The Tiger's Bride

Task 1

Andrea Mantegna (1431 - 1506) was an Italian Renaissance painter and engraver  born in the vicinity of Padua.Mantegna was influenced by Donatello's work like for example his bronze sculpture called the Gattamelata.Mantegna started his career in Padua but left that city at an early age.He then worked in Verona and Rome. In 1460 he was appointed court artist in Mantua, a small city state where he spent the rest of his life. He was known for his visual experiments in perspective and spatial illusion by using bright colors, the strong linear perspective and the sharp lines. The subjects of his paintings was mostly classical or religious. The altarpiece for the San Zeno in Verona is one of Mantegna's most famous works, just as the murals in the Camera degli Sposi (bride's room) in the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua (1468–1474). His work's composition and structure have inspired many artists of the time like Giovanni Bellini and Leonardo da Vinci.

 

Mantegna's famous piece- The altar piece for the San Zeno.

 

Giulio Romano (1499-1546) was an Italian painter and architect. He was principle heir to the famous italian scuulpture Raphael (one of the inniatiators of the style mannerism), who thought of him as a son, Giulio was 28 when Raphael died. Giulio helped Raphael in some of his most famous pieces such as 'Raphael's bible'. Giulio's stylistic deviations from high Renaissance classicism help define the 16th-century style known as Mannerism. Mannerism is the term often given to a style of Renaissance art and architecture. The name comes from maniera, Italian for style. The style is characterised by surprising effects and visual trickery.

"Giulio never did a finer work than this," said Vasari. 'The stoning of St. Stephen'.

 

Benvenuto Cellini (1500 –1571) was born in Florence and is considered the greatest goldsmith of the Italian Renaissance and he also created the 'autobiography'. His parents were both musical and encouraged him to follow the same pathway but Benvenuto wanted to be an Italian goldsmith. After moving around from place to place he settled in Rome after being approached by a sculptor named Torrigiano. After this he created many things such as a silver casket and silver candlesticks for the pope. He was also one of the most important artists of Mannerism.

'Perseus with the head of Medusa' is regarded as one of the masterpieces of 16th-century Florentine art.

Task 2

 

• Assuage- make (an unpleasant feeling) less intense.
• Awry- away from the usual or expected course; amiss.
• Axium- a statement or proposition which is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true.
• Capisco (translate)- i see
• Ciliate- a single-celled animal of a large and diverse phylum distinguished by the possession of cilia or ciliary structures.
• Civet- a slender nocturnal carnivorous mammal with a barred and spotted coat and well-developed anal scent glands, native to Africa and Asia.
• Desnuda (translate)- Naked, bare, uncovered, ill-clothed.
• Excoriating- damage or remove part of the surface of (the skin)
• Expostulating- express strong disapproval or disagreement.
• Eyrie- a large nest of an eagle or other bird of prey, built high in a tree or on a cliff.
• Gavotte-a medium-paced French dance, popular in the 18th century.
• Obsequiousness- Obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree
• Ostler- a man employed to look after the horses of people staying at an inn.
• Patina- a green or brown film on the surface of bronze or similar metals, produced by oxidation over a long period.
• Preternatural- beyond what is normal or natural
• Profligate- recklessly extravagant or wasteful in the use of resources.
• Settecento(translation)- 700
• Shagreen- sharkskin used as a decorative material or, due to its natural rough surface of pointed scales, as an abrasive.
• Simian- relating to or affecting apes or monkeys 
• Simulacra- an insubstantial form or semblance of something
• Soubrette- a minor female role in a comedy, typically that of a pert maidservant.
• Spar- a thick, strong pole such as is used for a mast or yard on a ship.
   
  Task 3
  The devil's picture book is Paul Huson's trend-setting book on Tarot cards published in 1971 explores the magical and mythological imagery of the famous deck.
  Carter uses sarcasm when the narrator calls the beast 'Milord' to not only show her disgust and lack of respect but also irony in calling him a high class human, drawing attention to the fact he is a beast, therefore lower then the working class, and also wearing a 'too perfect' human faced mask.
  In 'The Bloody Chamber', white roses are significant as they represent pureness and innocence but also rare-'miraculous', like for example in the story of 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon' when there was only 'one... single... last perfect rose' that had been 'preserved' from 'winter'. So by the beast giving the young virgin something pure and innocent he could be trying to show his good intentions toward her and not to fear him as a savage animal that she thinks he is.

The Courtship Of Mr Lyon

2) Carter spells 'Lyon' in a certain way to foreshadow the ending of the book. 'Lyon' literally means lion, but Carter spells it Lyon as she wants to highlight that Mr Lyon is both man and beast.

4) The girls father wears an 'old sheepskin coat', which highlights how the could be seen as prey. What is interesting is how he is not prey to the Mr Lyon, as he may be part beast but he is part human too - making him civilised, but he is prey to Captilism. Before he received the money off Mr Lyon he was a sad and angry man as he could not provide for his daughter. But as soon as he received wealth he indulges in it and it changes him into an arrogant snob. This is a significant change because it exposes capitalism as a poison which changes even the most decent of human beings. 

5) The father is associated with the character 'Alice' from the fairy tale 'Alice in Wonderland'. A distinct similarity is made the father is at Mr Lyon's house  and on the table in front of him is 'Whiskey' with a 'silver tag' which says 'drink me' and also 'sandwiches' which say 'eat me'. The reason why the father is like Alice is because he is naive to the new world he has entered, for example he doesn't question who owns the house, nor the fact that they are not around when a stranger enters the house, and it is this naievity which gets him in trouble in the first place when he steals the rose. 

6) The father's values are traditional in the sense that he must work hard so he can provide for his daughter, this contributes to the plot as soon as he gets the money  from Mr Lyon and builds it up. When he achieves this he takes Beauty away from Mr Lyon, as he can now provide the rich life where Beauty could want for nothing.

7) Mr Lyon's house is described as a 'melancholy' and 'desurted' house. These are all isolated adjectives, which represent Mr Lyon, which significantly makes the reader see him in a different light to a savage, (as he fiercely attacked Beauty's father) but as lonely hybrid.

8) When researching into other buildings/settings in fairy tales I found the tale of Rapunzel. In this story a girl asked her husband to get her some flowers, the man 'stole' the flowers from the witches garden. Their punishment from this was for the woman to be Iocked in a tower, isolated from the man. The setting at the start of the story is described with idealic adjectives, like a 'garden' filled with 'beautiful flowers', this is completely contrasting to 'The Courtship of Mr Lyon' as the setting is described as 'melancholy' and 'desurted'.

9) Carter uses repitition of Mr Lyons animal features ('great paws', 'ponderous yet swift') to remind the reader of what Beauty sees him as... A beast, a dangerous animal. But it's effect on the reader is quite opposite to Beauty's disgust, the reader is neutral. The reader is unbiased and sees both qualities in Mr Lyon-human and animal- no matter how much Carter uses dangerous adjectives to describe Mr Lyon.

11) in 'The Tigers Bride' the narrative perspective constantly changes from 1st person to 3rd to not only give a unbiased perspective from Mr Lyon or Beauty but to demonstrate the fluid nature of our identity.