From my dreams of Goddess GINA 3

My river runs to Thee:

Blue Sea, wilt Thou welcome me?


My river awaits reply.


Oh! Sea, look graciously!

i’ll fetch Thee brooks

from spotted nooks,

Say, Sea,

take me!

(Emily Dickinson, <1886)

From my dreams of Goddess GINA 2

And in life's noisiest hour,

There whispers still the ceaseless love of Thee,


The heart's self-solace and soliloquy.

You mould my hopes, You fashion me within;

And to the leading love-throb in the heart

Thro' all my being, thro' my pulse's beat;

You lie in all my many thoughts, like light,


Like the fair light of dawn, or summer eve

On rippling stream, or cloud-reflecting lake.


And looking to the heaven, that bends above You,

How oft! i bless the lot that made me love You.

(
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1807)

From my dreams of Goddess GINA 1

She walks in beauty, like the night


Of cloudless climes and starry skies;


And all that's best of dark and bright


Meet in Her aspect and Her eyes:


Thus mellowed to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,

Had half impaired the nameless grace


Which waves in every raven tress,


Or softly lightens o'er Her face;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express


How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,


So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,


The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

But tell of days in Goodness spent,


A mind at peace with all below,


A heart whose love is innocent!

(Lord Byron, 1814)

Reader's Diary (Week 6)

Man is a masochistic animal!
(Unknown, 1936)

The Power of Women

Since the down of civilization men celebrated the power of Women. Even the Bible, the Good Book, includes many stories of strong Women winning over men. Sex, violence and supernatural happenings were always important sources of inspirations for visual artists. The pictorial and narrative excitement of biblical Women's narratives, full of sexual sentiment, has been interpreted in many different ways over the ages.

The Fall of Man

Netherlandish prints of the 16th century gave viewers not only new ways of relating to Scripture, but also allowed ordinary people to buy such items to use in their homes for their own "devotional purposes".  No surprise the series dedicated to the "Power of Women" have been very popular. Captioned with a quotation from Ecclesiasticus: "All evil is small in comparison to the evil of a Woman", the prints should also illustrate Women's ability to make fools of even the wisest and most powerful men.

Salome

Lucas van Leyden (1494-1533), a Dutch engraver and painter, created two series of woodcuts (The Large Power of Women in 1514 and The Small Power of Women in 1517) and several engravings of the theme. He also included picture of Virgil in a basket into his series. According to legend, Virgil fell in love with the Roman emperor's Daughter. She promised to raise him in Her bedroom in a basket, but left him dangling halfway to be mocked by passersby the following day.

Poet Virgil Suspended in a Basket

Solomon's Idolatry

Philips Galle (1537-1612), Dutch engraver, designer and printmaker, published around 1569 a series called The Power of Women.

Jael slaying Sisera

Judith slaying Holofernes

Samson and Delilah

Classical interpretation of these images would be a warning against the destructive power of Women. They are no longer the abstract type of Virgin, Women on these pictures are transformed into vengeful, bloodthirsty creatures. However, such explanation ignores explicit erotism and masochistic pleasure embodied in these pictures.

Goddess of my Dreams

Reader's Diary (Week 5)

Thou sensual, supersensual libertine, a little Girl can lead thee by the nose.
(Goethe, 1808)