(Yes, I am aware that superimposed image still has the program editing tools around it; I wanted to make it initially clear that I am showing "full" album cover, but rather just an illustration of my theory about the possible influence behind it. :D)
So, there are many ways in which the work of these two artists, the American singer and composer Tori Amos and the Venetian painter Titian (pronounced "Tishin") can be linked, and here I list the main connections that I perceive between the two...
Tori has regularly referred to both religious and mythological depictions of women and goddesses in her work, as did Titian. The title of Tori's fifth album was "To Venus and Back," and here is the original "Venus of Urbino" (in Italian: La Venere di Urbino) by Titian, finished in 1538, some 471 years before the upcoming release of Tori's tenth album on May 19th of this year (just to mention that :D). Read the first two brief paragraphs of this article for some insight into the suggested meanings of what seems to be the source, whether consciously or subconsciously chosen, for the album cover:
Now for the next connection:
Tori has called the Biblical figure Mary Magdalene "the blueprint for women which was never carried over and passed down,'' and sees Magdalene as representing woman "as a passionate, compassionate being."
http://www.phrizbie-design.com/TORI_AMOS/quotes.html
And here are two of the Magdalene paintings from Titian:
"Noli Me Tangere" (1512)
> "Noli me tangere," meaning "Don't touch me", is the Latin version of words spoken, according to John 20:17, by Jesus to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection.
http://gbgm-umc.org/UMW/jesusandwomen/nolititian.stm
"Penitent Mary Magdalene" (1531)
> Caption: This is one of several paintings that Titian devoted to Mary Magdalene. It shows her [in a state of] passionate devotion. Mary's modest pose is that of the classical beauty Venus.
http://www.artbible.info/art/large/500.html
As for the suggestiveness of the Venus painting, there is an interesting reworking of it, as Tori's left hand is holding a domino mask here--a disguise worn by many characters, both male and female, at masquerades, but also by the characters found in many different comic books and graphic novels. There is the signification of a mask itself as being something behind which people either hide or display an identity, and furthermore, in this case, the mask also serves as a symbolic bridge between classical art and contemporary art, as Tori's music was the basis for Comic Book Tattoo, an anthology comic book released in 2008. Domino-mask-wearing females, in the mainstream comic world, are usually evil, and include such villainous villainesses as Harley Quinn, Black Cat, Miss Masque, and Lady Luck:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domino_mask
And lastly, let us not forget that the painter's name itself is used to refer to a brownish-orange or auburn color, most often used in reference to hair, as that was the hair color of many of the women in his paintings:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/titian
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