posted July 16, 2011 12:42 PM            

The Venus conjunct Saturn really comes through, with the "simplicity", and portraying heroes in a way where everyone can relate to them.

posted July 16, 2011 01:00 PM            

One of the many exuberant paintings of the Rococo period, where sexuality, symbolism and hedonism and took reign of the paintings.
Fragonard has Saturn conjunct Mercury, which made him prone to pay attention to fine and gritty details in his work (such as the symbolic meaning).
The Sun sextile Neptune gave way to a sensual, opulent style where he got to express his rather vivid imagination.
Moon in Leo is perfect for his grandiose manner.
And Mars loosely conjunct Uranus represents his ability to convey the shocking, and his love for doing so.
His North Node in Sagittarius (as well as Mars and Uranus) represent his seeking for the "blunt truth", the things that society repressed out of decorum and propriety, as well as reputation.
You can tell that it's not the endeavor to seek out the mysteries of life and the taboo, as placements in Scorpio would've done (he has none, minus the asteroids). The symbolism is for everyone's eyes to behold, it isn't in any way disguised or in crypt code. He still kept things in check, though, with both Jupiter and Pluto in Libra.
And his Venus is in...can you guess?
None other than Taurus. It's the icing on the cake, who other than Fragonard to depict sensuality and eroticism in his paintings?
And, last but not least, Sun in Aries, as a pioneer of his time, as well as Saturn and Mercury, for a fearless persona and the need to break barriers.

EDIT: I forgot to add the symbolism.
The "lost" shoe represents lost virginity.
The young lover is looking up her dress secretly (the only time, and way, he would get to) while a priest pushes her on the swing (a "holy" occupation).
Cupid wants everyone to keep this rendezvous a secret, the meeting that he's a part of, for what other place is there to be for the god of desire and erotic love?

posted July 16, 2011 02:16 PM            

A founding father of Impressionism, who denied the association and preferred to be called a Realist.
He was influenced by Japanese woodblock prints, as well as three artists, primarily: Ingres, Delacroix and Daumier.
Ingres taught him something that would influence him for the rest of his life: the importance of line in his work. (Back then, it was Poussinites vs Rubenistes, or line vs color)
Degas liked to play with oil on canvas, pastel, and etching, as well.
He shows the mastery of movement in his work, which he chose to portray through racecourse subjects and female nudes.
His favorite subject were dancers - over half his paintings depict dancing in one way or another.

It's interesting to note that Impressionism is all about taking what you feel from the environment, your "impression", and painting it. Kind of like wearing tinted glasses and painting what you "see" from reality. His Sun was in Cancer, making him have the quality of being impressionable, which he used to his advantage.
His Venus in Virgo was quincunx Neptune in Aquarius. Now, this could be used as a tool, but accounts show him to have been an argumentative, sexually depraved persona. It's kind of like he struggles between beauty and fantasy, and you can see this in all the female nudes (prostitutes) he painted. A side note, he never could marry and the only way to "excite" him was for him to see a woman taking a bath, so he hired prostitues.
Mars square Uranus, a love of shocking.
Mars in Taurus, further proves the fact that he loved all things sensual.
Both Jupiter and North Node in Gemini, he excelled in "movement", in fast things, he thrived on it. It may have also influenced him to choose "light" subjects, such as dancing.
Mercury in Leo, he criticized Impressionists heavily at art exhibitions, and refused to be associated with "low-class" Impressionists.
Moon in Capricorn, his father forced him to enroll in law school, and the "realistic" Capricorn moon is apparent in his works.
He took his work very seriously, and that of others.
Saturn in Libra, a need for balance and a struggle with it (too much of this, too much of that).
Pluto in Aries adds to his Gemini placements on his liking to movement, but most apparently on his need to uncover innocence and "freshness" (in the young ballerina dancers) in his work.

The story behind this painting, and behind French society at the time, is tragic.
The man you see in that painting, well, let's call him a "patron of the arts".
In France during that time period, if you were a girl and weren't born into a wealthy family, you had no life ahead of you, except for the art of dancing. Most families couldn't pay for enrolling their daughters into ballet classes, so they'd have a sponsor agree to pay for the girls classes, with one condition: she would lose her virginity to him on the opening night of the show. Most girls were around the age of 13.

posted July 16, 2011 03:23 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Benedict Moon*:
Love the analysis, LightingStrike. I'm no art history expert but I agree that the painting (and the period--Rococo) is Taurean at its finest, with some Leo thrown in.

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posted July 16, 2011 10:53 PM            

Aries sun
Aquarian moon
Leo rising

posted July 17, 2011 10:37 AM            

Sun in Viro, Rising in Sagittarius, Pisces Moon

Stellium in Virgo (Sun, Mercury and Venus all conjunct each other)

posted July 17, 2011 05:38 PM            

"The Appariton", by Moreau.

Moreau was a French Symbolist painter, who painted primarily biblical and mythological figures (Orpheus, Prometheus, Europa, Salome, Hesiod, Jupiter & Semele, Oedipus, etc.)

Symbolism was a counter-reaction to Naturalism and Realism. It sought what they didn't have - spirituality, imagination and the dreamworld. They didn't see the world at face value, they had x-ray vision into what was beneath it, kind of like a precursor to Symbolism. You can say it's almost like it left this dimension and went into the next, since you get a feeling of both mortality and otherworldliness and mysticism, like now you're here, now you're not.
It branched off of Romanticism (dark dreams), and it was more personal than any other genre. It wasn't quite Surrealism (though a precursor) for Surrealism had to do with Jungian archetypes and the collective unconscious (we'll get into that later, hopefully), these symbols were ambiguous and private.
It influenced Art Noveau, and its contemporary was the "fin-de-siecle" or "end of the century". While both Symbolism and fin-de-siecle were heavy on imagery, fin-de-siecle had heavy sexual undertones and was all about opulence, sensuality, and hedonism (much like Rococo, but Rococo was more light-hearted, hazier and "fluffier").

Sun square Neptune for "ambiguous symbolism". The dreamworld. "Oneiric", or dream-related, fantasies which came alive in paintings. Who better to enter and explore the realm of dreams than one who lives in them?
His paintings were almost jewel-like in quality, as if you could wear them at an outing. Like adornments.
Venus square Uranus. A need to shock. Salome, the original femme fatale, after Eve herself, became a motif in his paintings. A liking for the unusual. Her one request was, after all, John the Baptists' head on a silver platter.
And most importantly, he deviated from the "chosen" path for artists at that time, that of painting from observation and from classical mythology. He was unorthodox in his subjects.
Sun sextile Saturn. You can sense the grip that mortality has. His paintings are in that state of limbo where you can't separate reality from fantasy any longer.
Mercury in Taurus, the sign of sensuality, trine Jupiter. Jupiter has the Midas touch of magnifying everything it touches. It perhaps magnified his ability to convey and
"speak" sexual Symbolism in his paintings?
Jupiter in Virgo gives attention to details, and sometimes a fixation on repetitive behavior (his obsession with Salome, a symbol of seduction and innocence).
Mars retrograde in Scorpio. The only way for him to express his fervor and his need for sexual themes and uncovering of the taboo was through painting. Retrograde just means energy expressed through different means, other than explicitly.
North Node in Sagittarius. His need to strive towards religion, philosophy, the "exotic" (as was a motivating factor for Romanticism - The Exotic, meaning faraway lands, and "dark dreams")
Neptune and Uranus in Capricorn. "Restoring" long-dead civilizations and mythologies. He chose characters from history.
3 (or 4, depending on time of birth) planets in Aries. He was not afraid to go his own way and pave the way for others. Moreau was one of the leading Symbolists; he didn't quite spur on a Revolution, but it was a quiet rebellion, where actions spoke louder than words.

What's most apparent in his paintings is the "somnabulistic world", where Moreau chooses to replace the violence with eroticism, veiled in a misty cloud. (Sun square Neptune)

posted July 17, 2011 06:44 PM            

This is Capricorn/Saturn all around to me. You have a goat that is suppose to be Satan, some fearful witches, the earthiness, and overall the painting is suppose to be satirical of the ridiculous superstitions of the time (and Capricorn is said to do satire best).

And,

posted July 21, 2011 10:08 AM            

Now, for Manet's "Olympia".

Manet was the bridge between Realism and Impressionism.
He is considered to be the only "Impressionist" to paint in black, which to him it was like "punching holes in the canvas."
In his "Absinthe Drinker", you can compare it to the Grand Manner paintings of previous times, and you can see that what he's elicited here is a counter-movement.
"Olympia's" pose obviously gathered inspiration from Titian's "Venus of Urbino".
Though Venus of Urbino is more reluctant to look at you, like she's the Venus coming out of the shell.
Another source of inspiration came from Goya's "Nude Maja."
Olympia looks at you with a cool indifference and self-assuredness; she doesn't care what you think of her profession.
That, and the fact that she was nude, is which it was so shocking and so brazen.
Olympia was a common name for French prostitutes in the 19th century.
You know what makes her so naked? The fact that she's wearing an orchid in her hair, a ribbon around her neck, and mule slippers, embracing the lifestyle of the courtesan.
Also, the orchid, her upswept hair, black cat, and bouquet of flowers were all symbols of sexuality.
You can recognize the flatness instantly, there seems to be no depth or perspective. This was taken from Japanese woodblock art.
It's to make her look more human.
One last note, her left hand hides her pubic area, but not in a bashful way; she's saying, as a cat would, This is my territory, I can do with it what I please.

As I was reading his biography, my mind kept shouting "Aquarius!"
He has Sun, Uranus and Jupiter in Aquarius. He rejected traditional convention in painting, and even rejected the demand of going to law school.
ASC in Leo for the boldness and love of attention.
Uranus is conjunct the South Node. Now when a planet aspects the Nodes, it's going to be a major theme in your life. He was a poster child for Uranus. He came here to revolutionize society in order to find his true path.
Venus is conjunct Mars in Sagittarius, the fusion of masculine and feminine principles. Olympia is an outspoken courtesan, here to defend her position. Women were "supposed" to be submissive, and were supposed to keep their mouths shut unless talked to, but Olympia here is a model to show females what they're capable of and more.
Moon in Libra - balance. You see how, in the painting, black makes the white look even whiter and white does the same for black? For every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. You can't have too much of one thing or the balance will tip and your result will be fruitless.
MC in Taurus, the artistic career.
Mercury in Capricorn square Pluto in Aries and Moon in Libra square Neptune in Capricorn.
A traditional way of thinking and the need to search the depths of the human psyche and come out with, what looked like to him, a pot of gold, but was really all the accumulated grime of lifetimes, but it was what he wanted and needed. His need to see others reactions to his unconventional paintings. He chose ordinary people as his subjects.
Moon square Neptune for the creativity
Saturn in Virgo, quincunx Sun in Aquarius.
Virgo is about detailed work and Aquarius is about the motto "United We Stand." Saturn has to do with trials and setbacks, or the inevitable, and the Sun has to do with where you shine. So tribulations that had to do with the fine print, analytical work, and precision is seesawing with the inner need to work as one.
He came face-to-face with rejection many a time at the Salon. He believed that his works came better together as one. His realism and duty to paint from observation. His characters are filled with an aloof and cool manner and pose in a sea of colors.
True Node in Leo - Present yourself in such a way the commands attention and respect.

posted July 21, 2011 11:14 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Benedict Moon*:

This is the mind of a famous 12th house Cancerian stellium: Frida Kahlo again. Its her inner world through and through. This is probably the only work not really touched by her Venus/Pluto conjunction IMO. It works for both 12th housers and Cancer/water planets, or a combo of both.

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