The Mermaid and the Queens
Mekon
http://www.marileecody.com/gloriana/elizabetharmada2.jpg
there are many symbols indicating Elizabeth's wealth and power around the
globe. But in the bottom right hand corner of the painting is a mermaid.
This is said to be symbolic of England's maritime power and prestige.
Yet in this poster http://www.marileecody.com/maryqosimages.html Mary Queen
of Scots is portrayed as a mermaid, which is said to be symbolic of
prostitution.
Can the symbols mean both things?
Or is this why the Armada portrait was cut down for the version in the
National Portrait Gallery?
http://www.marileecody.com/gloriana/elizabetharmada1.jpg
Mekon
William Black
"Mekon" <blank...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:T_vod.45307$K7.3...@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> In the Armada portrait at Woburn Abbey
> http://www.marileecody.com/gloriana/elizabetharmada2.jpg
> there are many symbols indicating Elizabeth's wealth and power around the
> globe. But in the bottom right hand corner of the painting is a mermaid.
> This is said to be symbolic of England's maritime power and prestige.
>
> Yet in this poster http://www.marileecody.com/maryqosimages.html Mary
Queen
> of Scots is portrayed as a mermaid, which is said to be symbolic of
> prostitution.
>
> Can the symbols mean both things?
Interpreting the symbolism in Elizabethan paintings is something that is
done by professional academics who do it for a living and then publish books
about it.
This is not a subject suitable for Usenet debate, it's a bit like
interpreting Paradise Lost, a task for experts who have loads of time...
--
William Black
------------------
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords
is no basis for a system of government
Mekon
"William Black" <ab...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:cnvuf5$qs5$1...@news.freedom2surf.net...
>
(snip)
> This is not a subject suitable for Usenet debate, it's a bit like
> interpreting Paradise Lost, a task for experts who have loads of time...
>
> --
> William Black
> ------------------
Really?
I thought it would make a change from American politics.
Mekon
Roy Bailey
<blank...@hotmail.com> writes
--
Roy Bailey
West Berkshire.
<roy (dot) bailey (at) freeuk (dot) com>
Mekon
"Roy Bailey" <ne...@freeuk.com> wrote in message
news:4fmsFUB3...@freeuk.com...
I don't think I recall another time in the several years I have been on AHB
that a question was deemed too hard to answer.
Mekon
>
adamadamant
news:cJhpd.47931$K7....@news-server.bigpond.net.au:
> I don't think I recall another time in the several years I have
> been on AHB that a question was deemed too hard to answer.
>
> Mekon
Cross post to soc.history.medieval. There was quite a lengthy
discussion this summer on imagery in a painting of Ricahard III.
http://groups.google.ca/groups?q=painting+imagery+Richard&hl=en&lr=&s
elm=cci3d4%2426e8%241%40otis.netspace.net.au&rnum=2
I don't know anything myself about the subject, so I cannot attest to
the academic quality of the discussion- but it was certainly
interesting.
As you infer, given that usenet solves daily all the world's problems
several times over, the information you seek should not be beyond the
wit of members of these newsgroups.
Andy.
William Black
"adamadamant" <adama...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Xns95AC34E2...@207.35.177.134...
> "Mekon" <blank...@hotmail.com> wrote in
> news:cJhpd.47931$K7....@news-server.bigpond.net.au:
>
> > I don't think I recall another time in the several years I have
> > been on AHB that a question was deemed too hard to answer.
> >
> > Mekon
>
>
> Cross post to soc.history.medieval. There was quite a lengthy
> discussion this summer on imagery in a painting of Ricahard III.
I made the same comment there at the time.
Imagery in renaissance painting is a subject that doesn't fare well in a
textual medium, and is something that a number of very clever people make a
living researching.
You'd do better to spend some cash at Amazon