ABC Wednesday is a word meme with participants from around the world. This fabulous meme was created and hosted by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt who hails from Great Britain. We are now in our sixth round-some of the participants have been with this from the very first round; others have joined in along the way. Each week we are taken across the globe to see the varied and exciting contributions people have taken the time to discover and capture. We start with the letter, "A" and each week we post something in regards to the next letter of the alphabet. This week's letter is, "A".
Please be sure to stop by ABC Wednesday to see what others from around the world have posted!
Actually, the "A" word I started off here was, allegory. I had also done a research paper 4 years ago about female artists and self portraits from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance and became fascinated with this particular artist. Her name, Artemisia Gentileschi conveniently starts with an "A". Check out the link I have here for the artist and perhaps you might share in my fascination. A very gutsy woman whose courage would be just as admirable today as it was for her time period.
Her self portrait is a wonderful example of what an allegory is. "Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation." (Wikipedia)
We all love getting them! Even if you've never gotten one, I know you wouldn't turn one down if it was awarded you! Our local art association has our membership meetings at the Destiny Center here in Rio Rancho (it's a non-denominational church). These were all laid out for some sort of award ceremony. I thought there were pretty cool.
You know, I didn't know that laying out the word, Abracadabra like this creates this layout! No wonder why it's used as a magic word!
Acanthus isn't a word that you might encounter very often, but the image of it has been seen widely for centuries. You can get a full grasp of the foliage it is inspired from and all the variations in art that depicts it by clicking here. The use of it for ornamentation in architecture is common (possibly an "aha" moment).
8 comments:
Beautiful and very interesting captures as always, Paula! Can't believe we've started all over again! Time flies when you're having fun! Hope your week is going well!
Sylvia
What a fun and original A post today Paula. I learned a lot from it and realize how limited my vocabulary is.
Paula, In the self-portrait, is Artemsia holding onto a sundial? Her pose is very unusual too. Thank you for introducing her. Great post!
As always, an astonishing array for the letter A.
As a new part of the ABC Wednesday team, I thank you.
Love the top photo of the painting. Have you ever read the novel, The Passion of Artemisia, by Susan Vreeland? A fun read?
That must have been an interesting research project--female artists, like female authors from the earlier time periods certainly are not well-known. The acanthus is fascinating! I don't grow any in my garden, but I've seen this plant before and never made the connection with the design you've pictured here. Thanks for enlightening me once again!
Great A. Abracadabra - interesting visual layout. Having seen the acanthus previously, I wasn't familiar with the word. Wonderful A's, around!
I knew the painting 'Judith slaying Holofernes' but didn't know who painted it. Thanks for that!
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