The Strangest Depiction of Death

Death sits on the edge of a young girl's bed. She clutches a red blanket against her chest, while on her nightstand rest pink flowers and a pearl necklace, the symbols of a life that was just beginning. For six hundred years, Death and the Maiden was painted as a scene of violence and desire. A skeleton seizing a young woman by force. But in 1908, Marianne Stokes transformed absolutely everything. Her Death is a woman. She does not touch the girl. And instead of dragging her into darkness, she brings the only light into the room. In this video we explore the ancient tradition behind this painting, the hidden connection with the myth of Persephone, and the mysteries that, more than a century later, still have no answer. ► Shop "Death and the Maiden" (1908) at - https://www.inspiraggio.com/products/death-and-the-maiden-marianne-stokes-c-1908 ► Shop Art Prints & Canvas at - https://www.inspiraggio.com/collections/shop-all ► Shop Fine Art Phone Cases at - https://www.inspiraggio.com/collections/iphone-cases → Join our FREE newsletter: https://www.inspiraggio.com/pages/newsletter → Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspiraggio → Contact: [email protected] 0:00 Introduction 1:02 The Abduction of Persephone 1:47 Death and the Maiden 2:29 Analysis 3:41 Symbolism of Light 5:03 Annunciation? 6:16 The Woman 7:17 Marianne Stokes SOURCES The Victorian Web — "Death and the Maiden" by Marianne Stokes (Jacqueline Banerjee) https://victorianweb.org/victorian/painting/stokes/paintings/2.html AWARE: Archives of Women Artists — Marianne Stokes https://awarewomenartists.com/en/artiste/marianne-stokes-nee-maria-leopoldine-preindlsberger/ The Clark Art Institute — "Women Artists in Paris, 1850–1900": Marianne Stokes https://www.clarkart.edu/Microsites/Women-Artists-in-Paris/About-the-Artists/MARIANNE-STOKES Obelisk Art History — Death and the Maiden https://arthistoryproject.com/artists/marianne-stokes/death-and-the-maiden Homeric Hymn to Demeter (Hecate and the search for Persephone) #arthistory #art Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.