Vasari, Kristeva, Freud, and ME!

As I read up on Freud's book, I noticed the very sexual analysis that he made about Leonardo.  Freud always seemed to poised to read entirely more than really (in my mind) necessary, but he does make a valid point. The memory does seem pretty darn sexual. Other than that, Freud was a pervert who falsified a of his findings anyway. At least Kristeva puts up a really strong and complex case for her analyses.

On to my own analysis of a Renaissance painting. This is Colonna Madonna by Raphael. 

Raphael may have been infinitely sweet, but that was perhaps a ruse to hide his deeply mischievous behavior and personality. Just look at the painting! Baby Jesus is putting his hand down Mary's shirt. She looks up from her reading, glances at her naughty baby, and smiles, most likely shrugging off his groping at an adorable innocent action. But he's even looking at us, saying, "Look what I've got here. And you think I'm completely pure!" Even the Messiah can be impish. It almost seems as if Mary has blush on her cheeks, another coy fact exploited by Raphael's brush. This painting is so uncharacteristic of his work in the deviousness of subject matter, but it may have been a quiet joke he put out there to test if people were really paying attention to his art and not just blindly lauding him with praise.