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Medieval European manuscripts contain a wealth of diverse and imaginative collections of illuminations. The margins are a perfect playground for unique, unusual and fantastic creatures, including an illuminated gradual from 1510 known as the Geese Book. In this paper, I have examined a single illumination from the book in depth. It depicts two female monsters, a wild woman and a female dragon, fighting desperately over a wild child. These two females are not only monsters and fighters, but also mothers. The unusual juxtaposition of the nurturing aspect of maternity and the brutal nature of combat is used to facilitate a discussion about women, violence, and the nature of the monstrous-feminine. The way women are presented and constructed in horror is far different than their male counterparts, as gendered expectations differ wildly. These manuscript illuminations contain combat and potentially horrific situations, but nearly always come off as humorous. I will also be discussing the importance of humor in difficult and potentially problematic situations. Comedy, particularly dark comedy, can scrutinize aspects of culture and society that may otherwise be considered improper taboo to touch upon. Unusual women behaving in an improper manner is a rare subject, and one that deserves to be discussed. By going through historical legends that also combine the usually disparate themes of maternity and violence, I attempt to both explain the image in the Geese Book and frame it in a broader context. The monstrous women from the illumination are compared to both artworks contemporary to the gradual and more modern media. By connecting representations from both the Middle Ages and today, we can better understand where feminine constructions originated and how they have changed. Today, portrayals of the monstrous-feminine have warped traditional maternal archetypes and are unafraid to lay bare the bizarre and grotesque potential of motherhood.
ContributorsMelo, Anna Isabel (Author) / Schleif, Corine (Thesis director) / Navarro, Rudolph (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This thesis focuses on the erotic depictions of Lucretia and Susanna in Renaissance art. Both noted for displaying exemplary chastity, Lucretia and Susanna gained popularity as Christian and secular role models for women in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. My examination of the heroines addresses the seductive portrayal of these women in painting, which seemingly contradicts the essence of their celebrity. The images specifically analyzed in this thesis include: Lucas Cranach the Elder's Lucretia from 1525, Lucretia from 1533, and Venus from 1532 as well as Tintoretto's Susanna and the Elders and Annibale Carracci's Susanna and the Elders. The scope of my thesis includes both textual and visual analyses of the myths/figures and the disparity that arises between them. Employing Lucretia and Susanna as examples, my aim is to demonstrate a subtle subversion occurring within images of powerful women that ultimately strips them of their power.
ContributorsWilliamson, Jennifer Marie (Author) / Schleif, Corine (Thesis director) / Geschwind, Rachel (Committee member) / Pratt, Rebekah (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
A look at how art, advertising, and film use the myth of the West in order to colonize a Navajo-owned landscape, Monument Valley.
ContributorsSmith, Logan (Author) / Schleif, Corine (Thesis director) / Codell, Julie (Committee member) / Young, Alexander (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor)
Created2022-05