The Archer

self portrait of the Artist

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The Archer — Self portrait of the Artist, Amanta Scott

Amanta Scott, encaustic on canvas on cradled panel, 30 x 30 in/76.2 x 76.2 cm, Eyeing Medusa series, 2023. Read more

“If you actually care about the post-pandemic increase in sexual and racist attacks on women, LGBTQIA+ and people of colour: start with looking at them in a new light.”
— Amanta Scott

Amanta Scott with encaustic painting: Medusa’s Rage — Impressions of Autumn Peltier, in private collection

Artemis

The goddess Artemis was so enraged at Actaeon’s irreverence, spying on her while she was bathing, that she turned him into a stag which was subsequently torn to pieces by his own hounds. The art world is itself complicit— perpetuating toxic perspectives on women.

Mixing bowl (bell krater) with Artemis and Actaeon, Greek, early Classical Period, c. 470 BC, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Actaeon, sculpture group in the cascade at Caserta, image from Wiki commons

Actaeon, having surprised Artemis and her nymphs in the bath, is turned into a stag. 3320: German work from the 17th century AD. Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg.

References

  1. New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd., New York, 1959
  2. Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood, Merlin Stone, Beacon Press, Boston, 1984
  3. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
  4. When God Was A Woman, Merlin Stone, Harvest Edition, 1976
  5. The Civilization of the Goddess, The World of Old Europe, Marija Gimbutas, HarperCollins Publishers, 1991
  6. The Language of the Goddess, Marija Gimbutas, HarperRow publishers, San Francisco, 1989