4C Visual Analysis of Selected Image

Gillian Rose: Visual Methodologies Questions

Zoffany, Johann. Portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay and Her Cousin Lady Elizabeth Murray. 1778. Oil on Canvas. Kenwood House, Scotland.

 

Some questions about the production of an image:
When was it made?
The painting was completed in 1779.
Who made it?
The painter attributed to the painting is Johann Zoffany but it is possible he is not the painter. Any other possible painters are unknown.
Was it made for someone else?
The Earl and Countess of Mansfield had commissioned the painting from Zoffany, portraying their nieces. Noble/aristocratic families had commissioned paintings of family members, which was the norm at the time.
What were the social identities of the maker, the owner, and the subject of the image?
Zoffany was a German Neoclassical painter, born of Bohemian origin. The owner(s), the Murray family, are from the aristocratic class. Elizabeth Dido Belle and her cousin, Elizabeth Murray, are also from the aristocratic class.

 Some questions about the image:
What is being shown? What are the components of the image? How are they arranged?
What is shown is the ladies Elizabeth Dido Belle and Elizabeth Murray. They are composed side by side together (showing them as near equals), with Elizabeth on the right, reaching out to her cousin. They are placed in an outdoor background, possibly a garden on the estate.
Is it one of a series?
No
Where is the viewers eye drawn to in the image and why?
My eyes are drawn towards Dido; she is a stark contrast to her cousin on the right and her expression/gaze is very direct. Paintings of the time had black people as “accessories”, gazing up onto the white protagonist. This was a symbol of power; however Dido is on equal footing with her cousin in the painting and her gaze is directed towards the viewer.
What are the genre(s) of the image? Is it a documentary, soap opera, or melodrama for example?
It is a documentary, portrait and family painting.

 Some questions about audiencing:
Who are the original audiences for this image?
The family of the subjects and guests.
How is it circulated?
In print media, and the internet.
How is it re-displayed?
The painting was previously housed in Scone Palace, Scotlan. It is now housed in Kenwood House, with information about the paintings subjects, as of 2007.
Who are the more recent audiences for this text?
Anyone interested in British history, abolition of Slavery in Britain or those who visit Kenwood House.
Is more than one interpretation of this image possible?
Yes, I believe so.

 

 

 

4B Image Selection

Toulouse-Lautree, Henri De. Self-Portrait in Front of a Mirror. 1882-1883. Oil on Cardboard. Musee Toulouse Lautrec, Albi.

Selfie with Pope Francis. 2013. Huffington Post. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Zoffany, Johann. Portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay and Her Cousin Lady Elizabeth Murray. 1778. Oil on Canvas. Kenwood House, Scotland.

N. Hoyer, ed., Man into Woman. An Authentic Record of a Change of Sex. The true story of the miraculous transformation of the Danish painter Einar Wegener (Andreas Sparre). London: Jarrolds, 1933. Photograph: Lili, Paris, 1926, opp. p. 40.

Goldin, Nan. Greer and Robert on the Bed. 1982. Claire Raymond. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Fig. 1: Self Portrait of a Man by Henri de Toulouse-Lautree
This painting was featured in chapter 1 and Mirzoeff talked in length about Toulouse’s self portrait. Mirzoeff talks about how the artist had done the self portrait by painting the reflection from a mirror; this conceals Toulouse’s physical disability by just portraying his head and shoulders (the rest of his body is not proportionate in real life). This relates to Mirzoeff’s idea of identity and the selfie – what is the difference of Toulouse hiding his disability in his own self portrait to someone of now angling their faces to make it more attractive in a selfie?

Fig 2: Selfie with Pope Francis
Mirzoeff talks about the idea of Majesty, that a monarch is God’s representative on Earth; thus over the course of history there are paintings that portray monarchs, or people like the Pope, as such. However here is a selfie of some people with Pope Francis taken at the Vatican. This is a departure from the history of Majesty; here the Pope is in an informal photograph (a selfie no less) and seems to be an ordinary (probably fun loving) man! This changes our perception of this person, who is seen by some as God’s representative on Earth, and totally turns it into something else.

Fig 3: Portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle and her Cousin Elizabeth Murray
The chapter refers to a photographer called Samuel Fosso who visualized how his body was “Africanized” and “Racialized” by other people (and mentions the “white gaze” – how white people see people of colour). This, to me, bought in mind of old portraits of noblewomen, some who had a black child as a servant in the portrait with them, and the case of Dido Elizabeth Belle. Dido was a gentlewoman born from an enslaved African woman and a British Naval Officer; she was raised by her relatives, the Earl and Countess of Mansfield, alongside her cousin Lady Elizabeth Murray. During that time, Dido was classified as a Mulatto and no doubt had to struggle with her racial identity in a time where slavery was the norm in England. Here in this portrait, she is painted alongside her cousin as near equals. I say near equals because Dido is still portrayed slightly behind her white cousin with a costume that has an air of orientalism to them. Their position hints to the differences in their race.

Fig 4: Photograph of Lili Elbe
Mirzoeff refers to Marcel Duchamp’s alter ago, “Rrose Selavy”, the LBGT scene and how gender to some is a performance. No one else is more relevant to this idea than Lili Elbe. Lili Elbe was born Einar Wegener, a painter who was Danish transgender woman and one of the first people to go through sex reassignment surgery during the 1920s to 1930s.

Fig 5: Greer and Robert in Bed by Nan Goldin
I feel that Nan Goldin has a unique look at gender, race and sexuality in her photographs in a way that is ugly, uncompromising but real at the same time. She had portrayed people such as drag queens as a “third gender”, another sexual/gender option. Along with her other themes like sex, drug use and violence, I feel Goldin not only ties in with the Mirzoeff chapter of “How to See Yourself” in terms of identity but gives another perspective of it.

4A: Video Review

Today I have chosen to review two youtube videos:
One is an interview with director Martin Scorsese on the Importance of Critical Thinking and Toledo Museum of Art’s video for Visual Literacy and Critical Thinking.
I felt that the Toledo Museum of Art’s video had got the point to me the best as it was short, literally to the point and bite sized (however sometimes it was too fast paced for my taste and enjoyed watching Scorsese talk more lengthily about the same topic).
It’s hard to decide which video I thought was best but again, the Toledo Museum of Art had more easy to process, bite sized pieces of information. The things I had learnt from the video was:

• Visuals are a powerful tool and being able to think critically about visuals is important so we can vary our interpretations.
• With Critical thinking, we can give out thoughtful responses as well as have multiple interpretations.
• Both Visual Literacy and Critical Thinking go hand in hand. We develop these skills as we go on.
• Someone who is visually literate can accommodate to multiple interpretations, understand and generate multiple interpretations whilst being more forgiving of others who have different interpretations of the same thing.

I would recommend both videos to watch! With the Toledo Museum of Art’s video about Visual Literacy and Critical thinking, it does give you bite sized information and points to think about. I would follow this video with Martin Scorsese’s interview as he discusses these same points more in depth. If any of you readers are a fan of his films, I would suggest watching it for this reason too!

Resoruces:
Toledo Museum of Art. Visual Literacy and Critical Thinking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jR8zWqyHBY Web. Feb 2015. (3mins Approx.)
Uploaded by Edutopia. Filmmaker Martin Scorsese on the Importance of Visual Literacy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I90ZluYvHic Web 2015. (Approx 10mins.)

3F Bringing Knowledge to your Topic

A. List the issues, ideas, concerns and visual texts

• Identity (This can include self concept)
• Selfies and the Self Portrait
• Sexual/Gender/Racial Identity (LGBT, Racism, Stereotypes, Gender Roles, etc)
• Perception (This can be tied into the spread of mass media, social media, mirrors)

B. Find out more about the issues, ideas, concerns, events and visual texts

Resources (Task 3E)

Selfie:
Mirzoeff talks about identity and the self and how we want to portray ourselves to the world. Thinking this topic is relevant to the essay questions, I gathered these links.
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/selfie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selfie
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-fire-guilty-idUSKCN0X600X

Self Portrait:
The selfie is derived from the history of the Self Portraits of old; they serve the same purpose. The artist portray themselves in a way they want to be seen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-portrait
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/genres/self-portraits.htm
http://www.artrepublic.com/articles/475-selfies-and-the-history-of-self-portraiture.html/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rrose_S%C3%A9lavy
http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/oct/27/art.surrealismatthevanda
Raphael. Self Portrait. 1506. Oil on Panel. Uffizi Gallery, Uffizi, Florence.
Eyck, Jan Van. Portrait of a Man. 1433. Oil on Canvas. National Gallery, London.
Elisabeth-Louise Vigee Le Brun

Identity (Sexual/Racial/Gender)
Identity is who someone is, or their name. It can also concern their qualities, beliefs, Gender or Race.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lili_Elbe
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/the-danish-girl/true-story-lili-elbe-transgender/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dido_Elizabeth_Belle

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/netherlands/12046714/Dutch-gallery-removes-racist-artwork-titles.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender
http://www.understandingslavery.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=373&Itemid=236
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3424300308.html
Wiesner, Merry E. Gender in History. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2001. Print.
Chancer, Lynn S., and Beverly X. Watkins. Gender, Race, and Class: An Overview. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2006. Print.

Visual Texts

Zoffany, Johann. Portrait of Dido Elizabeth Belle Lindsay and Her Cousin Lady Elizabeth Murray. 1778. Oil on Canvas. Kenwood House, Scotland.

Wegener, Gerda. Portrait of Lili Elbe. 1928. Watercolour. Iconographic Collections.

Mijtens, Johannes. Portrait of Margaretha Van Raephorst. 1668. Oil on Canvas. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

N. Hoyer, ed., Man into Woman. An Authentic Record of a Change of Sex. The true story of the miraculous transformation of the Danish painter Einar Wegener (Andreas Sparre). London: Jarrolds, 1933. Photograph: Lili, Paris, 1926, opp. p. 40.

Ray, Man. Marcel Duchamp as Rrose Sélavy. 1920-1921. Philadelphia Museum of Art.

3D Blog Task – Brainstorm

Mind map to come soon :)!

3C Blog task – Summary of a Paragraph

Original Paragraph
The seventeenth century was a period in which monarchs around Europe claimed the power of Absolutism. That is to say, they were more than just people. Kings were God’s representatives on earth, symbolized by their being anointed like a priest during the coronation ceremony. Combining secular and spiritual power, the Absolutist monarchs claimed overwhelming power that was centered in their very person.

Summarized Paragraph
Seventeenth Century European monarchs had claimed the power of Absolutism. This meant they were not ordinary people; they were representing God on Earth. This is symbolized by their coronation where they are anointed similarly like a priest. Combining secular and spiritual power, an Absolutist monarch had power that was focused on their very person. (Mirzoeff, 36)

Works cited:
Mirzoeff, Nicholas. “Chapter 1: How to See Yourself.” How to See the World. London: Pelican, 2015. 36. Print.
Rigaud, Hyacinthe. Louis XV, King of France. 1730. Oil on Canvas. Palace of Versailles.

3B Blog Post – Chapter One

The selfie, the creation of how we perceive ourselves. How do we incorporate our identities? Selfie is part of a history of the historical self portraits. Power of majesty from the absolute monarchy.
Sexual, racial, gender identity, racial gaze, male gaze and perception.
Mirrors – Aztecs attributed it to the god of war and sexual transgressions. Europeans attributed mirrors to power; mirrors were used for divination, fortune telling and contacting the dead.
Gender roles – women are submissive and men lead the action. This applies to life and media like cinema.
Mass spread of media thanks to inventions like photography, magazines, etc.
Self Portraits are drawn to how artists want to be perceived. Visual media is rich with information and integrated into conversations; twitter, vine and snapchat. Look at queer and feminist views.

3A Written Response

What is Mirzoeff asking you to think about?
How do we see ourselves? This extends to the current selfie to the history of the self portraits. How did people in the past and present depict themselves? Do mirrors have a part in how we perceive ourselves? Who are selfies and self portraits catered for? Selfies are usually shared among friends and family in social media, portraits of royalty were catered to the common people, to show power, majesty and authority. Mirzoeff also asks us to think about feminist views, the male gaze (especially in cinema), gender roles, stereotypes, race and sexuality and how they incorporate into our identities.

Do you think it might be important we know about it, think about it or consider it or research it in more detail? Explain why?
I feel it is very important to know, think, consider and research it in more detail because the topics Mirzoeff explains are relevant to the present. I have never thought about the selfie in depth as it is so integrated into our society/thinking; why even think about it indepth? And the fact that the selfie can be a window to our sexual/racial identity is intriguing. Another thing to consider in the same vein is how do people see us/how do we want them to see us? Also the history of Absolute Monarchy and the laws of “Majesty” are interesting – something I would like to research more.

Vigée Le Brun, Elisabeth Louise. Self-portrait with Her Daughter. 1789. Oil on Canvas. Louvre Museum, Paris.

 

Select a Visual Text from the chapter that base exemplifies your understanding of Mirzoeff’s ideas and explain why you have selected this in view of your understanding.
I chose Elizabeth-Louise Vigee Lebrun’s self portrait with her daughter (circa.1789) because Mirzoeff had pointed out in the chapter that Le Brun had put a contemporary spin to the iconography of Madonna and Child. Le Brun makes the portrait very informal (akin to a modern family photo), and shows herself as not only as an artist but as a mother. During the painting’s time, professional women artists were looked down upon and were expected to follow a strict doctrine of domestic home life, caring for children and not having a professional career. I feel that the painting exemplifies Mirzoeff’s idea of “the self” – Le Brun paints herself as an artist and as a mother while challenging social norms of her time.

2A Blog Task Word Cloud