Anon. Allegorical Painting of Two Ladies, English School, ~1650.
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Anon. Allegorical Painting of Two Ladies, English School, ~1650.
Thought to be a moralizing jibe about the evils of beauty spots which were fashionable at the time, this folksy but also shocking painting has eventually had an even much wilder ride, evolving in meaning, sowing mystery, and breaking records. It has its own Wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegorical_Painting_of_Two_Ladies%2C_English_School
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Anon. Allegorical Painting of Two Ladies, English School, ~1650.
Thought to be a moralizing jibe about the evils of beauty spots which were fashionable at the time, this folksy but also shocking painting has eventually had an even much wilder ride, evolving in meaning, sowing mystery, and breaking records. It has its own Wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegorical_Painting_of_Two_Ladies%2C_English_School
The brown background is just incompetent. The artist wasn't. I wonder whether it started green and was smeared over later? The facial marks are crude, as if applied in anger.
A painting was a hugely expensive item at the time. What artist was so wealthy that they could afford to mess up their work like this?
To me, it looks like an enraged repaint of a commission not paid for.
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The brown background is just incompetent. The artist wasn't. I wonder whether it started green and was smeared over later? The facial marks are crude, as if applied in anger.
A painting was a hugely expensive item at the time. What artist was so wealthy that they could afford to mess up their work like this?
To me, it looks like an enraged repaint of a commission not paid for.
@lionelb I love this interpretation, and it's very true that, if you're going to have handwriting on the wall and that's your whole message, why would you do it in a barely distinguishable monochrome?
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Anon. Allegorical Painting of Two Ladies, English School, ~1650.
Thought to be a moralizing jibe about the evils of beauty spots which were fashionable at the time, this folksy but also shocking painting has eventually had an even much wilder ride, evolving in meaning, sowing mystery, and breaking records. It has its own Wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegorical_Painting_of_Two_Ladies%2C_English_School
@Tarnport Fascinating. I’m glad I know about this now.
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I ixi@mastodon.online shared this topic
