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Obviously
there’s more to understanding these images than just knowing the dog
symbolized fidelity. They were made at different times, for different
purposes, in different social contexts. This affects how we
“read” them.
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Arnolfini wedding
… Renaissance, northern Europe, marriage, church, religion, role of oil
painting, who would have one in their home, cost, etc.
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Cosmo cover: sell
advertising space, wide distribution, many to see (vs. in someone’s
house), cheap to purchase, material that will disintegrate, etc.
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This is not rocket
science—art historians have been considering the context in which
artifacts were made for a long time.
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And even the
icon-filled Renaissance painting has meanings that are not immediately
obvious—we can examine what is says about each gender’s role in
the marriage it describes,
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What reading can we
give to the Cosmo cover? Why is the woman depicted this way? How is it
different from the Arnolfini wedding woman? What “message” is the
magazine trying to send to its viewers? How do the image and text work
together to influence each other and their meanings? Etc.
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Both images are
selling: religious tradition, devotion to marriage as sanctified by church
vs. selling products using thin veneer of glorification of self,
sexuality—would you like to see yr mother, sister dressed like this.
Girlfriend? Dress codes in high school – what is acceptable (bare
midriff, etc.)
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