Death and the Maiden

I noticed this as a recurring theme, so I'm dedicating an entire post to artists who play with this idea of a manifestation of death with a woman. Contemporary artists will have their own pages to view, so this is essentially just a picture gallery, and if you don't know about Klimt, Schiele, or Munch, you're probably too stupid to be reading this blog.

Maria Lassnig

Der Tod und das Maedchen (Death and the Girl)

1999

Jeff Simpson



Käthe Kollwitz

Death Embracing a Woman

Hans Baldung



Edvard Munch




Egon Schiele

While the above is called Death and the Maiden, I prefer the creepy factor in the painting below (where the hands can be read as Death trying to pull the almost dead (maybe anorexic) woman towards her inevitable doom-- something like that, maybe Sterbak-esque):



Gustav Klimt



Laurie Lipton

Death and the Maiden

2005
This was part of an exhibition that was inspired by a trip to Mexico called Day of the Dead.


And what always happens to me when I think I'm brilliant for noticing a trend, I find someone else has already written about it in detail (although I have much cooler contemporary artists, establishing a context is never a crime), so there's this bitch who writes the Vince's Ear blog:

Peregrine Honig

Like Amy Wilson, Peregrine Honig's watercolors have charming images with very adult scenarios, as you can see above by "Wonkey Donkey checks into rehab!" The donkey is similar to classic children's characters from the Golden Book series, yet he clearly can't keep his addictions in check (although to his credit, he is looking quite embarrassed and ashamed).



Her work deals with current issues in society (well, the garbage celebriculture/People magazine/Jersey Shore/Miley Cyrus clusterfuck version of society) but through the eyes of a child, where the idea that Peter Rabbit and pseudo-Winnie the Pooh are gay-banging each other in a plushy bro-show is news, so it's bringing in these ideas of destruction of an innocent culture in the most delicate medium imaginable.

Puberty for Louis Vutton

Honig also did a series about models with diseases, or perhaps just the truths about the fashion industry. The image above sheds light on this truth that the runways are suffocating with extremely young girls and girls who have diseases (like fetal alcohol syndrome).

In the article below, Honig states: “It’s very strange that [modes] are that tall and thin, and when people look very different, we’re inclined to stare. My drawings are about people who would also be viewed the way we are not supposed to look at others. I think these images are more empowering for the viewer and not exploitive.” Though this is moreso related to her series of children with diseases (like Downs), Honig's paintings are just so delicate, yet wonderfully powerful and over-the-top.



Her Fashism series is chilling, and these works are significantly larger (usually 3' x 2') than the previous series, so I think that the overall effect would perhaps be far more overwhelming and obvious.

Chanel Hoodie

This series is reminiscent of Egon Schiele (one of my favourite artists) in the best way possible:



If you're buying what she's selling, Peregrine's website should not be missed.