Yseult 

Curator: Here we see "Yseult" by Frank Dicksee. He was a popular painter, known for his historical and genre subjects painted in a highly romantic and dramatic style. Editor: My first impression is melancholic. The use of color, primarily reds and golds, lends a luxurious feel, but her wistful gaze out to sea gives the composition an overriding sense of longing. Curator: That is accurate. Dicksee produced artworks in response to societal pressures, with historical paintings and romantic subjects appealing greatly to the audiences of the late 19th century. Paintings like “Yseult” affirmed societal norms by portraying ideals of beauty, honor, and love, with "Yseult" perhaps presented as an ideal woman awaiting her heroic knight, thus promoting the era's rigid social hierarchy. Editor: Right, and by using this famous Arthurian character, Iseult or Isolde, the artwork reinforces particular gender roles and romanticized narratives of love. It subtly implies a passivity of women, that her destiny relies upon a male counterpart. She's literally waiting, with her future depending upon the arrival of a man, reinforcing patriarchy and diminishing her own agency. The Pre-Raphaelite painters really did that too! Curator: To an extent I see what you mean. But while her love and future is with Tristan, there are more historical elements to Dicksee’s “Yseult.” Dicksee used costumes to amplify the painting’s narrative elements, borrowing medieval garb to heighten the romance, setting the historical tone, and thus allowing an appeal to historical painting tradition and contemporary standards of beauty and drama. Editor: I cannot disagree with that, yet looking closer, I see more in the textures. Notice the detail in the flowing robe, the fur draped on the sill, and the contrast with the smoothness of her skin. It speaks to a sensitivity that resists any straightforward patriarchal reading and makes me want to further interrogate what a male artist projects on the representation of a female subject. Curator: It gives us lots to think about concerning the history and role of art! Editor: Exactly, an excellent example to explore history, identity, gender, and the enduring power of art!