Name: The Death of Cleopatra

Artist: Guido ReniMaterial: Oil on copper

Size: 124x94cmYear: 1639

Present Location: New Palace (Potsdam)

Comparative study - SL International Baccalaureate

IntroductionThese three artworks, The Death of Cleopatra, Insane Woman, and Myra are artworks that are overlooked in the society. These artworks tell us about the values in society during the time when these paintings are painted, and how the society changes over time. What interested me about these artworks is how the artists express or challenge an idea through the portrait of an individual. The religious connotation in The Death of Cleopatra reveals how women are treated in the 1600s, and the importance of religious belief in determining moral standards. Insane Woman is a less famous artwork of Théodore Géricault that documents the development of psychological knowledge before Sigmund Freud. Religious topic and psychology is something that I have deep interest on, and therefore these artworks are important in showing the history of those two areas. I have heard about the Moors Murders that Myra Hindley involved in, and the painting Myra provides a new perspective on the case or even a bigger picture to social norms that I did not discover until after analyzing the painting. All three artworks documented the development of our society and this comparative study will explore and compare these artworks in relation to their formal quality, function and purpose, and cultural significance.

Name: Insane Woman (Portait of a Woman

Suffering from Obsessive Envy)

Artist: Théodore Géricault

Material: Oil on canvasSize: 72x58cm

Year: 1822 Present Location: The Museum of Fine Arts of

Lyon

Name: MyraArtist: Marcus Harvey

Material: acrylic on canvas

Size: 396.2 x 320 cmYear: 1995

Present Location: Sensation exhibition of Young British Artists at

the Royal Academy of Art

Formal Analysis: The Death of Cleopatra

This is one of the paintings by Guido Reni that captures Cleopatra’s final moments before her death. Despite the many theories about the death of Cleopatra, Reni has chosen to deplete the lustful nature of Cleopatra and as told by Shakespeare. Cleopatra is showing her bare chest, reveals her lecherous character.

Guido Reni uses a dark background as a contrast to Cleopatra’s fair skin. The chiaroscuro of Cleopatra’s translucent skin and pitch black background sculpt the shape of her body. Cleopatra’s natural expression and lifelike texture of her skin are achieved by Reni’s expert use of tonal variations to build dimensions. Reni portraits Cleopatra is a woman who is physically attractive, and her beauty is enhanced by the suffering of Cleopatra. Her feminine hand gesture and small breasts represent the idealistic woman figure of the time. The power of porcelain-like skin appeared to be titillating to man in historical times and is definitely a contrast to Cleopatra’s bold personality. In fact, Cleopatra was an Egyptian descent, therefore, her skin should be in darker tone. However, Reni is an Italian artist, his attempt to make his audience more relatable to his paintings explained why he illustrates Cleopatra with a twist of European features. Reni’s attention to detail can be seen in the golden detailing on Cleopatra’s gown, and also the reflection of light from her earrings. A relatively soft light reflection from Cleopatra’s dress established a silky texture, differentiate itself among the variety of textures that are present in this painting. Reni avoided using sharp, bright colors, the application of dull colors compliments the mournfulness in the picture.

Cleopatra has been illustrated as a lustful sinner despite having to be very similar to another painting by Guido Reni, “Mary Magdalene” (1635). The difference between two paintings is the illumination that promises Mary the divine grace by shining warm light onto the body of Mary. In the painting, Cleopatra’s skin has a greenish tone, foreshadow the fatal bite that leads to her death. Whereas Mary’s skin has a healthy pink glow promises a positive future, which glorifies the painting of Mary and set it apart from Cleopatra. In the hand of Cleopatra and Mary holds the symbols of sin and faith respectively, an asp and a cross. The position of Cleopatra’s head is tilted slight to her right and lifted upwards as if she was searching for something above. Given that she is a sinner, this perhaps suggests she was begging for God’s redemption before committing suicide. In the painting of Mary, her head is also lifted upwards, and her devotion to her religion has been recognised, represented as the ray of light that shines upon her from above. Unlike the painting of Mary Magadelen, there’s no reflecton of light in the background of Cleopatra, suggesting emptiness and unpredictable consequences. This could be seen as a representation of Cleopatra’s life in a religious perspective — Despite all the success, wealth, and lustful relationships that Cleopatra had, her life and soul is still as empty and meaningless like the background without faith in God.

Mary Magadelen by Guido Reni (1635), 90.8 x 74.3 cm, oil

on canvas

This is painted in a similar way as The Death of Cleopatra, but

with significantly different meaning.

Resurrected Christ Embracing the Cross by Guido Reni (1621), 229 x

142 cm, oil on canvas

Guido Reni worked in a studio in the Accademia Degli Incamminati (Academy of the "newly embarked”). The academy aimed for ‘an eclectic ideal’, which encouraged artworks to be painted in a style taken "from Raphael a feminine grace of line, from Michelangelo a muscular force, from Titian strong colors and from Correggio gentle colors.” (words are taken from a sonnet written by Agostino Carracci). The studio was a private institution that allowed artists to draw the nude from live models, which was prohibited by the Catholic Church. Reni studied and painted many religious paintings that included naked bodies, such as Resurrected Christ Embracing the Cross (1621). There are several reasons and purposes for Reni’s religious drawings. In the beginning of 1600s, the Italian state flourishes in terms of its economy, political and culture. A large witch hunt occurred as a result of Renaissance ideas, one of the beliefs was believing an individual’s ability to summon devils as a practice of witchcraft. Reni suffered from a fear of witches, thus uncomfortable with the company of women. Guido Reni became famous in portraying suffering female beauty such as Magdalena, Lucretius, and Cleopatras. However according to historical research, as an Egyptian Cleopatra was unlikely to be a Christian. Reni was addicted to gambling and therefore considered to be a sinner to churches. Nevertheless, his talent overwritten his flaws as Pope Urban VIII said about Reni, "to poets and painters all things are permitted.”

The painting captures the final moments of Cleopatra, who was once glamorous and was in a sexual relationships the two historical warriors, Mark Anthony and Julius Caesar. Reni conveys the idea of a woman who does not have a healthy and spiritual lifestyle, who gained her power by having sexual relationships with two men. Reni presents Cleopatra as a sinned woman in history rather than a powerful queen. However, her gaze into the sky (or ceiling) suggests a rare interaction between Cleopatra and God, pleading for the mercy of her sins before her death, which may also interpret as feeling guilty of her lustful encounters. Promiscuity is a sin during Reni’s time. Under the religious influence in western countries, double standards were established between men and women. While it was acceptable for men to be promiscuous, women were often punished if they are impure. This could be a warning to women in the 16th century and also suggest the lack of tolerance in sexual desire.

This artwork provides another perspective of Cleopatra. Many people admire how powerful Cleopatra is to be the first Egyptian Queen. However Reni is showing the dependent side of Cleopatra, and how most of her fame and power is actually given by the other two men. Cleopatra has lost her motivation to live after Anthony’s death, and therefore choose to suicide. More importantly, Cleopatra who we assume to be an atheist, look up to God moments before her death. This perhaps glorifies God as even the queen looks for redemption from God when she was vulnerable. The Death of Cleopatra presents itself as a reminder to women in the 16th century that the consequences of being promiscuous are a painful death.

Function and Purpose: The Death of Cleopatra

Cleopatra was the Queen of Egypt, who is also famous for charming the two most powerful Roman military leaders — Caesar and Antony. The subject of Cleopatra was popular in the 16-17th century, presenting an erotic charge and mystery behind the death of this Egyptian Queen. It is believed that the subject has derived from the book — Plutarch's Lives, which is published in 1517. Artists of that time have put their own interpretation on the story of Cleopatra and her death. Poetry, paintings, plays and musicals have been created based on this subject, as an artistic and creative way to explore the history of the Egyptian Queen. This painting of Cleopatra can be dated back to the latter part of 1620. Her death has been told in many stories: some version said she committed suicide, ancient authors are convinced that she was bitten by an asp in the hand. Shakespeare alternated the ending and tells his version of the story, where he claims Cleopatra was bitten on the breast.

Shakespeare and Reni shared similar opinions towards Cleopatra. The Death of Cleopatra could be inspired by Shakespeare’s tragedy — Anthony and Cleopatra. In the play, Shakespeare has characterized Cleopatra as the opposite to Virgin Mary, Mary as white and virginal; Cleopatra as black and ‘whorish’. Although in the painting Cleopatra has porcelain-like skin, her clothing and background are painted black with very limited light reflected upon her dress. Reni’s painting echoes Shakespeare’s take on the story of Cleopatra. However, rather than emphasizing the differences between Cleopatra and Virgin Mary, Reni seems to present a Mariological Cleopatra by painting Cleopatra in begging for redemption. Since the Cleopatra family is documented in catholic Bible that includes Maccabees, Reni argued that Cleopatra contributed to the history and development of Christianity.

The exposure of Cleopatra’s breast is important and mirrors to a line in Anthony and Cleopatra, “Dost thou not see my baby at my breast, that sucks the nurse asleep?” (Act 5, Scene 2) The breasts of Mary was important in nurturing her baby, Jesus, therefore to certain extend is sacred and thus should be hidden, in alignment to her purity. Whereas Cleopatra’s breast is exposed in the painting, hence implying that her ‘divine’ affinity with men comes from her alluring body.

While many admire her successful leadership, women rarely had positions of power in Reni’s time. He presented the weakness of Cleopatra and challenges the idea of a strong powerful woman, by painting the last moment of Cleopatra where she is vulnerable to death. Reni also questions her independence, in specifically capturing the moment before she had been fatally bitten on her breast. Reni reinforces the idea of how Cleopatra loses her strength and will to survive after her spouse — Antony has died. Cleopatra once said “In praising Antony I have dispraised Caesar”, which gives evidence to her undying love for Antony. However, this also shows her erotic and sexual desire, unsatisfied with only having one man in her life, which makes her a lustful woman. She had been labeled as a “whore queen”, “fatal monster”, and “Egypt’s shame”, but that does not stop her from being one of the most seductive yet powerful queens.

Cultural Analysis: The Death of Cleopatra

This painting is also called “A Woman Suffering from Obsessive Envy”. There’s no description of what crime the woman committed like the other portraits painted by Géricault. Other portraits were named with the crime or mental illness they suffered with, such as A Kleptomaniac (robbery). We can assume that Envy was a crime in the Bible because Envy is one of the seven sins. The Seven Sins lure humans into breaking laws of the society and in the bible. So, despite the lack of stating the specific illness of the woman, Envy is an illness/sin in religious views.

The painting is focused on the facial expression and physical facts of a woman suffering from mental illness. The unusual expression, untidiness of her clothes and pure black background broke the traditional fancy oil paint portraits. The details of the messy clothing of the woman enhance her distress, which is different from traditional oil painting where clothes are often illustrated to be silky. A wisp of gray hair escaped from her white straggling bonnet suggests physical and emotional liability. The plain background is to allow the audience to focus on the person instead of creating more distraction. The restricted color scheme - muted grays, dark brown, dusty white etc. also creates a somber atmosphere in the paintings. Her face looks slightly to the left and illuminated by a single source of light coming directly in front, these features are also painted in other paintings of the series. The gazes of the sitters never looking directly at the viewer, as if they were lost in their own thoughts. Her blank facial expression is a typical symptom of mental illness that was identified by Géricault’s psychiatrist Dr. Geoget. Envy is described as the most joyless sin in the Seven Deadly Sins, the intense facial expression exhibits the obsessive nature of Envy. Géricault described his characterisation of envy as, “sad lover of the dead, she hates the living.” The red-rimmed eyes and tensed mouth show how her energy was drained from the time she spent looking at or thinking about something she is envious of. Her half-opened mouth suggests she might be the point of speaking. The poses of the subjects are typical of portraits and constrained, their bodies are slightly tilted towards the direction of their gaze. Given Western tendency to read paintings from the left to right, seems to make the viewers more difficult to ‘follow’ their gazes and thoughts.

The quick brush strokes suggest these portraits may be painted quickly and are all observational paintings. The messy brushstrokes in this artwork are contradicting his previous works with clean lines, and the type of brushwork perhaps representing the patients’ distorted thoughts. The heads of the patients are close to life-size, thus creating an unease with the viewers. This painting presents physical facts of mental illness and authenticity, that is different than other oil paintings that are created in the same the period.

Formal Analysis: Insane Woman

A Kleptomaniac by Théodore Géricault (1822),

61.2 × 50.2 cm, oil on panel

The Insane Woman is an artwork dated back to 1822, by Théodore Géricault, it was one of the paintings that Théodore Géricault did on the Mentally Ill series. In Géricault’s time, many artists like him like to examine the influence of mental illness in the human face. The study of human faces inspired Géricault to draw a series of portraits of those who are mentally ill, for example, A Woman Addicted to Gambling or A Portrait of a Child Snatcher. Those are the descriptions of two paintings he created in the same year as the Insane Woman. One thing that differentiates this artwork with the others is the description of the painting. The woman in the artwork, the Insane Woman, was described as ‘A Woman Suffering from Obsessive Envy’. However compared to other portraits that are identified with their malady, “Obsessive Envy” is not really a proper name of a psychological illness.

Géricault wished to investigate the nature of each obsession or mental illness, and he has drawn over 200 paintings on metal patients that he could publish his observation on. Each portrait is patients from mental hospitals. The paintings are his observation on the subject of insane individuals, the eyes of the subjects in the paintings are lost in their own thoughts, disconnected with the world and were not involved are participated in the creation processes.

The paintings could be served as a study of physical features of the insane, that has been studied overtime by scientists that are interested in the psychological illness. During Géricault’s time scientific knowledge is still limited, some suggested that the paintings act as a guideline for determining mentally ill patients from normal people. Géricault’s pantings documented physical pain and discomfort of the individuals. Géricault who himself lived in a mental hospital (Salpêtrière), could be inspired to draw his inmates who are also suffering from mental illness. The realistic drawings reveal his own artistic striving for utter realism, which could also be an exploration of madness.

The painting was named as ‘Insane Woman’ and the identity of the mental patient is never published. In Europe, people who suffered from mental disorders were often depersonalized in mental hospitals. The unknown identity of the woman in the painting suggests an inhumane treatment to the mental patients, which is a social issue that Géricault attempted to tackle on. Géricault suggests the mental patients did not look any different than the sane, the only thing that differentiates the patients from the “normal” people are the names or title given to the painting or the patient themselves. This is just a common old lady if the name of the painting was not mentioned. The purpose of this series is to humanizing the madness and insanity to reduce misunderstanding and reveal the concept of overmedicalization.

The series of Insane paintings are dedicated to Dr.Étienne-Jean Georget, Géricault’s psychiatrist. A theory suggests the paintings was a suggesting of Dr. Georget when Géricault is suffering from depression. The paintings are perhaps an art therapy for treating Géricault’s depression. However, another theory suggests the paintings might be a gift for Dr.Georget after Géricault concurred his depression. Géricault painted the paintings for Dr.Georget to assist his further study on mental illness. Therefore Dr.Georget has certain possession of the paintings when Géricault died.

Function and Purpose: Insane Woman

The Insane Woman is only one of the artwork that survived without getting lost over time. There are a series of 10 oil paintings, however, until now there are only 5 was found. The series were painted after Géricault finished his most famous artwork — The Raft of The Medusa (1918). The Raft of The Medusa was painted based on a shipwreck happened in France, it was public and world-known. However, the Insane Woman and the series is personal and private

Géricault was suffering from depression since the process of creating The Raft of The Medusa. Géricault’s anxiety of public criticism and pressure with not painting an artwork that matches the quality of The Raft of The Medusa led to the development of depression. However, the severity of Géricault’s depression is unknown when he created the series. The simple colored background of the paintings encourages the audience to focus purely on the subject, which suggests Géricault was focusing on the study of illness over artistic detailing. Insane Woman was drawn 3 years after he was diagnosed with depression, this painting might be a continuous study when he first started the series in 1918.

There are many reasons why Géricault was interested in psychiatry. Géricault’s grandfather and one of his uncle had ‘died insanely’. There is not specific documentation on how mental illness caused the death of Géricault’s family, however, it is most likely to be the unsuitable treatment in the psychiatric hospital. Géricault’s family background not only allow him to draw the vivid image of those who suffer from the psychological disorder, but it could also be a motivation for Géricault to explore psychiatry in order to avoid the treatments his relatives received. Dr. Geoget had a great influence on the portraits of mental patients (Insane Woman is one of them). Géricault portraits what psychiatrists called the essence of monomania: fleeting expression, transitory gesture, and the inward, self-conscious gaze. The essence was showcased in the painting where the subject stares blankly out-focused and solidified facial expression. These characteristics are an indication of a person's mental health, argued by Dr. Georget. He believes that those who are mentally ill should not be treated as a criminal. Dr. Georget argued that if a person committed a crime under the delusion of madness, he/she should not be jailed and should receive treatments instead. The painting challenges the assumptions that people who suffer from a mental disorder are very different from the normal, and because of the lack of advanced scientific technology, Dr. Geogret attempted to distinguish the insane by mere observation of their physical appearance.

Géricault painted the Insane Woman during the realism period, therefore the style of painting is very similar to traditional oil paintings like The Death of Cleopatra. The style of Géricault ’s painting is also influenced by his early study. Géricault had copied paintings by fresh artists Ruben, Titian, Velázquez and Rembrandt in his early life in France. Those artists share a common theme: they are all mainly focus on drawing portraits, human, and Gods. This series of portraits are actually similar to portraits that Rembrandt painted. Both backgrounds of their portraits are dark and only have a dim lighting at a corner. This suggests the style of drawing the series of a portrait might be inspired by the painter’s early study of Rembrandt.

A portrait of Saskia van Uylenburgh (wife

of Rembrandt) by Rembrandt in 1635, before Géricault was

born.

Cultural Analysis: Insane Woman

The painting Myra is a large portrait of Myra Hindley who is associated with the infamous Moors murderers between 1963-65. This painting is highly controversial and audiences had a huge reaction to this painting because of the topic it associates with.

The artwork is based on the photo that was published in the newspaper, which was printed in black and white. The artwork is painted in monochrome to resemble the photo. However, there is a slight twist in the painting compared to the actual photo. In the painting, Hindley appears to be more teasing and provocative. This is achieved by the alteration of facial features, where her eyes look directly into the viewers. Her engaging stare shows no signs of guilty or avoidance, which highlights the negative qualities within Hindley.

Myra’s portrait is made from the handprints from a plaster caster of a five-year-old girl who is the daughter of Marcus Harvey’s friend. This is symbolic to the five young victims of Myra Hindley and Ian Brady. According to Harvey, the handprints are a simple image of “innocence absorbed in all that pain.” John Walker who did an analysis of ‘Myra” described the painting as disgusting, and the handprints of the girl can be considered as a type of sign in which a part stands for the whole. To put this into context, the handprints can be interpreted as the whole of the victim’s body, indicating dismemberment. Therefore this painting causes discomfort and disagreement among the audience especially parents. And since the face of Hindley is constructed with a cluster of handprints, it also indicates that she is inexorably marked by her crimes, she can never erase the traces left by the victims. However this can also be explained in opposite fashion, the victims, symbolized by the handprints, are inexorably associated with Hindley, which inevitably causes distress from the living relatives of the victims. Hindley’s defiance is in contrasts with the passive, unknown handprints, both compliments the existence of one another. The painting could be seen as an objectification of children by using their handprints to resemble a police picture Myra and therefore seen as a violation of children to adult viewers. The painting instead of asking viewers to stand back and look at the bigger picture, it provokes emotional interactions between the viewer and the image. In a careful look, Myra’s eyes are not focused in the photo despite she is looking towards the direction of the viewer, yet, Harvey painted Myra’s pupil to be looking directly and confidently into the viewer’s eye. This builds up the power and dominance in Myra. The painting is 11 feet by 9 feet and covers the entire wall of the Royal Academy (the location where the painting is exhibited). The size of the image emphasizes the invisible yet powerful threat to the viewers, in creating a sense of an affront to common decency. Marcus Harvey said, “the only way you can talk about the power that image has is by allowing it to operate the people. And that means making it big.” Enlarging the photo of Myra turns the pixel into meaningless dots. And those dots are replaced by dignifying handprints, representing the absolute reality instead of a glamorous posture.

The actual photo of Myra Hindley, which appears to be more worn

out than the painting.

Formal Analysis: Myra

Myra and Maggie are paintings that tackle sensitive and contemporary topics. Through the painting of Myra, Harvey attempts to convey “a somber critique of the media's exploitation of the Hindley story in general”. Harvey aims to address that the photo of Hindley was used irresponsibly in the media. Harvey asserted that the photo has pictured Hindley as an “erotic, sexy, child-murdering witch”, which is why there is provocative connotation in the painting to highlight the feeling that the media created for Myra. The painting opposed to the typical stereotypes that were given to women, and it expresses the limitation that society has set for women and isolation to those who don't embrace their maternal instinct.

After the shocking disapproval from the public, the painting unintentionally exhibits the double-standards among the society. Harvey sees no reason why the negative feedback from the public should preclude artists from tackling sensitive subjects. The double standards of the society are demonstrated when the mass media can publish and make the profit out of Hindley’s image, whereas artists are banned from commenting on contemporary events for insufficient reasons. The hypocrisy of the mass media is demonstrated when comments have been made about censoring of the painting, while the media has been reproducing hence spreading the artwork. If it is wrong to produce an ‘unpleasant artwork, surely it is equally as wrong to reproduce it. However, Harvey argues that the role of an artist is to visualize the powerful emotions that are difficult to explain in words, and many audiences had overlooked the fundamental role of art. Because of this, the director of Royal Academy (where the painting was exhibited in before the public tried to damage the painting) said that he fought hard to showcase the artwork in their exhibition. In response to the hostile reaction from the public, Harvey decided to continue to produce artworks that evoke unpleasant feelings, "I don't want to produce work that is a pleasant distraction, then you move on to something else. I would actually like it to stop their day. To make it an encounter.” The painting of Myra defined his career and becomes the direction of his future artworks.

One of the signifying features in the painting are the handprints. The handprints shorten the distance between the subject and the viewers, in which provoke a physical response from the viewers — anger and disgust. Children are depicted as objects of violation in the painting, as most viewers interpret as. Harvey explains his intention of using the handprints because it was the most simple image of innocence in all pain. Some argued that Harvey knew the consequences of hanging the painting of Myra and he was ‘playing dumb’ about the provocative factors of the painting to avoid string up further controversies. Nevertheless, the handprints have become a defining feature of the painting, as well as a powerful and successful element in provoking responses.

Maggie by Marcus Harvey (2009), 440 x 366 cm, plaster and acrylic on

aluminuim

Function and Purpose: Myra

The impact of this painting can be understood by examining its cultural context. Marcus Harvey lives and works in London, Myra is one of the paintings that showcase his own cultural icons. Other examples include Maggie, the painting of Margaret Thatcher. Both figures were associated with England then and now, these figures are still influential to the society until now. Myra Hindley and her partner Ian Brady are serial killers, both are guilty of murdering 5 children in England. They tortured and raped their victims before ending their life, no doubt after their crime was discovered they became iconic murderers in Europe. The handprints that made up the face of Hindley can be interpreted as a mark of victimization. The handprints resemble blood prints in the crime scene, provoke a vivid image of the children calling for help. Harvey attempted to visualize the pain in which the victim went through. From the police report, they discovered the remains of a victim when they spotted a hand “beckoning from a shallow grave”. In Myra as if the victims are beckoning from the canvas, reaching the audience and encourage them to face what has happened instead of avoiding this tragedy. Myra Hindley herself saw the picture as an elimination of her slightest chance of gaining parole, the painting no doubt reminded the public about Hindley’s status as a monster. Hinkley herself has written to The Guardians, asserting that the painting disregarded the emotional pain and traumas that families of the Moors victim and any child victim.

Harvey has experimented with creating Hindley’s face using children toys, however, the painting Myra was bought and it caused controversies before Harvey could publish his second artwork of Myra. The hostile reaction from the public was unexpected, and Harvey did not intend to create such huge response. Even after the death of Myra Hindley, she was still rated as the most hated woman in Britain, Hindley’s name is forever associated with her crimes. This demonstrates the impact of Myra on England, even after her death the victims’ family still remains sorrow from their lost. This also explains why audiences criticized Harvey for being irresponsible for using the image of Hindley, to arouse such unpleasant reactions. The public responses include damaging the painting by throwing eggs and paints, yet their actions added value to this painting by showcasing the hatred to Hindley. It was also after the public opinion on the painting that Harvey decided to create more paintings that are against what is publicly accepted.

Cultural Analysis: Myra

The Death of Cleopatra, Insane Woman, Myra, are paintings that portrait women as individuals who are vulnerable to sin. The women in those paintings are linked to lust and greed respectively. All of them has a plain background, black or white, to reduce distraction from the main subject.

The Death of Cleopatra was the oldest painting among the three, and it has a traditional style of painting the clothes shiny and silky. Whereas, the other two paintings have illustrated clothes as dull and less lustrous. This could be due to the realistic approach of the artists. The Insane Woman portraits a mental hospital patient, it was unlikely that she would wear any silk clothing. Whereas in during Myra’s time (the 90s), their common clothing does not have a fine, silk-like texture, which differs a lot from the era when The Death of Cleopatra was painted. Both The Death of Cleopatra and Insane woman has a dark background in contrast to the light source in the picture, and in both paintings, the subject is not facing straight, nor directed to the audience. The subject, Cleopatra has a royal status, which stands out from the other two who appears to look more ordinary.

Insane Woman portraits a female patient with a blank stare, adding to how her mental illness has brought her to a lack of focus. Cleopatra, too, does not look directly towards the audience. Cleopatra’s focus is above her, and the assumption of God is above us tells us that Cleopatra may be having interaction with God. Although Myra looks directly into the audiences’ eyes, the painting resembles a passport or ID photo. The direct eye contact with the viewers conveys a sense of power and confidence, instead of avoiding eye contacts in which usually people who feel guilty do. The engaging stare suggests no signs of guiltiness, evoking anger from the viewers. The insane Woman also portraits an older subject compare to the other two drawings, hinting that sins could torture an individual for a long time, as seen from the worn-out facial expression on the “insane” woman.

Myra is the painted in acrylic while the other two are oil paintings. Acrylic paints dry very quickly, therefore allow Harvey to create rich texture with acrylic whereas oil painting allows blending and smoothing to create realistic texture. Also, Myra is a black and white picture, The Death of Cleopatra and Myra both have a cooler tone than Insane Woman. This may be because the Insane Woman is a realistic painting of a woman, therefore the warmth from the picture may suggest the painting was painted during the day where sunlight is warmer. Myra and Insane Woman are both based realistic documentary of the subject, whereas The Death of Cleopatra was an imaginary scenario. Myra is also painted differently to the other two artworks. Instead of painted with a brush like the other two, the portrait was created by handprints of a 5-year-old. This creates a rough, pixelated texture of the painting when compare to the smooth, photographic paintings. Although the subject of Myra, Myra Hindley, looks as ordinary as the subject in the Insane Woman, she is an infamous figure and had committed crime more significant than the female mental patient.

Formal Comparison

All three of the paintings have very different function and purpose. However, all of them attempts to study individuals who are considered to be sinners in a different era. These artworks challenged social expectations on females, double standards, and common misunderstanding about mental disorders.

The Death of Cleopatra is only one of Reni’s painting that was included in the study of Cleopatra. Although Reni did use the painting to compete with other painters, the main purpose of the painting may be a study of religious connotations in Cleopatra’s death. Cleopatra was considered lustful even in her times, and the view on promiscuity in women has always an evidence of double-standards in the society. This idea links closely to Myra, where Harvey wanted to express the dissimilar treatment to the media and artists. While it is okay for media to publish Myra’s painting, Harvey’s painting received hostile treatments from the public. Same as The Death of Cleopatra, Myra contains more than one purpose. Originally, the painting of Myra wasn’t mocking the double standards in the society. Harvey challenges the social limitations and expectations for women, and he used Myra as an extreme example of how women are treated when they did something that deviates from the social expectations. Challenging social expectations on women is also something that The Death of Cleopatra explores, such as women should be submissive and pure, opposite to the image of Cleopatra. Similarly, the observational painting Insane Woman is an example that demonstrated a limited scientific knowledge on mental illness in Géricault’s era. Géricault’s painting challenged the idea that people who have a mental disorder should be labeled as criminals, and that with little psychiatric knowledge, it is impossible to distinguish insane from mere observations.

All three paintings explore the culture of the time in relationship to women. The portrayal of women who are alienated from the social norms is a commonality in all examined paintings. The artists reveal women who did not meet the social expectation of women: feminine, home-builders, kind-hearted, pure. Instead, the three artworks present a list of alternative qualities of women: promiscuous, brutal, insane, and unapproachable. The artworks imply that our community often set up unrealistic expectations of women, and those who disregard the social norms are treated as sinners or mentally disabled. Especially in the Insane Woman, an abnormality is seen as the deviation of the ‘normal’, ‘normal’ as in the definition of what majority will do. The lack of independence and the promotion of sameness is perhaps what the artists try to argue against.

Function Comparison

All three artworks have heavy influence from the European background of the artists.

Cleopatra is an Egyptian, therefore, her skin should be darker than the painting portraits. However, under the influence of western beauty standards, Reni converts the Egyptian Queen into a westernized figure that represents what is considered to be beautiful and attractive. This allows the audience to understand the seductive features of Cleopatra. The other two artworks did not change the characteristics of their subject to suit the beauty standards because the Insane Woman focuses on documenting the realistic features of a mental patient while Myra is a ‘copy’ of a photo. However Myra is not a complete replica of the photo either, Myra appeared to be more provocative than the picture, but the adjustments are made not because of the influence of cultural background.

When the Insane Woman was painted, there is limited knowledge on human mental health. Géricault painted Insane Woman following the ‘essence of monomania’, which is used to distinguish abnormality from physical features. Unlike The Death of Cleopatra, Géricault is not trying to paint the painting according to western beauty standards. Géricault follows the diagnosing criteria in his era to investigate whether it is an accurate tool to distinguish abnormality. To some extent, he is following western ideas of abnormality, but his painting technique has shown greater western influence than the painting itself. Géricault has imitated Rembrandt’s style of painting, messy strokes at the background not only reinforce the idea that the distorted mind of the patient, but also Géricault’s early study of European painting. Reni also uses a very traditional European painting style, which is common in the 1600s when the painting is drawn. 1600 to 1800 is the period when the style of European art changed from Renaissance to Neoclassicism, both captures human figure and textures realistically.

Myra is a modern art, painted with a different media than the other two. The other two paintings are painted with oil paint whereas acrylic paint is used in painting Myra because acrylic is a fast-drying pigment which would enhance the patterns and texture Harvey painted. The difference between two painting styles signifies the changes between era. Myra was painted with a very different technique since artworks are not limited to realistic oil painting in the 90s anymore. The Myra painting also stimulates a greater respond from the audience than the other two paintings. This shows during the time when Myra was painted, artworks have been taken seriously as a platform for artists to present their opinion and that the public may have huge respond to the artworks.

Cultural Comparison