited second look at this masterpiece. If you have not read my earlier post, I recommend that you read it, as I will build upon some of the concepts already mentioned there. You can read it  Here . A Thorny Vine  In a “penitent” painting, it is a little surprising that Giaquinto chose to forgo the cilice as her outer garment and put Mary Magdalene into a flowing white and blue gown. However, he chose to put a sliver of a thorny vine visible only under her right arm. It appears to wrap around her ribcage underneath her robes. Perhaps the artist is making a statement by doing this. The message I hear when looking at it is that, no matter what your outward appearance...

Renowned Japanese director Takashi Miike brings us his own version of the samurai movie, and he does not disappoint! The story outline is simple enough: “A group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord.” This, of course, does not begin to describe the depth Miike takes us to in their quest to stop the sadistic Lord Naritsugu before he ascends to one of the highest positions in the country. Naturally, Takashi Miike is known for his graphically violent films, and it comes as no surprise that this one concludes with a forty minute final battle. However, there is much more to the movie than that; it is not a simple action flick. The overall point of the movie is really traditional bushido values verses freethinking and personal integrity. Both Hanbei (Lord Naritsugu’s body guard) and Shinzaemon (the head samurai of the thirteen assassins) follow the samurai way in an unwavering way. Neither of them forfeited their honor.  Though it seems that Shinzaem...

Midas And Bacchus by Nicolas Poussin We have all heard the story of King Midas and his golden touch. Everyone knows the moral of the story is simply not to be greedy, but is that all there is to the story? What if that straightforward moral lessen is only the surface of something much deeper? Perhaps even a veiled reference to alchemy? After a re-reading of the story with these questions in mind, I have come to the conclusion that there is much, much more to it. I shall tell the story using the version found in Ovid’s Metamorphosis . And not content with this, Bacchus resolved to leave that land, and with a worthier train went to the vineyards of his own Tmolus and to Pactolus, though the river was not golden, nor admired for precious sands. His usual throng of Satyrs and of Bacchanals surrounded him; but not Silenus, who was then detained from him. The Phrygian folk had captured him, as he was staggering, faint with palsied age and wine. And after they bound him in garlands, they ...

In his 1750 painting, Giaquinto depicts Mary Magdalene weakly leaning against a rock looking upwards at a crown of thorns carried by a cherub. However, a closer archangel tries to direct her attention upwards to heaven, but Mary is focused on the crown instead. A crowd of cherubim looks on from the cliffs above her. A book lays open, propped up between the rock and a skull, a crucifix resting atop it. This painting is very reminiscent of the 1565 version of Titian’s painting by the same name. It is probable that Giaquinto was inspired by Titian’s work, but with some additions and personal alterations. It is still a unique and original piece that stands on its own. I believe this painting is based off of a legend that Mary Magdalene lived out the end of her life in the cliffs of St. Baume near Marseille, France. For thirty years she lived in complete seclusion performing penances. She fasted to the point that she would have died of starvation if not for visits from angels who ga...

Michele Giambono’s “The Man of Sorrows” (circa 1420s) is easily one of the most shocking and morbid depictions of the resurrected Christ. Even compared to other paintings of the same genre, such as Meister Francke’s piece by the same name, Giambono’s stands out. I was very taken aback when I first encountered this piece at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City last May. The barely conscious, cadaverous Savior stands upright in his coffin, his bloody arms slump over the rim of the coffin displaying deep puncture wounds on his outturned palms. Behind him you find a crossbeam, adorned with three nails still imbedded in it with fresh blood dripping from it. Large globs of blood trail profusely from the thorny crown still tightly wound around his head, and his right side still bleeds from the centurion’s lance. It is almost easy to miss the image of St. Francis standing to Christ’s left. The saint looks up with an expression of pained reverence at the risen savior. If ...