a painting that has influenced my view of the world

a painting that has influenced my view of the world

Select a creative work-a novel, a poem, a musical piece, a painting, or other work of art-that has influenced the way you view the world and the way you view yourself. Discuss the work and its effect on you.

I still remember the first time I saw her. Her jealous beauty staring fervently at me. Her wealth of luscious red hair tamed by a golden clip. The precious face staring lustfully over my shoulder-or perhaps staring at me? Soft pearly-white hands poked through a deep green velvet dress-in one hand a violin, the other a bow. Behind her a brilliant yellow canary rhapsodizes a tune that she pauses to hear.

Her name is Veronica Veronese. She hangs in the Delaware Art Museum but I first saw her in Art & Antiques, a monthly art magazine. The whole painting enthralled me so greatly that I decided to learn more about the artist: Dante Gabriel Rossetti. He belonged to a group called the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood: a group of seven united through their art. Having just read about the superhuman determination and intensity of Michelangelo, these seven were a decided change: they had human faults and error.

As I delved into their world of Victorian romance and poetry I found that everything that happened in their lives happened, not by chance but for a reason. If Lizzie Siddal, Rossetti's wife, had not died at the apex of their long and winding relationship, then he might not have been perpetually inspired to make the extreme beauties that he painted to memorialize her. The model for Veronica Veronese is Alexa Wilding. She, as all the women in his later paintings, looks stunningly similar to Lizzie.

Similarly, in my life, I realized that mistakes happened for a reason. They humbled me, but also gave me a reason not to go do that mistake again: experience. Experience is the best teacher that I've found. Touching a red hot stove is far different than knowing not to touch it. If you do make the mistake of touching it, you'll never again do it-simply because you know the consequences.

After consuming books about the PRB, I realized that I had to know something about art to appreciate it. I found this out when I began looking at works by Egon Schiele, an early twentieth century art who painted what most would call pornography.