The Muse

The work to date......

Ilona Stellar - Made in Heaven 

I created this image based on the series by Jeff Koons - Made in Heaven you can view the images at the below link however be warned! they are explicit
http://phomul.canalblog.com/archives/koons__jeff/index.html

Gala Dali

The aim in this piece was to as closely as possible replicate the original photograph of Gala I did experiment further with Gala however this shot revealed an eerie an resemblance to Gala that nothing else come close too.

Elizabeth Siddal as Beata Beatrix

The photograph for this image was taken at a wishing well in a local chestnut forest . I then altered the image to resemble the colour and painterly quality of the below painting by Dante Rossetti and added in two symbols from the original painting - The dove and poppy, every thing you need to about this patining is summed up here

http://www.victorianweb.org/painting/dgr/paintings/edwards4.html

 But in short the painting depicts the artists wife while containing heavy symbolism around the circumstances of  her death. 

The text that inspired the painting above can be viewed here 

http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Italian/TheNewLife.htm 

Agnes Sorel 

I approached Anges slightly differently than the other ladies by aiming to create a 'feel' or sense of what she may have been like. I also incorporated text as a decorative element but also to tell her story. To find out more about the power Agnes had over men read my previous blog dedicated to Mistress Sorrel 

Painting of Agnes Sorel 

My Greatest Influences 

The work of the following women has greatly influenced my work - 

Cindy Sherman and Hannah Wilke

I also admire the work of 

Ana Mendieta and Carolee Schneemann

Some of their work......

Cindy Sherman 

Untitled #96, 1981, Farbfoto, Auflage 10, 61 x 121,9 cm

Hannah Wilke 

Starification Object Series (1974)

Carolee Schneemann

Carolee Schneemann, Eye Body, 1963

Ana Mendieta 

“On Giving Life” 

Agnes Sorel - The Original Mistress

Agnès Sorel 

b. ~1421

Anges the first officially recognized royal mistress, by King Charles VII of France

Charles was fascinated by her uncommon beauty, her sky-blue eyes, golden hair, and magnificent décolletage emphasized by her low-cut diaphanous gowns that scandalized stricter moralists such as the Flemish poet George Chastelain  who lived up to his name by complaining that when he first met Agnes at the French court he could see her nipples!

When Charles met Agnes, she was the mistress of Etienne Chevalier, the king's  secretary. Chevalier commissioned Jean Fouquet's portrait of Agnes, which was his masterpiece and one of the more notable paintings of the sixteenth century. This exceptionally sophisticated painting portrayed Agnes as the Blessed Virgin with her left breast bared, for a diptych at Melun. Fouquet also became one of Agnes's lovers along with the royal chamberlain, Pierre de Breze. After Agnes became Charles' official mistress, she dropped Chevalier andFouquet but kept her affair going  with de Breze who, although he was in love with Agnes, was politically loyal to Charles.   

My Intentions

- Too visually communicate the power of Agnes 

Gala Dali

Gala Dali (b. 1894) Wife and Muse of Salvador Dali 

A bit about Gala

Ian Gibson in his book The Shameful Life of  Salvador Dali describes Gala's relationship with Dali as follows - 

 'For Dali, the highly sexed, Russian-born Gala brought some form of physical release and the promise of intelligent companionship; for her, the artist seems to have been a career and a fortune waiting to be made, as well as a husband who would tolerate all the lovers she craved........'

Read the first chapter of the book here 

http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/11/22/reviews/981122.22peppiat.htm

At the time of their meeting Gala was 35 and Dali 25 - They would spend the rest of their together with Gala becoming the subject of many of Dali's paintings, in the below exampleGala's exposed breast signifying...bread!?! 

This being the image I plan to re-create and alter in an attempt to highlight just how Gala and Dali complimented each other

Have a look at the below photos of Gala and Dali which show just how into each other these two really were 

Elizabeth Siddal as Ophelia

Ophelia by John Everett Millais

Elizabeth Siddal (1829-1862)

Model and Muse of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood art movement 

See this link for details of the work from this period

http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/p/preraphaelite.html

The Story

In brief - Modelling for the painting Ophelia required Elizabeth to lie in a bath for several hours. Wearing an antique dress John bought for $250 by todays money. The bath was heated using oil lamps however these went out, the artist kept on working and Elizabeth said nothing while lying in the cold water. It is suggested that this event contributed to her life long health issues, which in turn lead to her laudanum  addiction and finally overdose.

The Plan

To re-create the above scene as closely as resources will allow and document the process through film and photography. The results to be posted on this blog. 

(Medical advise has been sort)

For further information on Elizabeth

Source: http://www.lizziesiddal.com/