Love is not meant for everyone, though it does seem that the deepest love comes when it is least expected. Drea has lived her life with an ever-growing wall of thorns around her heart. She has overcome the torment of losing her parents, but has lost...
"Throughout time we have seen common themes in art repeated. Different styles, techniques, and themes that influence all types of art whether it be photography, film, or graphic media forms. Just as folk tales have been passed down through many generations and cultures, so does art.", I spoke to my class at Carnegie Mellon University.
An image blinked onto the projector, "These wonderful pieces are 'Precious Stones' by Alphonse Mucha. A series of four Art Nouveau styled color lithograph ink paintings which each feature a young woman that represents the gemstones of Topaz, Ruby, Amethyst, and Emerald. Does anyone have a guess as to when these were created? No cheating and looking on google please, honest guesses only."
The students giggled and a few raised their hands to answer. I pointed to a young girl in the back, "2010? Those girls look just like a tattoo that my brother just got on his arm."
I shook my head with a smile, "Sorry, but no. Would you believe if I told you these were created in 1900? Right at the heat of Art Nouveau. Artistic styles like this were often used for advertising. Many artists used color lithographs, which made the designs easy to make copies of. Now look closely at the images, what do you see that looks similar to other styles you've see in art today?"
"They look like pin up models, the poses.", a student in the front said.
"Great observation! You can certainly see the similarities between these paintings and pin up. Pin up art, or 'Cheesecake' art, which was meant to be the male opposite of what was then called 'Beefcake', started in the 1930s. Pin up art became very popular during World War One. Small photos that soldiers could carry around with them, typically of young women in revealing clothing. Of course, this started to transfer into real photography during the second World War when images of real women could be more easily distributed."
The projector flashed through a few different images of pinup art and photography, each one starting a discussion with the class on the similarities and progression from Art Nouveau to modern day.
"But where did the ideas of portraying women in such unique and delicate poses originate? Was this idea rooted in art from previous times?", I continued my lecture.
An image appeared on the screen of a woman draped in light blue fabric, mirroring a pin up styled pose, "This oil painting is from the mid-18th century. Notice how the woman is sitting with her body arched forward, similar to the poses portrayed in Art Nouveau and modern pin up. Her hands are posed in the air, suggesting movement rather than the still poses that were typical from this time."
A girl in the third row raised her hand, I nodded towards her, "Yes, Charlotte?"
"Is that Marie Antoinette?", she asked.
I smiled, "It does look like her, doesn't it? And you have asked the question that many Art Historians have also wondered... however, this painting was created when Marie Antoinette was still an infant. The subject of this piece, as well as the artist, are both unknown. But many historians and art historians alike continue to see the many similarities of the painting and the life of Marie Antoinette."
"Notice how the woman is draped in what appears to be velvet, her wrists covered in extravagant jewels; suggesting that the woman was wealthy and enjoyed lavish things. The sky above her is dark and gray, suggesting darkness and tragedy. Her head is cocked to the side, her neck exposed with a single strand of red rubies across her throat.", I motioned towards her neck.
"Many have suggested that the rubies represent blood and decapitation, and Marie Antoinette was executed by decapitation of the guillotine. It has been suggested that this painting told the fate of Marie Antoinette, her future. But all that is recorded on the piece is the date, 1776 and the title 'reine déchue' or 'fallen queen' which adds even more mystery to the piece."
More images flashed onto the screen, "And there are quite a few paintings in this same style, that portray, what some believe, is the future. Works containing subjects throughout history and their fate. They are all believed to be done by the same artist, with so much similarity within the brush strokes. Still the artist is unknown."
"But perhaps the greatest mystery is the one of this painting.", I clicked the key on my laptop and the next image floated onto the screen. An oil painting with the figure of a woman dressed in a blood red gown before a pitch-black background. A golden gothic style crown adorned her head. You could not see her face as she was draped from head to toe in a sheer fabric that billowed out to the ground. She stood over hundreds of red roses.
Suddenly a loud sound echoed through the classroom, a chair in the very back row had been carelessly thrown to the ground. I looked up to see a flash of black fabric slipping out of the door just before it closed shut, leaving everyone in the room momentarily confused. My neck started to itch, and an image of Dracen flashed through my mind.
"Professor Sharpe...", a student in the front row spoke and snapped me out of my trance, "are you okay?"
I cleared my throat, "Y-yes I'm fine. Sorry everyone, I think I haven't kept hydrated enough today." I turned and picked up my water bottle and took a long sip, taking the moment to regain myself.
"Remember to drink your water guys.", I said, and the class laughed.
"Now where were we? Oh yes...so this piece is titled 'la femme couverte de roses', or 'the woman blanketed in roses'. The date is unknown. This piece is the first we have seen where the subject's face is covered. There is so much mystery around this work, a group of Art Historians have even formed a group to study the piece further. But they are forced to only use photos which have been taken of the piece. You see about thirteen years ago the painting vanished from the University of Chicago, without any trace. To this day there is a ten-million-dollar reward for information leading to the location of the painting.", I eyed the students as they murmured to one another about the mysterious painting on the screen before them.
I checked my watch and noted that our session was at its end, "Now that's it for today. Please see our schedule for your chapter assignments for the week and we will pick back up on Wednesday.", the students started to pack up their things and I continued, "Also, midterm grades were posted this morning. Please reach out to me with any questions you may have about your papers."
As the students shuffled out of the classroom, I found myself standing before the projector screen, taking in the mysterious painting in front of me. I had first seen the painting when I was thirteen, at the gallery at the University of Chicago. I had been enraptured by it, and my love for art began. I had begged my mom to take me back to see the painting again but learned that the piece had been stolen only a couple days after I had originally seen it.
There had been many nights throughout my life when my dreams were invaded by the scene from the painting. Where a sea of red roses engulfed me, the scent filled my nostrils and filled me with a feeling of peace. The woman from the painting was always there, sometimes I looked towards her as if looking into the painting, trying to study her covered face. But other times I was the woman, looking through the sheer red fabric, out into the sea of roses that seemed to stretch and fade into corners of a vast darkness.
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