Such was the shortage of women models in seventeenth-century Naples, that Jose (Jusepe) de Ribera hid the true identity of his Madonna (his brother-in-law) and claimed that her abundant facial hair was the result of testosterone synthesis by the theca cells of the ovaries, the zona reticulosa of the adrenal cortex and the placenta.
posted by Bob @ 1:09 pm
6 Comments:
At 3:42 pm,
Dave said…
Having seen Life of Brian many times, I thought all women in Palestine wore false beards anyway, so that they could join in the stoning.
At 4:51 pm,
Bob said…
“Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.” Levitcus: 19:27.
As far as I can make out, this statement is not specifically addressed to men. Logically, therefore, non-bearded women were not fulfilling the Almighty’s requirements insofar as facial hair was concerned. Hence the need for false beards at public events such as stonings.
However, this does not explain the single breast slap bang in the middle of the Madonna’s chest.
At 5:42 pm,
Dave said…
I wondered what that was. The picture wouldn't enlarge enough for me to examine it closely, and I couldn't be bothered to find the original.
At 5:44 pm,
Dave said…
Leviticus 13:29-30
'When a man or woman has a disease on the head or in the beard, the priest shall examine the disease...'
Clearly demonstrating that women had beards in those days.
At 5:57 pm,
Bob said…
By "those days" I suppose you are referring to the year 33 AD or thereabouts and not to the seventeenth century, when the picture was painted. Or perhaps both - Madonnna's mother (in the background) is also bearded.
At 6:19 pm,
Dave said…
'Those days' is, of course, the loose term we historians use for any time in the past (be that circa 1000 BCE when Leviticus is being written down, 33 CE or the 17th century) when things were different to what they are now.
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