Muses, Elisabetta Sirani

I miss the memories of spending unstructured time with my friends. I do not miss those memories for any particular reason, but just the fact that once the innocence of that moment fizzles out into a desperation for maturity . . . . they feel so far away. They feel dead. Less a memory; more of a desire than a dream. Adolescence has shown me much. If there is anything to be addressed, let it be that there is no comparison to giggling about nothing until the earliest hours of the morning when the stars can still be seen through the window. There is nothing like being immersed in the femininity and joy of being surrounded by a group of girlfriends. These girls look at you without scrutiny because each one knows how hard it is to exist when judgment, lust and pity are, quite often, the very first thing that finds its way into someone’s eyes when they see a girl. The delicate bubble that surrounds us is comforting and protective. Immediately upon seeing this piece, I felt as though I was witnessing an exact moment - very similar to those which I mourn. My feeling of connection to the painting overcame me; I felt like I had lived that moment. I scanned the delicacy of the fabrics that the three girls had draped themselves in, and the expressions on their faces drew me to wonder what they were talking about. The dark lighting of the room contrasting with the pale tones of their glowing skin is entrancing. The narrow lounge chair they all rest upon is drowning in colorful sheets. The beauty of this painting is truly enchanting. I associate beauty and women very closely – in fact, our society teaches us to. The artist is a female Italian painter from the 1600s – Elisabetta Sirani. It makes a great deal of sense that a woman was responsible for the artistry. Sirani has me questioning if she, too, was grieving memories of such feminine fellowship that it brought her to reincarnate this feeling through her art. As I get older, it is harder to find those moments of safety and comfort. Relationships change. People come and go. I will be moving on to high school in a few short months and the social atmosphere is changing for all of us. Who will be the girls that I will create these spaces with next year? Will I find them? While working on this project with my classmates, I observed a wide variety of expressions on my peers' faces as they explored the different pieces. Everyone sees art through their own eyes. What is interesting is sharing those observations and seeking common understanding in the discussion of those meanings. When we talk with one another and share our viewpoints, maybe we’ll all be more likely to find those safe spaces, like the one so beautifully depicted by Sirani, where we can share without fear of rejection or judgment. This has been Tuyen Le with another Bulldog Art Tour.