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Oh, Pauline! |
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written
by jwang3 / 10.24.2005 |
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| Sculpture and movement |
1 of 1 |
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Assignment |
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Pauline Bonaparte is elegant, beautiful, and graceful. Or at least, her statue is. As she lies delicately on her mattress, poised and perfect, she is carefree, having been designated the most beautiful woman on earth.
From the initial glance of Canova’s sculpture, the viewer is drawn into Pauline’s world of wealth, class, and prestige. Her pose is open, inviting all to come and admire her beauty. Shameless that her sheet barely covers her body, she rests her arm on the pillows below, exposing her entire upper body.
She is the ideal woman. Not only is she handsome, but she is also refined. Her wrists bend softly as she holds her prized apple and though she leans against the couch, she sits upright, retaining her posture. Her gaze is distant; she is a simple beauty.
But is this who she really is? Was the real Pauline Bonaparte this simple beauty Canova has depicted? History tells us otherwise. Not shown in the sculpture is Pauline’s salacious lifestyle, replete with unrestrained promiscuity, pursuit of material possessions, and a reputation for nymphomania. What Canova has depicted, then, is not the impulsive and selfish person of Pauline, but rather, the image of Pauline gilded with ideal characteristics. While her beauty may not be an exaggeration, the connotations inferred from the sculpture are indeed false. Canova has achieved his purpose; the Pauline that immortalized in his sculpture is devoid of her personal traits, remembered only as a physical beauty.
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