Miracle of the Menstruating Martyr(After Rogier Van Der Weyden)
Item
-
Title
-
Miracle of the Menstruating Martyr(After Rogier Van Der Weyden)
-
Description
-
Miracle of the Menstruating Martyr (After Rogier Van Der Weyden) (2021) is a \(26" \times 28"\) gouache-on-paper painting by Tirtzah Bassel, reinterpreting Flemish art to center female bodily autonomy. Part of her "Canon in Drag" series, it reimagines holy scenes by highlighting menstruation as a source of creative power rather than shame
-
Date
-
2021
-
Identifier
-
0005.SLAG
-
Material
-
Gouache on paper
-
Measurements
-
66.04 cm x 71.12 cm (26 inches x 28 inches)
-
Analysis
-
A reconfiguration of sacred female imagery that reintroduces the abject body excluded from historical representation:
(The Female Gaze) In Miracle of the Menstruating Martyr (After Rogier Van Der Weyden), Bassel challenges traditional religious art by focusing on menstruation, a natural part of life that is often left out of visual culture. Unlike Van Der Weyden’s careful portrayals of idealized femininity, this piece highlights real biological experiences that question ideas of purity. Instead of showing a sanitized female body created for male comfort, the work reveals how women’s bodies have been shaped by leaving out or controlling what is seen as “undesirable.” It puts these natural bodily functions at the center, rather than hiding them.
