Redheads have always been the center of attention, if only because of their not quite usual hair color. “Red” - a standard nickname for the owners of such hair at school, vocational school, technical school and even in the institute, and red-haired girls could usually count on increased attention from the stronger sex, if only simply because they were different from others. No wonder that artists at all times willingly painted redheads - both men and women, and the hair color itself symbolized a lot of things: sensuality, cunning, promiscuity, and most importantly - otherness. We will talk about redheads in painting in this article.
Sandro Botticelli's “The Birth of Venus.”
It all started with Sandro Botticelli's wonderful painting “The Birth of Venus”. The goddess of love and beauty appears before us naked and with luxurious red hair, making her even more beautiful. Here no one has any doubts - this is the true goddess, and she, of course, should not resemble the first pretty girl, and is an unattainable ideal. By the way, the model for Venus was Simonetta Vespucci - a girl of marvelous beauty, characterized by a gentle disposition and amazing charm, no wonder that she was in love with many, including Botticelli. However, Simonetta, rather her parents, chose a groom much more noble and rich - Giuliano Medici, brother of the head of Florence Lorenzo Medici.
Sandro Botticelli. Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci
The face of Venus resembles the faces of Madonnas, and the body and pose are reminiscent of ancient Greek sculptures. So Botticelli combined Christianity and antiquity. Venus herself in the painting symbolized not some sensual pleasures, but the love of heaven and chastity, which were at that time the highest virtues.
Piero di Cosimo. Mary Magdalene reading.
Redheaded artists painted the repentant harlot Mary Magdalene, whose red hair directly hinted at her depravity and irrepressible sensuality. Whether she is sitting gracefully in front of the Bible, as in the painting by Piero di Cosima, or reclining on the rocks in the grotto, as she was depicted by Jules Lefebvre, red hair is always visible and makes it clear - the woman is a sinner, even if later repented and fully atoned for her sin.
Jules Lefebvre. Mary Magdalene in the grotto
But in any case, the image of Mary Magdalene is complex and contradictory - she personifies lust, promiscuity, virtue and humility, that is, completely opposite concepts, no wonder that he so attracted the attention of artists, including Caravaggio.
Caravaggio. Martha and Mary Magdalene
True, he depicted the moment of her complete spiritual purification, the physical embodiment of which was the parting with red hair, although, of course, naked Mary did not cut, but put them in a strict and auspicious hairstyle.
Especially liked to write red-haired ladies Pre-Raphaelite Dante Gabriel Rossetti. We can say that he had a certain shift on redheads, for example, he relentlessly pursued accidentally seen him on the street Alexa Wilding with fiery red hair, begging to become his model. That nothing left to do but to agree - Rossetti was already a famous artist, could pay well for her services and besides was considered a real heartbreaker, which rarely any lady could even refuse. So came this creative alliance, and the light has seen a lot of red-haired beauties depicted in the paintings of Rossetti.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Crowned with a garland.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec did not think about the lust and virtue of redheads, he simply recorded the life of Parisian brothels and cabarets, where he was his own man. Prostitutes him absolutely not shy, treated as a rich prince of their unfulfilled dreams, because he himself Toulouse-Lautrec came from a noble family, and the content received the first time quite sufficient. And he also treated them as equals, because he knew all too well about the neglect of those who are not like everyone else, perhaps because he valued the society of the same “outcasts”.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Rue de Moulin, medical examination.
The painting shows the moment of examination for syphilis, which was mandatory every month in the brothel, and the bright red hair of the second girl is hardly a natural hair color. Back then, many “priestesses of love” dyed their hair with henna to stand out from the rest and add to their attractiveness.
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