The role of women within society has never been bright. It has often shown itself to be abusive, repressive, and controlling for the better part of all world history. However, the photography of William Mortensen tells a much different story. His work has been able to grasp the compelling spirit of femininity and the power that every woman upholds as her own ruler. In this paper I will discuss the artistic portal of powerful femininity, a woman’s place as deemed fit by society, and Mortenson’s macabre sense of style that the institution would deem wrong in the eyes of the academy. The photographs chosen for this paper are titled Preparation for the Sabbot (1927) and Off for the Sabbot (1927) by American photographer William Mortensen. It should be noted that the word “sabbot” is another way of spelling “sabbath,” a word used to describe a supposed annual midnight meeting of witches with the Devil. As the titles of the works suggest, both images depict women that I would describe as witches.
Laying the ground work of analysis of formal elements for my own artistic …show more content…
Both painting and photograph provide a sense of mystery and allure with the use of gray tones as the color scheme; however, the reactions from the public vary from painting to photograph. Interestingly, Pénot’s work is praised in the eyes of the French academy. I believe this is because Pénot’s is a classy nude, much like those painted by Titian, amongst others. While containing the same subject matter and dark color scheme, it does not hint to an underlying sexual individuality. The woman’s legs are closed and she is poised on top of the broom stick rather than straddling it. She is nude enough to be considered classy. While it is a dark fantasy image, it is not such that gives her any power over herself. She is just simply beautiful to look at. In modern terms I would say she does not own her
Laying the ground work of analysis of formal elements for my own artistic …show more content…
Both painting and photograph provide a sense of mystery and allure with the use of gray tones as the color scheme; however, the reactions from the public vary from painting to photograph. Interestingly, Pénot’s work is praised in the eyes of the French academy. I believe this is because Pénot’s is a classy nude, much like those painted by Titian, amongst others. While containing the same subject matter and dark color scheme, it does not hint to an underlying sexual individuality. The woman’s legs are closed and she is poised on top of the broom stick rather than straddling it. She is nude enough to be considered classy. While it is a dark fantasy image, it is not such that gives her any power over herself. She is just simply beautiful to look at. In modern terms I would say she does not own her