Sproull, Katie Louise (2018) Two Beheadings and a Haircut: the (Mis) Treatment of Biblical Women in Belle Époque Painting
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Sproull, Katie Louise (2018) Two beheadings and a haircut: The (mis) treatment of biblical women in Belle Époque painting. MTh(R) thesis. https://theses.gla.ac.uk/9122/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Two Beheadings and a Haircut: The (Mis) Treatment of Biblical Women in Belle Époque Painting Katie Louise Sproull MA (Hons) Submitted in fulfilment of the requ irements for the degree of MTh. Theology and Religious Studies Word Count: 39935 School of Critical Studies College of Arts University of Glasgow September , 201 7 © Katie Louise Sproull A BSTRACT This thesis is playfully entitled “Two Beheadings and a Haircut” due to my focus on three biblical women: Salome and Judith, who each b elong to a ‘ beheading narrative ’ and Delilah , who hacks off a man’s hair. Throughout this thesis, I examine nine diverse paintings from the Belle Époque period and analyse why artists from an assortment of cultural movements approach these characters simil arly; eroticising and vilifying them as femmes fatales. I will consider the artists’ respective motives for the (often drastic) modifications of biblical narratives and investigate why they emphasised or ignored specific facets of the characters’ pretextua l and metatextual personalities . I will explore the biblical texts of each respective figure and her on - canvas life using three case studies per woman. I also approach thes e paintings while foregrounding the historical, social, and political contexts of e ach artist, and the influence such conditions had on their perceptions of women. This thesis is interdisciplinary in nature and I have conducted research into each artist’s life, the social movements and political situations of their countries , and their i nfluences from literature, theatre, and other artists. 2 C ONTENTS Abstract ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 2 Acknowledgements ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 4 List of Plates ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 6 Introduction: Here’s to the Women who Whip ................................ ................................ ................... 7 1 Salome: I Will Kiss Thy Lips ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 30 1.1 Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... 30 1.2 Henri Regnault: The Rise of Salomania ................................ ................................ ............. 38 1.3 Franz Von Stuck: Salome’s Dance of Dreams ................................ ................................ ... 45 1.4 Max Oppenheimer: A Necrophilic Salome? ................................ ................................ ...... 55 2 Judith: By the Hand of a Woman ................................ ................................ .............................. 65 2.1 Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... 65 2.2 Gustav Klimt: The Dominant Judith ................................ ................................ .................. 70 2.3 Jean - Joseph Benjamin - Constant: The Amazon Judith ................................ ........................ 81 2.4 Gustav Mossa: Judith the Fashionista ................................ ................................ ................ 91 3 Delilah: For He Has Told His Whole Secret to Me ................................ ................................ .. 100 3.1 Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ .................... 100 3.2 Gustave Moreau: The Decorated Delilah ................................ ................................ ......... 107 3.3 Max Liebermann: The Modern Delilah ................................ ................................ ........... 114 3.4 Lovis Corinth: The Background Delilah ................................ ................................ .......... 123 Conclusio n: A Beautiful Era of Dangerous Women ................................ ................................ ........ 132 Bibliography ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 137 3 A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS My thesis would not have been possible without the support, advice, and en thusiasm from my two supervisors, Professor George Pattison and Doctor Sarah Nicholson. To George – thank you for your guidance and support. You challenged me to think beyond my norm, for which I am very grateful, and your expansive knowledge on a wealth o f fields has been invaluable during this journey. To Sarah – your teaching during my undergraduate degree shaped me as a researcher and your vibrant approach to biblical scholarship is infectious. Our conversations have been as weird and wonderful as this thesis. I am proud to have worked with you both during my Masters – it has been a joy for me. Thank you. I am forever grateful for the support network I have built in my life – my friends and my family. To those who tirelessly proofread (Elizabeth, Fiona , Jordon, Kenneth , Michele ), thank you. 40,000 words is a lot to handle, but I appreciate every typo you picked up on, and every compliment you gave (especially when you got excited over sentences I am proud of!) All my friends have been so understanding w hile I completed this thesis, and have given me constant encouragement and support as I researched and wrote. This thesis has taken me (physically) to places I never expected to go. I believe that viewing paintings in person alters your perception of the work and thus I attempted to see as many from this thesis as possible. I am very grateful to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art’s European Paintings department, in particular Patrice Mattia, for granting me access to a painting ( Judith , Benjamin - Cons tant) that resides in their storage facilities. I am also grateful for the hospitality of the Städel gallery in Frankfurt, Germany, in 4 particular Elena Schroll who met with me to discuss their Battle of the Sexes exhibition and helped me access their resea rch material. The University of Glasgow’s Theology and Religious Studies department has been my second home for five years now – through my undergraduate degree, and now my MTh. I want to thank the staff across the department for their continuous support and enthusiasm – it is a fantastic department to conduct research in, full of passionate and committed people. I would like to give a special thank you to Doctor Sa m uel Tongue and Doctor Scott Spurlock for their enthusiasm regarding my research, for buildi ng my confidence in a cademia, and for our engaging , entertaining conversations over the years! Finally, I want to thank my parents Daniel and Michele, and my girlfriend Fiona, for their constant love and enthusiasm . This thesis would not be complete without them cheering me on (and thankfully not questioning my research route.) I will always be grateful for their encouragement and the support they provided during the past two years . 5 L IST OF P LATES 1. The Apparition , Gus tave Moreau, 1876. Watercolour , Musée d'Orsay, Paris. 2. Salome , Henri Regnault, 1870. Oil on c anvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 3. Salome I , Franz von Stuc k, 1906. Oil on c anvas , Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich. 4. Salome , Max Oppenh eimer, 1913. Oil on canvas, private c ollection. 5. Judith I , Gus tav Klimt, 1901. Oil on canvas, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna. 6. Judith , Jean - Joseph Benjamin - Constant, a pprox. 1885 - 1886. Oil on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 7. Judith , G ustav - Adolf Mossa, 1904. Watercolour and pen on paper, private collection. 8. Samson and Delilah , Gustave Moreau, 1882. Watercolour, Musée National Gustave Moreau , Paris. 9. Samson and Delilah , Max Liebermann, 1902. Oil on canvas, Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Mai n. 10. Samson Taken Captive, Lovis Corinth, 1907. Oil on canvas, Landesmuseum, Mainz. Disclaimer: As several of my paintings are not public domain and I cannot obtain copyright permission, I have elected to remove all images from the electronic / print thesis submitted to the University of Glasgow library . I will provide a link to each work in their respective sections. 6 I NTRODUCTION : H ERE ’ S TO THE W OMEN WHO W HIP The art of the Belle Époque (1871 - 1914) 1 was bursting with women who stab, bite, dominate, and ind uce intense pain on the men with whom they share their canva s . Many of these figures were direct interpretations of biblical characters due to an extensive range of textual