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channelsoph · 4 months ago

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lmao this took too long cause i forgor.. cause i always want to do a perfect job which is never gonna happen cause this is an idealistic illusion and so on and so forth anywayyyyy

i decided to continue this exchange of alluring imagery and ventured on my own research. here you go, some art that i found ✨interesting✨:

oh btw Darya thank you for linking a whole pdf of L’Erotisme!! you’re a real trooper

Niklaus Manuel Deutsch, Death Embraces a Young Woman, (or as i like to call it “Get Fingered by Death”)

so i skimmed through L’Erotisme… oh so you’re telling me blood and gore and murder and sacrifice are all inherently erotic and not some of my trauma manifesting? ok. good to know im not mad. i think i know now why im into Sleep Token. 👍🏻

Horace Vernet, The Angel of Death (1851) helloooo?? the embrace is so subtle and soft?? come on now. yeah as you said, Romanticists really had it pinned 👍🏻

Henri Lévy, Death and the Maiden, (1900), *deep sigh* yeah

Elna Borch, Death and the Maiden (1905) … i- this is made by a woman ofc how could it not be. Persephone/Hades core

darya 👀👀👀👀 you maybe happen to have more women x death imagery like the one by Appolonia Saintclair? i can kneel and bow and do chores and i can cook decently if you care and i can kiss your knuckles tenderly btw … whatever it takes

Sophi honey, I am so sorry about the upcoming infodumping...... This is probably not quite what you asked at all, but alas. The art graduate jumped out. I don't have many sexy naked ladies riding Death for you, so here's a very brief overlook of Death and The Maiden depictions in art instead?

(i accept the cooking and kisses and return them tenfold)

For those who are wondering, this is referring to this beautiful piece by @apolloniasaintclairofficial, tasteful drawing of a naked woman sitting on Death's lap, while he holds a dagger. Beautiful and erotic.

I mentioned in the tags how much I loved seeing depictions of Death and women in art. Now, in art history, this is a recurring motif dubbed Death and The Maiden, often with erotic and sacrilegious undertones, and particularly prevalent amongst German artists. I did a quick google research on the origins of it, and according to the internet, was a common theme since the Middle ages, originating from the Danse Macabre allegories, with a significant revival in the Romantic Period. (wikipage here)

The allegorical motif of ‘Death and the Maiden’ (a young girl, often in a passionate embrace with a skeletal figure) had been popular with German artists and musicians since the Middle Ages, and its reminder of transience and mortality was especially appropriate during this period of foreboding (referring to WWI). [taken from the Tate's entry about Meidner's Death and the Maiden]

Here are some very interesting articles about Death and The Maiden throughout history - Paintings for our time: Death and the Maiden and Death and the Maiden. From Schubert to Schiele. I read them both while researching this, super informative without being overtly verbose. Great selection of art pieces.

Death and the woman, by E. Munch

I'm very fond of this drawing by Munch (huge fan of his lol). Every time I see Death and Women embracing each other so tenderly, my heart breaks for a second. There's just something that is equal parts sensual and tender, something that transcends the inherent sexual appeal of erotic art, something poetic and poignant. Oof.

Here are some selected pieces by K. Kollwitz - X X, and this beautiful piece by E. Schiele (a student of Klimt, you can see the similarities in style).

Also, the revival during the Romantic period was in great part due to Schubert's Der Tod und das Mädchen (Death and the maiden), a lied he wrote based on this beautiful poem by Matthias Claudius, which would later be used in his piece String Quartet No. 14, also known and Death and the maiden. The poem:

The Maiden: Pass me by! Oh, pass me by! Go, fierce man of bones! I am still young! Go, dear, And do not touch me. And do not touch me. Death: Give me your hand, you beautiful and tender form! I am a friend, and come not to punish. Be of good cheer! I am not fierce, Softly shall you sleep in my arms!

Also! I found this super interesting book (it's a free english pdf) called Erotism - Death and Sensuality (og. L'Erotisme) by Georges Bataille, which explores in depth the relationship between erotica, death, taboo, sacrifice, Christianity, and many other themes. I haven't read it but this does look incredibly interesting so. I know what I'll be reading next.

I could go on and on and on about WHY I am so fascinated by these themes, but that would result in yet another big-ass post, and I think this is enough info for one day lol.

(before I forget, I just want to point out that this directly overlaps with depictions of Hades and Persephone, seeing as Hades was often times associated with Death itself - even though Thanatos is the one who embodies the Reaper figure in the Greek myths. So I'm sure you'll find some other tasteful pieces if you go down that route).

#ohhhh darya…#dw i love when art discipline mutuals nerd out #i’d nerd out too lmao #fun fact L’Erotisme was on my recommended reading list in uni but i didn’t read it #cause finals consumed my soul 🥲#thank you i really appreciate the lecture i actually didn’t really know about this theme in art #Hades and Persephone are actually my fav myth… i’m not saying anything more i already said too much #let me crawl back to my enclosure and not be pathetically honest on the internet for a while #yummy art #let’s continue the exchange??.

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