All Power to the Women, Paris, May 1968

In memory of Nina Simone (2/21/1933 – 4/21/2003)

I put a spell on you

because you're mine

you're mine

you better stop the things you do

I ain't lyin'

and I don't care

you hear me

I put a spell on you

because you're mine

Iconic Shoe Photo, Part 5

Jaromir Funke (1896-1945), premier Czech modernist photographer. Enjoy...

Iconic Shoe Photo, Part 4

Patrick McMullan - Legs, including Tinkerbelle's, at Vito Bruno's birthday party at Area. Wednesday, October 3, 1984.

The New Woman, The Femdom Regime

Keystone, 1896

Keystone, 1899

Weller, 1875

Weller, 1872

Underwood & Underwood, 1897

Graves, 1903

Graves, 1903

Strohmeyer & Wyman, 1892

Young, 1901

Middleage Femdom Comics, Part 1

Die alle wege ligen mussen

under eines Wibes fussen

Iconic Shoe Photo, Part 3

Edward Kasper (1922-1997) - High Heel Pumps Over Manhattan, Mademoiselle magazine, November 1950.

Iconic Shoe Photo, Part 2

Infinite Women's beauty, fashion capital of the world, Trocadero with its view of the Eiffel tower, three great photographers - Louise Emma Augusta Dahl (1895-1989), Richard Avedon (1923-2004) and Frank Horvat (*1928) - and three iconic photos...

Richard Avedon, 1948

Louise Dahl-Wolfe, 1959

Frank Horvat, 1974

Masochism in Literature - Introduction

Erato by Francois Boucher, 1758

Masochism seems to be connected to modern Western culture. There are not many records indicating sexual masochism in other cultures or other times. Indeed it existed - and exists - everywhere and every time, but its existence was never expressed so openly as it is now in our culture. And it is not because we are living in the most permissive or sophisticated society - many sexual variations are tolerated in other cultures better and overall attitude towards sex were more tolerant in history.

Erato by Virgil Solis, 1562

Born of masochism as recognised sexual behaviour can be connected with 18th century. We can see rare records of similar behaviour before, but with Rousseau's confession it started to be cultural phenomenon. Sadly, nearly 250 years later it is still seen as something unnatural, dishonoring, degrading. Rousseau - great philosopher, but masochist? Is it a joke? Nietzsche, gay, maybe, but masochist? Common... Kafka as masochist? No way... Joyce? Just charming and innocent games of troubled genius... Sacher-Masoch, who? Writer? You call that Literature? Really? Surrealists worshipping the divine Marquise, but masochism? What? For Women, maybe...

Erato, 1560

Pain, loss of control, humiliation. Who can desire that? Who can make it part of sexual excitement? Such perversity... Kraft-Ebbing found name for it and destroyed very successful writer. Freud categorised it, Stekel made it a part of our human instincts. Reich saw it as nothing but demand for love, Reik made it part of our modern life, legitimate social behaviour. And Deleuze mixed everything together and made it, by using French philosophic terminology, accessible to all modern scholars. It's pity that Foucault died before he could finish his History of Sexuality...

Erato by Charles Meynier, 1800

Nevertheless, there is something that allows modern people to have masochistic feelings and desires and not only to realise them within their intimate life, but also to express them, give them some particular shape in their public manifestations. Whatever masochism is and regardless of its origins, it can bring some meaning into modern western world...

Erato by Samuel Wale, 1768

Botticelli in Femdom realm, Part 2

Openly Femdom painting like Camilla and the Centaur (Part 1 of Botticelli's Femdom paintings), which was commisioned by Lorenzo il Magnifico for bedchamber of Semiramide Appiani (together with famous Primavera), who, after 3 years of begging, in 1482 finally agreed to marry Lorenzo's younger cousin, are quite unique. Unfortunately, we do not know if and how was decorated Her husband's bedchamber. But Botticelli left us with another Femdom illustrated story from his Medici years - a story of La bella Simonetta and Giuliano de Medici.

Giuliano (1453-1478) was brother of Lorenzo il Magnifico and co-ruler of Florence. he played role of the patron of the art in the family, and was interested more in horsemanship and hunting then the Women. But just until he met beautiful noblewomen Simonetta Vespucci (1453-1476). Immediately he fell deeply in love and She became his Lady and Mistress. he started serving Her in accordance with the ideals of courtly love. She married Marco Vespucci, another man from the circle of the Medici. Giuliano organized Her wedding at the main square in Florence and also held the Wedding reception in his villa.

He made sure that Medici court poets and painters immortalised Simonetta in Her own lifetime as the most beautiful Woman in Florence. In 1475 Giuliano named Simonetta to be his 'Lady of the joust' at great jousting tournament and fought under a banner with portrait of Simonetta as Pallas Athene and inscription 'The Apparelled One' (painted by Botticelli). He indeed won the tournament for his Mistress and Simonetta became a 'Queen of Beauty'.

Beautiful Simonetta died of consumption in 1476. The entire Florence was reported to mourn Her death and thousands followed Her coffin to its burial. Giuliano is assassinated two years later.

Four portraits of Giuliano de Medici

There are four surviving Botticelli's portraits of Simonetta, who is considered today to be the most beautiful Woman of Renaissance, and no more then four portraits of Giuliano. Interestingly, Giuliano is pictured in usual, rather simple and schematic way, with eyes humbly bowed every time, whereas Simonetta portraits are teeming with details and really celebrating Her divine beauty and eroticism.

4th Woman Mystery Solved...

A couple of months ago i have published four illuminations of violent Women (The ultimate biblical Femdom), assuming the pictures to be biblical illustrations. My mistake. i was able to read correctly only three names (Virgin Mary, Judith, Yael), the forth Queen remained a mystery for me. i suggested Tamar, but it was wrong, the correct reading is Tomyris (Tomris).

Beautiful renaissance Queen Tomyris by Andrea del Castagno, 1450

Her story comes from Greek historian Herodotus, but it seems like all others after him mentioned Her also. No wonder. The story tells of the attack upon the Massagetae (nomadic confederation in Central Asia) by Cyrus the Great, King of the Persians. Tomyris, Queen of the Massagetae, lost the first battle of the war during which her son was captured and subsequently he took his own life. But Queen Tomyris won the second battle, killed Cyrus and then - as she had promised and as seen on the picture - made his severed head drink its fill of human blood out of a wine skin to 'quench his thirst for blood'.

Czech Princess and Goddess

Princess Guglielma (Blazena) was daughter of Queen Constance and Premysl Otakar I, king of Bohemia, sister of St. Agnes of Prague and king Vaclav I. Around 1260 She arrived in Milan to live there, as far as we know, as a religious Woman independently in Her own home. Her charismatic teaching and Her reputation attracted disciples, both Women and men, who clung to Her with fierce loyalty. Guglielma became a centre of devoted religious group of more then three dozen mostly upper-class Milan citizen. They believed that their Mistress is no less then the Holy Spirit Herself and the true God(dess) and come to found a new church led by Women. After Her dead in 1281 the church was led by Guglielma’s ‘earthly vicar’ Sister Maifreda da Pirovano, the Papessa of the age to come…

Sister Maifreda as Papessa, from the Visconti-Sforza tarot pack, 1450

Sister Maifreda was first cousin of the lord of Milan. She publicly celebrated Masses before an altarpiece showing the Trinity with Guglielma as the third person. The cult was slowly growing and before 1300 there was, as is recorder, over 130 devotees to honour Sister Maifreda by kissing Her feet and hands. Sister Maifreda lived in the convent of Santa Caterina di Biassono and it became the epicentre of Guglielma’s private cult. St. Catherine served as an iconographic cover for Guglielma, She was painted under the name of St. Catherine and also nuns of the convent started to preached about Guglielma.

Later copy of the previous card. 

In 1284 inquisitors interrogated Sister Maifreda and others for the first time. They all escaped with symbolic punishment and a warning after repudiating their errors. But in august 1296 the anti heretical bull Saepe anctam Ecclesiam authorised action against laypersons ‘even of the female sex’ and inquisitors renewed action against Guglielma’s followers. Inquisitions trial held in Milan from July through December of 1300 interrogated at least 33 citizens and Sister Maifreda and two others (Sister Giacoma da Nova and Andrea Saramita) paid for their believe with their lives. Guglielma’s body was also burned and ashes scattered, Her tomb dismantled, Her images destroyed, Her disciples’ writings consigned to the fire, her memory utterly damned.

Guglielma blessing Sister Maifreda da Pirovano and Andrea Saramita

But 150 years after the trial Her cult was alive again and someone even commissioned a painting of the Guglielma for church of Brunate, a village near Milano. A fifteenth-century legend refers Guglielma as ‘a very beautiful Virgin, as eloquent as She was fair, saying that She was the Holy Spirit incarnate for redemption of Women; and She baptised Women in the name of the Father and of the Son and of Herself’. Up to this day the Princess Guglielma is honored as the unofficial patron saint of Brunate village.