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8.02.2011

melancholic curtains



Melancholic Woman and Attendant
Indian, Mughal, Mughal period, about 1590

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4 comments:

  1. very interesting, this, even before looking closely to the painting i was struck by the title, the idea of portraying a "melnacholic" woman seemed very strange to me in india. and then i see it is an european woman. but i don't get the connection to China?

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  2. i find this a very enigmatic piece--the figure(s), the title, and not least the curtained window revealing a "deep landscape" which however is openly exposed to the right of the picture. so what is actually revealed is not the landscape per se but rather the architectural structure and the gold ornaments resting upon it. i'm simply lost in how to read all this.

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  3. It's quite interesting to ponder. She's lost in thought, reflection, feeling..and it does seem melancholic. There is an open text nearby. Philosophy? Romance? Clearly she is surrounded with wealth, the shelves behind her suggest her material well being. Her throne-like seat and huge comfortable cushion, the doting servant say the same. And yet, she does not seem happy. And the question is why, I suppose.

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  4. myth, you could write a borgesian 3-minutes story imagining why, based on this picture :-)

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