Part I
To a large extent, artists try to portray the society of their time in their artwork. The 16 th and 17 th century artists, and Ruben’s Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus in particular, seemingly glorified sexual violence that significant that period. According to Caroll’s article, men who were in need of brides used force to marry them (Caroll, 2018). One interesting aspect in the article is that men would ask parents of their would-be brides for their daughters but never bothered to ask the brides themselves for their consent. Rubens and other artists of the time regarded forceful marriage as a natural process; that men were only responding to their innate feelings of sexuality.
Perhaps of prominent interest is that the violent sexual paintings were often decorated in the palaces of kings. According to Caroll, the sexual violence was symbolic to the ruling style of the kings and princes. The paintings signified that the rulers were above the law, and that their leadership was not to be questioned. Seemingly, the kings subscribed to Machiavelli’s school of thought that leadership sometimes has to be forceful to compel the subjects to submit to the command of the ruler.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Caroll interprets that Ruben’s painting symbolizes marriage between the French and Spanish families. In retrospect, it Louis XIII was getting married to his bride, Anne of Austria while his sister, Elisabeth was getting married to an eleven-year old prince in Spain. Louis, who was the French groom, did not want to get married to his bride, probably because he did not understand the meaning of those events at such a tender age (Caroll, 2018). However, after being talked to by several gentlemen who came to his bedroom, he is compelled to engage in sex with the bride where the shedding of blood signified that he had fulfilled the traditions.
Part II
Artworks as Evidence for Possible Essay Questions
Mannerist, late Renaissance, and Baroque artists: Veronese. Christ in the House of Levi. 1573 and Bernini. Ecstasy of St. Teresa. Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome, Italy. 1645-1652
Success and challenges of female artists: Sofonisba Anguissola. Portrait of the artist’s sisters with their nurse (Chess match). 1556 and Artemisia Gentileschi. Judith beheading Holofernes. 1620
Baroque art from different geographical regions: Rubens. Rubens with his second wife and son. 1635 and Georges de La Tour. The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds. 1630
References
Carroll, M. D. (2018). The erotics of absolutism: Rubens and the mystification of sexual violence. In The Expanding Discourse (pp. 138-159). Routledge.
