Abstract This paper discusses Agnolo Bronzino's allegorical painting that is best known as "Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time." The writer describes the painting and its composition in detail, and explains some of the techniques employed by the painter to create rhythm and unity. Some of the imagery is explained, and the writer points out the possibility that the figures commonly thought to be Venus and Cupid could also refer to Adam and Eve, since Venus carries an apple and the half-human creature behind her has a serpent's tail. The paper concludes with the writer's personal impressions of the painting.
From the Paper "The focal point of the painting is the milky white woman embracing the man with wings. The artist made them larger in scale and un-obscured by the other subjects in the painting. Bronzino used very distinct lines outlining the subjects depicted. Very few geometrical shapes are used in this painting with the exceptions being the circular fruit held by the woman in the foreground, the circular brown object held by the creature, the triangular tip of the arrow held by the woman and the round jewelry worn by the creature on its right shoulder. There are four completely straight lines in the entire piece with the columns of the hourglass taking three of those and the arrow being the fourth."
Tags: incestuous, embracing, monster, movement, light, blue
Abstract This paper will discuss the painting Cupid Chastised by Bartolomeo Manfredi. The elements of the painting, such as line, composition, color, and other technical variants will revealed, as well as a historical analysis of the work.
Abstract This paper examines how one of the most extraordinary aspects of the Italian artist Bartolomeo Manfredi's ?Cupid Chastised? is the way that the 1605 painting in oil on canvas resembles not so much a rendition of Greek mythology to the gazer's immediate glance, but seems to represent more an ancient scourging, similar to the Stations of the Cross. It discusses how war and discord are, indeed, set against one another in such a way that the common ways of telling myths about the goddess Venus are rearranged to improve the image of the woman and to highlight the ordinary quality of all of the gods and goddesses.
From the Paper "In "Cupid Chastised" for example, Venus appears not like a beautiful goddess of love, but like an ordinary Italian woman caught in flagrente delicado with a man other than her husband. She half-kneels, one breast bared to the viewer, but in shadows, pleading for her lover's skin and life while her angry husband Mars, clothed in red, flagellates the prostrate Cupid, lying there, looking young and vulnerable. Despite the stated presence of the other gods, laughing at Mars in the myth recounted as the painting's background, the focus of the painting is purely domestic and intimate, and the viewer of the work feels as if he or she is spying upon the married couple and Cupid, rather than witnessing a larger social drama."
This paper discusses the continuity of technique and style in traditional sculpture, from Antiquity to the Baroque and Neo-Classical periods, specifically in the sculpture of Italians Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) and Antonio Canova (1757-1822).
Abstract This paper explains that the mythical antique sculptures initially seem to have more features in common than differences with those of Bernini from the Baroque era and Canova from the Neo-classic era; but, upon closer examination of Bernini's 'Apollo and Daphne' and Canova's 'Cupid and Psyche', they are steeped in the attitudes and values of their own periods. The author points out that Bernini's 'Apollo and Daphne' reflects the religious emotionalism and exuberant decorative richness that spread all over Europe from Rome, while Canova's 'Cupid and Psyche' demonstrates the fusion of Christian values and Eighteenth century sensibility. The paper relates that, in classical art, the greatly prized qualities of nobility, grace, beauty, supreme physical strength, virtuosity and heroism is expressed in sculpture: Bernini and Canova seem to use the Antique period as an inexhaustible source of human qualities and emotions.
From the Paper "Bernini's 'Apollo and Daphne' exemplifies sculpture from the Baroque period, and Canova's 'Cupid and Psyche' is a prime example of Neo-Classical sculpture. The very title 'Neo-Classical' suggests a strong identification with ancient art, but the movement was perhaps more of a reaction against the Baroque style. It sought to combine Christianity with the general sentiments and principles of the time. The Neo-Classicists condemned Baroque art for its excessive detail and lack of 'meaning'. John Flaxman once criticised the extravagance of Baroque sculpture, describing it as all about 'twisted heads, full bodies, fluttering draperies; all wrists and ankles and bombastic attitudes'. In comparison to Bernini's Daphne and Apollo', Canova's 'Cupid and Psyche' is an unadorned sculpture."
Abstract This paper looks at Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream," as an example of how Cupid's arrow can make people defy convention and reason. Through an examination of the characters and their roles, the author supports the thesis that love causes a person to become irrational and can often cause them to lose touch with reality.
From the Paper "The fighting continues between the four. Helena gets more and more upset, particularly at Hermia, who was once her dearest, closest friend, and whom she now suspects is being cruel to her. Hermia herself is very confused, at both the fact that Lysander no longer wants anything to do with her, and the fact that Helena seems to not trust her. Once the argument ceases and the four go off into the forest, so Demetrius and Lysander can duke it out over Helena, Puck catches up to set things "right". Oberon's wish is that the original lovers Lysander and Hermia are reunited, and that Demetrius will stay in love with Helena, and she will believe his love to be true."
Abstract This paper is a review of an article that appeared in the Fall 1999 issue of "Marketing Management." The article, called "Customer Delight and the Bottom Line," details the different ways that a company can keep their customers satisfied with their product and service. The article also gives the reader some suggestions that can be adopted by individual businesses to help them keep a competitive edge and maintain their customer base. According to the authors of this article, CUPID (Customer Understanding Processes in Design), is the key to helping the customer stay involved in the development process.
From the Paper "Management experts have defined the concept of delighting the customers as an attempt to exceed the expectations of the customers and to bring a pleasant surprise to the customers by satisfying even those needs, which are not supposed to be served by that particular service or product. The article further discusses the various models used by the organizations to evaluate their products and services in terms of customer needs. Such models help the organizations in developing their products or services according to the expectations of the customer. In addition to this, the article also recommends several approaches to delight the customers."
Abstract This paper attempts to understand the nature of personality, emotions and free will by studying neurological disorders. The author asserts that understanding these disorders can shed light on the elements of human life that are ordinarily unreachable. The paper refers extensively to the story "Cupid's Disease" in the book "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat" by Oliver Sacks, about a senior citizen suffering from the effects of neurosyphilis. By quoting from this book, the paper attempts to address life's fundamental philosophical questions, including: Is personality biologically determined? What controls our emotions? and Do human beings have free will?
From the Paper "In modern times, philosophy no longer exists merely in the mind as scholars are able to link fundamental concepts to contemporary issues. In studying philosophy of mind and psychology, questions concerning the nature of self can be examined through the science of neurology and similar fields. By investigating the nature of various neurological disorders, philosophers can address issues that would otherwise be extremely hard to research. In his book, The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat, Oliver Sacks narrates the case histories of patients he has found to be lost in the abyss of neurological disorders. From these studies of human life struggling against bizarre impairments, philosophical and empirical investigations can be considered. In order to expand on the study of the nature of self I will consider a particular case in which the subject herself noticed a change in personality that Dr. Sacks discovered to be a result of neurosyphilis."
Abstract This paper discusses Valentine's Day and looks at its history and the role that Saint Valentine played in the history of this special day. It also explains the history behind the little cherub called Cupid. The paper further points out that there are nine different types of love and briefly explains each one. The paper further discusses how Valentine's Day continues to be important in America and how people buy flowers, chocolates, cards and other items as a way to express their love to their spouses or girlfriends/boyfriends.
From the Paper "The first place to begin the study of Valentine's Day is with Saint Valentine. The story of Saint Valentine cannot be proven but many people believe he was a priest named Valentine who lived in the days of the emperor of Rome named Claudius the Cruel (Good Saint Valentine). When war broke out in Rome, men did not want to leave their wives or fiances so they refused to go to war. This made the king angry and he created an order that forbid men from becoming engaged. Valentine, the priest, did not agree with this so in secret he would marry couples."
From the Paper " This study will analyze the concepts of justice and vengeance, and their relationship to love and desire, in the story of Cupid and Psyche in Apuleius' The Golden Ass, or Metamorphoses. The perspective of this study will be that the story as presented by Apuleius is designed to portray the evolution of the spirit. In that context, the story of Cupid and Psyche uses the forces and concepts of justice and vengeance, in opposition to love and desire, to develop the view that the purpose of life is, indeed, the advancement of the spirit or the soul.
This context allows the reader to see that vengeance is not a necessarily negative force, and justice can be a force which benefits even the one against whom that justice is levied. The point to keep in mind in understanding the story of Cupid and.."
Abstract This paper will discuss the gender role of Psyche in Apuleius' "The Golden Ass" and determine the how she is identified in the story in this perspective. By analyzing the themes in the tale that reflect her sexuality and her relationship to Cupid, we can see how gender roles get confused at times in the search for love that Psyche sets out to find. In her gender construction her main elements reveal a much more complex blend of gender mixing than one would assume from normal gender stereotypes. The gender aspects of Psyche will be revealed in this study and ascertain how they are mixed throughout the tale.
Abstract This art paper compares and analyzes stylistic differences between Francois Boucher's "Cupid a Captive" and Antoine-Jean Gros's "Napoleon at the Pesthouse at Jaffa". The comparison explores the differences between the period styles of the two different works. The paper also comments on the look of the painting and how this look helps shape the subject.
Abstract This paper contends that, within almost every literary genre, there are myths about love that fuel ideals that are rarely, if ever, realized. There is no place where this is more true than in the stories of mythology. The perpetual love myths that exist in classical mythology demonstrate ideals confronted even today by individuals searching for love. The ideals of love explored in this paper include love at first sight, the myth of 'one true love,' and the human phenomenon of overly idealizing unobtainable love.
From the Paper "Of course, in today's secular world most rational people would discredit a flying boy and his arrows because it's just not possible, but they find other ways to believe in the existence of the power he was said to possess. Instead we choose to interpret Cupid's powers as acts of fate. Another description of love at first sight is "the blissful melting of souls that would somehow" make their existence meaningful? (White 45). The relationships that are results of the acts of fate that create the ideals of love at first sight follow that, the idea of a love connection, when its destined happens instantaneously. There are countless modern examples of the perpetuation of the phenomena of love at first sight, movies, books even television programs that feed this idea. The myths of love at first sight often leave normal every day people with feelings of having been left behind or forgotten by fate, possibly feeling as if they don?t deserve to have ?That sort of love.? Furthermore, considering Cupids? role in this love myth, to be literally struck by an arrow is painful, but being struck by Cupid's love arrow does not hurt, after all it is the legendary reason for love a first sight."
Abstract This paper looks at the paintings "The Toilet of Venus" by Francois Boucher and "Gertrude Stein" by Pablo Picasso and how they differ in style and color. It discusses how each painting has a unique style which is intriguing and alluring and how the main difference is the colors used, one is dark and the other is brilliant. It also discusses the history behind the paintings and their similarities.
From the Paper "Francois Boucher painted The Toilet of Venus. This painting was custom-made for Madame de Pompadour as part of the decoration for her cabinet de toilette at the Chateau de Bellevue, which was one of the residences she shared with King Louis XV. In the painting there are cupids and doves which are attributes of Venus as the goddess of Love. The flowers allude to her role as patroness of gardens and the pearls reflect her mysterious birth from the sea. Francois made the painting during the Rococo Style period. Rococo Style was popular in Western Europe from 1700-1780. The term comes from French, which stands for fanciful rock or shell design, and it exhibits an elegant feeling and style. As a painter of nudes, Boucher had no equal in his generation. "
Abstract This paper presents a study of Eros in literary fantasy based on seven short stories (Ambrose Bierce's "The Death of Halpin Frayser", Charles Dickens's "The Signalman", Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Vei"l, Patricia Highsmith's "The Snail-Watcher", H. P. Lovecraft's "The Festival", Richard Matheson's "Born of Man and Woman", Edgar. Allan Poe's "The Black Cat") and two short excerpts from Gothic novels (M. G. Lewis's "The Monk" and Ann Radcliffe's "The Mysteries of Udolpho"), but occasional references are made to other works by these authors and also to Henry James, the Bronte sisters and Le Fanu. The paper begins with a brief presentation of the Greek myth of Eros. The second part of the study considers the problem of knowledge in relation to the erotic dimension of literary fantasies. In the third part of the study, the paper turns to the different manifestations of Eros in fantasy and the process of attraction-repulsion, before examining, in the fourth and final part, two erotic motifs which, latently or overtly, introduce an erotic dimension.
From the Paper "Indeed, when looking into the texts that form the corpus of our study, one recurring particularity is noticeable in all of them - all narrators are very much concerned with seeing and knowing. The reader is confronted with the narrator's or protagonist's persistent questioning and that questioning also becomes the reader's. We could call it the "wh-" of fantasy - Halpin Frayser does not know "whence and whither" he travels; Dickens's narrator wants to know "what" the signalman's trouble is and asks "Who is it?"; the snail-watcher has to know "what" his snails are up to and "how" they breed; Antonia earnestly demands "How came I here?... Where am I?", while Ambrosio needs to know "why" she refuses him and their mutual questioning goes on in two consecutive paragraphs; Radcliffe's Emily asks her attendant a thousand questions. The reader is a witness of countless who-what-when-where-how-s and for the most part, they remain unanswered. It is as if the signalman answered on our behalf - "I don't know." The texts become desperate attempts to pass on the same biblically borrowed message that stands out in Le Fanu's In a Glass Darkly, the message that "we know in part, and we prophesy in part". These intense efforts to see, to find out, to know are easily explained by the fact that we are dealing with fantasy which, partly by definition, is the literature of the unknown. But the work of many authors of fantasy also carries a heavy cultural heritage that feeds on centuries of known written history, on repeatedly told legends and on established myths."
Abstract In this article, the writer discusses the book 'Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold' by C.S. Lewis and notes that Lewis has created a complex novel in his retelling of the story of Cupid and Psyche. The writer points out that it is a novel with numerous themes and meanings, one which is very deep and reflects on the very core of the interaction between human nature and spirituality. The writer relates that speaking largely on the power of God, the Divine, love, jealousy and family among other themes, Lewis creates a powerful character in Orual whose transformation reflects on the very nature of God's involvement in life and on love, spirituality, and holiness within an individual. The writer concludes that Orual went through the process of gaining a face through her conversion and through her realization of her own self-deception, Lewis is suggesting that it requires internal awakening of the divine before true conversion and understanding of God can be reached.
From the Paper "Orual's conversion, and her own struggles with the divine, is reflective of the challenges humans must overcome to discover God. To find God, one must first find God in him or herself. Only through finding the divine inside, can one truly discover God. With the veil over the faces, to borrow Lewis' metaphor, humans have to face, and therefore cannot see the face of God. The face of God is not for humans to see anyway, because it is so pure and divine. However, there will come a day when we all have faces, as the title suggests, and then truly can we discover God. Ultimately, we must discover the Godliness in us as individuals; we must all undergo the conversion of Orual. The love that humans think they feel is not unconditional and it has to be to discover God. Discovering God is finding heavenly love in oneself, and to discover that one must believe in the greater spiritual powers without empirical proof. Psyche found her true happiness by trusting God, and she had beauty that was limitless. In Till We Have Faces, Lewis depicts how humans must go through a conversion, a difficult conversion in which they find true love in themselves in order to understand the true love of God. Only then, can God be discovered."
