Day 205 - Nude women wrestlers

January 13, 2020

Many of the works in gallery 542 are appealing, but there's little coherence to them, at least little that I can discern. There are several oil paintings of various sizes, dates (from the mid-16th through the 17th centuries), and countries (France, the Netherlands, and Spain). There are many bronze statuettes, mostly from the 17th century and again from different countries (France, Italy, The Netherlands,  England, Germany), alhough the general Italian influence seems clear. There's a crystal cup  with an elaborately enameled handle in the shape of a dragon from 17th century Bohemia. And there are  many pendants dripping wih gold, pearls, enamel, and gemstones that were made in Europe during the 19th century. Perhaps what all the objects have in common is that they were gifts from wealthy patrons that had to be displayd somewhere?

It's interesting to see that almost all the human figures depicted in the bronze statuettes are nude. I suppose the subjects of many of these statuettes  -- characters from classical mythology or stories from the Bible (David and Goliath, Samson and the lion)  -- allowed for such depiction. But today's object, a small work perhaps seven inches high and made in 17th century Germany after a design by one Leonhard Kern, shows a subject I haven't previously seen: two women wrestling. The one I take to be the stronger holds the the head of her "antagonist" with her right arm, while her left hand cups the belly of her "foe." I use the terms "antagonist""and "foe" advisedly, because the expression on the subordinate woman's thrown-back face reminds me of the rhapsodic expression on the face of Bernini's Santa Teresa. I wonder whether the intent of the  image was pornographic. It's certainly an object that a man could hold in his hand, his fingers grazing the women's  contours.