Happy Mothers and Other New Ideas in Eighteenth Century

Carol Duncan, “Happy Mothers and Other New Ideas in Eighteenth Century’ is an analysis historical paintings and their meaning/depiction in comparison with latter day lifestyles. The analysis of the works of French artists of the 18th century and what their paintings represented is clearly shown in a cascade of photographs of paintings. The choice of paintings is in keeping with the title of the work, but the use of the words ‘Happy Mothers’ can be quite deceptive until one reads the analysis.

The work analysis concentrates on the different aspects of family life in 18th century France, and the writer doesn’t shy away from even otherwise controversial topics such as adultery (Fragonard, The return Home) The writer chooses to use the art as initially intended by the writer, she chooses to analyse the painting first as what is clearly and openly visible and then explain the underlying story or reason why the painter chose such a scenario. It is quite clear that this method of analysis is used on all the paintings in the text. As a method, it is quite effective because the analysis of the facts of the photo create enough background for the understanding oaf the important history underlying the art.

The analysis focuses on the social aspects of the 18th century and its correlation wit other aspects such as politics and economics. An example of this is the analysis of Fig.5 and the relation of why the lady standing in the photo is unmarried and why the son (or son-in-law) is most likely the next head of the household and therefore the heir of the estate. The gender bias in the analysis seems purely unavoidable,given that the society at that time still viewed women as somewhat of lower class citizens unless they were the heirs of huge fortunes or their were married to a family of standing.

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It also transcends the boundaries of the times n’e showing the other side of the conservatism of the era and the relation of motherhood to sexual satisfaction. The analysis is very keen on the detail, given that the writer is able to spot such detail as the crafty smile of the wife in Fig 5 and relate it to the notion that existed about housewives of the time and their trickery. The writer tackles issues of marginalization quite aptly. She expresses the pains women went through in that time to gain respect and the difference that was created in matters of social class by whether was born male or female. The fact that some girls even chose elopement to escaper the tyrannies of arranged marriages is also expressed in this analysis. The issue of marriage, given its pivotal role in matters of social class, means that it is quite appropriate that the writer gives it the center stage. The machinations surrounding it do not seem to escape the eye of the writer, and such things as dowry and eloped marriages are discuses several times in the analysis.

The writer seems to bear an uncanny ability to recreate the mood of the time and adequately create mental motion picture of the painting. The fact that such a live analysis of a work of art can seem to bring life to the art itself is amazing and adds to the life of the overall work.

However, her method adapts an angle that tends to remove focus from the main elements of the paintings to whatever else was happening during that time. This can be good, but it takes away focus from the art and to other matters. Most painters would feel as if the analysis doesn’t seem tailored to understand the work of art but merely to discuss it. Carol Duncan’s method is, arguably, effective in approach and interpretation. It opens up the eyes of the reader to so many things that one would miss by merely looking at the painting and as such, creates the painting in the mind of the reader and breathes life to it. It sets in motion the happenings of the time and as such, creates an even more captivating analysis than one that the painter intended.

There is no bias detectable from the tone of the analysis except the bit of feminine touch added to the work. She does quite well to avoid the sticky issues of the times such as marginalization but she merely touches on them. The assumptions are that the painters intended for some paintings that depict a child in bed with his parents to depict the correlation of mother’s sexual satisfaction. The assumption here is that the painter never intended to create the scenario of the child being fruit of the coital act, albeit in years passed. Although the analyst assumes the coital act is past, the era was one of conservatism as far as bedroom matters were concerned. They were kept secret and only whispered among housewives when their husbands were not within earshot.

(http://www.ago.net/new-art-photography).

Alfred Eisenstaedt’s photo ‘Examination of a German Dancer in the Third Reich: a tough examination for the dancer’ has about seven people in it nut the primary focus of the photo is the dancer. The photo was taken in mid-motion and the dancer seems to be trying quite hard too hard to impress the judges, especially Karl Schooner, President of the German association of Choir singers and dancers. The two people partially hidden by the dancer are most likely his trainers and friend or colleague. Karl is seated in the far left end of the table and the man seated next to him is probably his assistant at the time. The other two, the man writing and the man only partially seen are most likely the judges.

The Nazi regime took the arts seriously and encouraged, at times forced, athletes to participate in events. Dancers such as the one shown in the photo had to first prove their loyalty to the regime, and then their dancing prowess. Those who failed were punished while those who passed the test were adequately rewarded and they prowess recognised. The presence of Third Reich leaders such as Schonner at such events meant that the dancers had to try more to show their skills. The bar was higher when these leaders were around, because they carried the ideals of the Nazi regime and had the power to do as they saw fit for the propagation of its values.

When Adolf Hitler took over power and formed the Third Reich, he discovered that one way to keep the people hypnotised was to play into their fantasies by encouraging the things they held dear. He took over when the country was disillusioned, as the generation had witnessed World War Two and the Great depression. Art and sports took a centre stage, and the administration made sure that Germany won at all costs. An example of this are the infamous 1932 Berlin Olympics that Hitler tailored to fit the Nazi ideals and policies. It therefore become necessary for the people to work at pleasing the regime, winning favour by exploiting their talents to the maximum. They gentleman and lady partially hidden n’e the dancer are just examples of the lengths they were willing to go to win favour. They hired personal trainers or joined dancing groups for sponsorships.

Once these dancers won their local competitions, they were shipped overseas to compete in order to spread the notion that the Germans were a superior race, even in the arts. The main purpose of these competitions was to heal the rifts created by World War One among the German people. Such shows took their minds off what was really happening in their environment so that the government could work at restoring the lost glory of the former empire. They were accompanied by music, plays and mimes. The presence of Nazi leaders at these events was a show of their understanding of their situation and their way of keeping in touch with their populace. They attended these events in their official wear, always sporting the Swastika as a requirement and as a message that whatever they stood for was embedded in the Nazi ways.

Their participation in Nazi-tailored competitions was mandatory and the pose of the dancer, elegant as it may be, indicates a sense of intimidation and fatigue. The Nazi regime had a network of persons who carried out their work with unmatched efficiency and utmost dedication. The posture that the Karl Schonherr is seated is an indication of military background, which falls into Hitler’s ideals of a warrior superior race. The posture of the judges is a mark of respect for their boss and a show of their efficiency. In the 1930s, it was important to show respect to anyone who the Nazi regime favoured because they represented the Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler.

The photo depicts a classic scenario of what Germans had to go through to prove their loyalty to the Nazi, wearing them out working to get noticed, and paying utmost respect to the Swastika