This paper aims to explore the diverse visual portrayals of femme fatales by British and French Decadent artists in the late 19th century, examining their social and cultural context. The goal is to understand how mythological, erotic, spiritual, and occult themes are represented in these artworks.
Initially, the paper will introduce the femme fatale archetype, discussing her features and controversies. It will then focus on the depiction of femme fatales in the arts within the 19th-century European context, analyzing the composition of notable visual portrayals by Decadent artists.
The analysis will cover notable works such as:
1. Lady Lilith by Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
2. L’Apparition and Salomé dansant devant Hérode by Gustave Moreau.
3.The Vampire by Philip Burne-Jones.
A summary of findings and an evaluation of the impact of these portrayals on contemporary understandings of the femme fatale will conclude the paper. This analysis will highlight the enduring legacy of the 19th-century Decadent movements' visual representations of femme fatales and their significant cultural implications.
The 19th century in Europe saw significant events and cultural shifts driven by industrialization, urbanization, scientific discoveries, the decline of religious values, and colonial expansion. This period also witnessed ideological transitions across humanistic fields. Artists and writers sought new expressive methods to portray the modern world, leading to reinvented and anti-conventional representations of religious and mythological femme fatale archetypes in British and French Decadent circles. These enigmatic and alluring feminine figures, embodying beauty and danger, became symbols of the mysterious aspects of femininity, desire, and temptation that these artists and writers sought to explore.
Decadent artists and writers used the femme fatale to explore controversial themes, creating works that astonished and perplexed the public and critics. The 19th-century representations of femme fatales have had a lasting influence, shaping contemporary depictions. This research focuses on the last decades of the 19th century in Europe to investigate the roles of traditional femme fatale archetypes in the arts. Many scholars argue that the visual depictions of femme fatales best reflect the aesthetic expressions of the Decadent movements and have influenced cultural perceptions for centuries.
Table of Contents
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Meeting the Femme Fatale
- 2.1 The Controversies Around the Femme Fatale
- 2.2 The Origins of the Modern Femme Fatale
- 3 The Femme Fatale: Expression of Crisis and Renewal in the 19th Century
- 3.1 The 19th-Century Modern Western World Crisis Lived through the Femme Fatale
- 3.2 The Femme Fatale as Expression of the Late 19th-Century Decadent Aesthetics
- 4 Premise to the Analysis of 19th-Century Femme Fatale Visual Portrayals
- 4.1 Rossetti's Lady Lilith: The Femme Fatale as an Allegory of the Unsaid and as a Means to Escape 19th-Century European Society
- 4.2 Moreau's L'Apparition and Salomé Dansant Devant Hérode: The Femme Fatale in Symbolist Art
- 4.3 Philip Burne-Jones' The Vampire: An Example of Brutality in Femme Fatale Representations
- 5 Conclusion
Objectives and Key Themes
The paper explores the visual portrayals of the femme fatale by various artists belonging to different British and French Decadent movements of the late 19th century. The aim is to understand how the exploration of mythological, erotic, spiritual, and occult topics has occurred in the related artworks, taking into account their social and cultural embedment within the specific context of 19th-century Europe.
- The evolution of the femme fatale archetype in the 19th century
- The influence of social and cultural shifts on the representation of the femme fatale
- The role of Decadent aesthetics in the visual portrayal of the femme fatale
- The exploration of mythological, erotic, spiritual, and occult themes in femme fatale imagery
- The relationship between the femme fatale and the crisis of the 19th-century Western world
Chapter Summaries
- Chapter 1: Introduction: This chapter introduces the research context by outlining the significant events and cultural shifts that marked the 19th century in Europe, such as industrialisation, urbanisation, scientific discoveries, and the decline of religious values. It then focuses on the emergence of the femme fatale in the artistic and literary circles of the late 19th century and its relevance to the artistic exploration of femininity, desire, and temptation during that time.
- Chapter 2: Meeting the Femme Fatale: This chapter introduces the femme fatale as a recurring character type in history, highlighting its diverse archetypes and its enduring popularity in myths, literary works, and visual art compositions. It then discusses the controversies surrounding the femme fatale, analyzing its paradoxical nature as a figure embodying both beauty and danger, along with the potential influence of misogynist attitudes on its representation.
- Chapter 3: The Femme Fatale: Expression of Crisis and Renewal in the 19th Century: This chapter delves into the specific context of the 19th century in Europe, exploring the femme fatale as an expression of the crisis and renewal of the modern Western world. It examines the use of the femme fatale as a symbol of the tensions and contradictions of that era, exploring its representation within the broader framework of Decadent aesthetics.
Keywords
The main keywords and focus topics of the text include: femme fatale, Decadent art, Pre-Raphaelite, Symbolist, Aesthetic Movement, 19th-century Europe, visual portrayals, social and cultural context, mythology, eroticism, spirituality, occultism, crisis of the modern world, anti-canonical art, artistic innovation.
- Quote paper
- Vittoria Guarino (Author), 2024, The Femme Fatale in Late 19th-Century Europe, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1478575
