Take a look at this piece, "Wrong Century" by one Tomas Kucerovsky
Me gusta! Simple, elegant, eloquent, and finely balanced with a little unexpected punch, just like an (admittedly minor) work of art should be.
Of course, the inevitable cadre of incorrigible point missers are saying, "Yes, but don't you realize that the picture she's looking at shows the rape of the Sabine women? Are you saying that you wish you lived in a century when rape was okay?"
To them I say, "Le sigh." First of all, the title "Wrong Century" clearly refers to the century in which the museum painting was made, not the century it depicts. The girl in red is pining for a day when a beautiful and desirable woman had more than a little meat on her bones (although the comic artist has actually added quite a few pounds to the ladies in the museum painting. In Peter Paul Rubens' original, "Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus," the women were realtively zaftig, but also quite firm and muscular).
The second point, barely worth mentioning, is that although this frequently-depicted scene is generally called "The Rape of the Sabines," that's a sort of archaic mistranslation, and ought to be rendered "kidnapping" or "abduction." So, still not exactly When Harry Met Sally, but, according to the historian Livy, via Wikipedia (yes, I said "Wikipedia," because it's almost the weekend and what do you want from my life?), Romulus and his men actually grabbed first, but then made an offer of marriage to the kidnapped women, including property rights and so on, without actually raping them.
But yes, the painting in the comic above shows violence against women, and eroticizes victimhood -- quite literally, with Eros, the god of desire (the Roman name is "Cupid") peeking out archly on the left.
And so It's de rigeur to gasp in disgust over the many dozens of depictions of this scene, which has been a favorite for many centuries. What does it say about women and how we treat them and how we think about what they are for and what they enjoy? Bad things! It says bad things! Bad picture, bad!
But here is my plea to you: can we just look at the picture -- just look at it, without putting our modern selves into it?
Maybe "The Rape of the Sabines" is a scene depicted in painting and sculpture over and over again because of a centuries-long history of misogyny. But maybe it's also a nice opportunity to play with contrasts of every kind. The overall composition of the piece (you can see it better if you squint) is a giant X, and this visual theme of opposition is repeated several time: see, for instance, the arm of the Roman on the left crossing over the white leg of the woman on the top. It's a painting all about contrasts: white skin against red, dark hair and fair, violence and pliability, grim purpose and delicate anguish.
So take that notion and bring it back to the comic book art. I would venture to say that the artist deliberately chose the Rubens painting because he's also making a little comment about contrasts. Part of what makes the comic so poignant is that this well-dressed, privileged young woman is doing something which everyone else in the museum is unable to do: she's just looking at the picture. She's being plucked up into the pure visual moment of the scene, without being distracted by obvious facts, like the fact that she would probably hate living in Rubens' century or the Sabine's century -- that, fat or no fat, her life is immeasurably more pleasant than theirs.
And yet her longing is sincere, if not sensible. I mean, here she is, strolling through an air-conditioned museum in the middle of the day, and finds herself naively pulled with envy toward a scene of violence and pain. She's just looking at the painting -- imagine that?
I think this piece pokes fun not only at the nasty patrons who think she's gross, but at the girl herself, who succumbs to a moment of innocent, mindless longing. Probably this piece is a statement about changing attitudes toward feminine beauty, but I think it's at least partly playing on the idea of contrasts -- and about how small we make our world when we can't see past what we're used to seeing. The disapproving men in the museum can't see that the girl's face and hair are lovely, even though her body is several sizes larger than it's supposed to be; the girl can't see that the women in the painting are in pain; and the typical modern viewer can't see any painting at all, because we're so wrapped up in figuring out whether or not it validates our 21st century understanding of society.
But most of all, it's about longing. See how the fat girls' face echoes the face of the Sabine woman in the painting.
It's a moment of passion, a deep, emotional loss of self. You could say that the girl in the museum has been abducted by the scene before her -- swept away and made powerless (with just the hint of pleasure) by something she can't control. Yes, rape is wrong (and I'm hoping against hope that nobody reads this post as trivializing rape!). Glorifying rape is wrong.
But giving ourselves over to something powerful, something directly opposite to what we are and what we cherish? This is what great art does to us: it plucks us out of ourselves, gives us the treat of longing for something we can't really use. It kidnaps us, with our half-willing permission:
So please, let's put aside the tut-tutting when a painting shows, even glorifies, something which, in real life, every decent person abhors, whether that's rape or merely gluttony. A work of art endures through the centuries not for what it depicts, but for how it depicts it. Contrast, tension, loveliness in a struggle with violence -- and a deep, forbidden longing to be taken out of ourselves -- this is what makes a picture a work of art. Me gusta!
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What a gorgeous comic… I wish there were more like these. It made me so sad but I’m grateful to be able to appreciate the message and beauty of it. :) Thank you, Simcha!
I also find it very witty that she’s the only one dressed in any color.
Thanks!
Following the previous blog topic, I first thought the girl was receiving those nasty looks because she was wearing britches…
:)
Sweet! Thanks, Simcha, for helping me smile.
I love the comic and I love your brave commentary.
Seems to be coming from ancient practise….
Judges 21:19 :
“Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh. (…) Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards. And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty. And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.”
That’s it Simcha, you’ve crossed the line. Nudity? Rape? What were you thinking??
Nah. Just kidding. I love your commentary on art- no wonder you don’t like Thomas Kinkade! LOL Thanks for making me really look at something interesting this morning. It’s a nice change from the leaking pee diapers and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
The “Marriage by Abduction” theme also seems to play well in popular romances, especially those involving Scotsmen.
I think it’s because a certain personality type wants to be swept away in waves of emotion first, and more gently wooed later. So… my guess would be that the ‘marriage by abduction’ types would also gravitate more towards the charismatic movement? Or towards the mystics?
While those of us who feel that’s a bit creepy are busy hanging around with Thomas Aquinas, routines, and regular old Mass which is great the way it is, thank you!
I think the world tends to divide pretty nicely into ‘roller coaster relationship’ people and ‘merry go round relationship’ people. My husband and I may never be fodder for great works of literature, but on the other hand, the only broken plates in our house come from wayward toddler elbows, not screaming and flinging matches….
Perhaps the painting could be redone in Maplethorpe monochromaticism using 50 shades of grey.
Posted by Deirdre Mundy on Friday, Jul 13, 2012 10:22 AM (EST):The “Marriage by Abduction” theme also seems to play well in popular romances, especially those involving Scotsmen.”
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I was thinking that, too & historically it was actually acted out in different ways depending upon the culture.Aren’t some parts of our modern wedding traditions a carryover from those times?
Simcha—what is your art background? I never studied art history or appreciation at all, but am an English major. I can do what you do when I write about literature, but not art. I still think of the phrase you came up with for Thomas Kinkade, “anti-incarnational”, whenever I’m confronted with things that confound the source of goodness.
Would it help people’s perception of titles like “rape of the Sabine women” if they knew the Latin root is the same as for “rapture,” meaning “seize” or “capture” or “snatch up”?
Thanks for your commentary Simcha. I remember thinking the same when my husband and I were at the Borghese Gallery in Rome looking at the amazing Bernini sculpture “The Rape of Proserpine.” It was an amazing scuplture, not because it depicted Proserpine being abducted by the god of the underworld, but that it was able to convey the scene with such emotion and vividness, and that it was carved out of marble!! Bernini was able to show the fingers pressed into flesh, and terror and ferocity, out of marble. It didn’t glorify anything at all, but it was absolutely breath-taking. Good art can show the good and the bad aspects of human existance, and it’s universal—it doesn’t need to be translated into different languages, it just needs to be approached with an open heart.
Not everything is misogyny. If I remember the full story, Romulus and his men were a fearsome band of warriors, but they lacked women. Raping the Sabines was an act of desperation. They took the women and made them wives because they wanted a city. Men, in their own brutish and clumsy way,know deep down they need women if they want to be civilized. And women, while they don’t want to be raped, still want to be loved and sought after. The painting wonderfully depicts the vehemence of these longings.
I’d guess that painting was influenced by Plato’s Phaedrus. Neat how the body of the one guy appears to be part of the horse. The composition of the painting made me think of a storm cloud.
Like Kathleen, I thought at first that her pants were the issue! LOL!
Beautiful post, as always, Simcha. Hope you guys had a great time at the zoo!
Simcha, I thank you for posts like these because I feel as though I learn not only about art, literature, and music but I get to learn some new words for my vocabulary. Such as “zaftig.” I really should have paid more attention to my vocab quizzes in HS, I am sure that one was there somewhere! :)
I found this site online & it has great articles on things Catholic, including perspectives on Art & Lit.(also links to some NCR articles):
Catholic Education Resource Center
http://www.catholiceducation.org/
Beautiful, and funny, and multi-cultural! Muy bien.
@ Dierdre, you’re on a really good roll, I didn’t get around to saying how much I liked what you wrote yesterday about the beauty of creation. It was quite *mystical* actually.
Or, as the song “The Sobbin’ Women” in _Seven Brides for Seven Brothers_ puts it, “They acted angry and annoyed / But secretly they were overjoyed!”
I never before saw a comic strip I’d call ‘heartbreaking’. Kucerovsky is a genius at what he does. Picasso he ain’t but is it really minor art if it can convey such emotion?
I really like her shoes!
I love these posts Simcha (about art and poetry and such), because after three weeks of my littlest having two ear infections and me being pregnant and having a sinus infection…it reminds me I have a brain and I can appreciate art and OTHER things in life.
I agree with everything you say but the St. Louis Muny Opera ain’t going to bring back ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’ anytime soon.
The essay and cartoon are excellent but the subject of the painting has nothing to do with the Rape of the Sabine Women. “The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus” is an episode from Greek mythology about Castor and Pollux trying to steal the brides during a double wedding. Castor and the outraged grooms were killed during ensuing fight.
Oh no! Thanks for the correction. Apparently I can use Wikipedia, but not Google. In my defense, the guys in the picture sure look like they’re wearing Roman armor, don’t they?
Rubens is so right and so are you. Recentlywe had our picture taken for the parish directory, and there was my wife surrounded by children and absolutely exquisite. She has garnered all the accoutrements of motherhood including a pound or two, but I realized seeing her in that picture that what I was seeing was the manifestation of her beautiful true self. Yes she was a wonderfully attractive and thinner girl in college, but that cute young girl simply cannot hold a candle to the fully realized beauty that she is today. Every extra pound and stretch is a physical manifestation of her yes to vocation and her love for me. I know that the ideal of beauty in yesteryear wasn’t some spiritual treatise on the beauty of mother, but as I have experienced the delightful discovery that the physical evidence of our four children has enhanced my wife’s beauty, I think that Reuben’s ideal was much closer to the truth. Also her embrace of skirts hasn’t hurt either. Who knew?
If a snuff film is made beautifully, does it make the killing ok? First of all, it’s not a comic strip. Secondly, “it’s good art” doesn’t give anyone any excuse for anything mean spirited. It’s made for an art magazine. I’m guessing you’re one of those people who don’t have the guts to actually do art, so you keep BSing about these.
No offense, Mrs. Fisher, but I don’t get it.
A lot of perfectly good art, even of the relatively recent past, is completely gone from view.
Words themselves, meaningful words, have been eradicated, purged.
Ideas which used to be useful citizens in the artistic pantheon have been locked up, chained up, forgotten.
Look through a bookstore: they are stocked with all recent arrivals. There might be a dusty corner of forlorn remainders. But everything else smells of steroids.
Check out the art sales. Contemporary art depicts medicine cabinets. Everything heroic is locked up in some rich guys vault for appreciation value, not appreciation.
I wonder about the strategy of glorifying cartoons. They’re so ambivalent, throw-away, disposable, evenescent.
You should look to more mordant media for permanence, like brick or marble. A good brickbat properly hurled can do serious, permanent damage.
Thanks Simcha- I loved the Cartoon art as well as the original painting and I thought your comments on them were very intelligent and articulated beautifully. Many men do prefer the more fulsome woman even if the world of fashion seems to promote stick figures. In Russia three hundred years ago if an upper class woman was thin she would stay in bed and eat rum and chocolate until she got a more attractive fulsome figure.
I am not knowledgeable about art or artists except classical and popular music. I think I see what you are saying about this particular art work.
Wow! You are DIFFERENT—in a GOOD way!
Dear Simcha,
An art appreciation post, celebrating real sized women, ignoring political correctness and a preemptive strike on the combox crappers to boot! Could it get any better?
Keep bringing the (Francis) Bacon!
I’m playing Devil’s Advocate to some extent, but I do think it can be argued that good art which glorifies kidnapping is dangerous precisely because it’s good art. It’s beautiful, the composition is wonderful, the colors are lovely, and it appeals to you in a visceral way that bypasses the analytical parts of your brain, so it can make something bad seem good without you noticing—not that the painter set out to portray evil as good, but rather that he portrayed evil and did so beautifully, and when you just look at the beautiful picture as a beautiful picture, you might subconsciously attach the evil and the beauty in your mind.
@Monica - Like this?
http://preview.tinyurl.com/cymgn8f
Nuts, I messed up the link. Try this:
http://www.aug.edu/augusta/iconography/iconographySupplementalImages/crucifixion/grunewald1515.jpg
@Simcha-I was unable to bring up the second Grunewald link however Wikipedia shows three different Crucifixion images by M. Grunewald.
Thank you;)
No, not like that. The Crucifixion is completely different from most other violent acts, because the Victim was completely willing. What I’m saying is that glorifying victimhood (as opposed to self-sacrifice) is not a good thing, and when done well (even unintentionally—I’m not qualified to start ascribing motives to Rubens), it’s more likely to influence your thinking, and more likely to do so without your notice.
So, still not exactly When Harry Met Sally…
So, then, more like Seven Brides for Seven Brothers? ;-)
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