St. Eulalia AND...Medicine for Melancholy.

I went to see J.W Waterhouse exhibition, Jardin des sortileges, at the Fine Arts Museum. There were many beautiful paintings but this one haunts me.

St-Eulalia of Merida was a 12 year old girl; she refused to worship Roman Gods as she was a Christan. She was tortured; her sides and breasts were burned, she suffocated from the smoke that came from her melting flesh and burning hair. As Eulalia gave her last breath; a dove flew from her mouth and it begun snowing.

The entire exposition was based on the female form, the hair as a seduction tool and the tragic or triumphant women figures through folklore and mythology.

I was introduced to...

Medea; a scorned woman who murders her children, to take revenge for her husband's abandon and infidelity.
The Dainades; the 50 daughters of Danaus, who kill their husbands on their collective wedding night. As punishment, they are compelled to pour water into a vessel full of holes for eternity.
The Lady of Shallot; cursed, she must weave a web of magic and may not look at the outside world directly. Instead, she must view it through a mirror. One day, she sees Sir Lancelot in her mirror and feels compelled to look out the window for the first time. The curse, then, comes upon her. She leaves her isolated tower, finds a boat, writes her name and dies.

Jardin des sortileges is; a lullaby of rough edged lips, wide hips, hair that is coarse and wild. Women; among flowers, trees, shadows of vineyards, each easel stroke is like their blood and sweat.

AND. AND. AND.

I just stumbled on this, I NEED to watch it. I love Indies :-)


P.S I'm getting her haircut.