Study of a Figure in the Court of Queen Mab (4)
Image Description
A nude female-presenting figure is sitting on the floor in a very dark room, viewed from a 45 degree angle. They are kneeling with their hands out of sight behind their back.
Their hair is shorn very short, and their skin appears to be daubed with blue/white paint, with a green stripe down the front of their face and around their eyes. There is more green paint in markings on their chest, breasts, stomach, and thighs. Around their neck they are wearing three small cowbells on a rope.
Artist’s Notes
A little explanation from the related blog post: More Studies from the Court of Queen Mab:
One of the paradoxes within Shelley’s poem is that Queen Mab vehemently criticises monarchs and the institution of monarchy on several occasions, which seems a bit ironic considering her title. Her own title led me to think about injustice and hierarchy within her court, which is how these images were conceived.
They depict a figure who is a captive, a servant, or a slave. Not reclining and aristocratic, but cowering.
Model’s pronouns: they/them.