In western Europe in certain “Changeling” folktales, the faeries would sometimes enchant logs to look like the children that they had stolen and then in a few days it would revert to its log form, and the mother would be left distraught, cradling the sopping wet log. This even happens as a plot point in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
This is exactly what I thought of, especially since babies who died were sometimes said to have been taken by the fairies and replaced with a fake - log or not. So it could also be referring to the "madness" of a superstition that was for a very long time a way for women to deal with their grief.
As a mother, I look at this woman and see a picture of bereavement and the unwillingness to accept that her child is gone or was never there to begin with. It's absolutely heartbreaking.
I interpret her as a mother who has lost her child and has gone mad with grief. She can no longer hold her own child in her arms, so she's found the nearest substitute. The log was once alive, like her child, and it won't change, like her memories of her child, who will never grow up. I feel that the woman is sitting on the edge of the well to indicate that her child as drowned.
Well the log represents the french revolution as a changeling baby hence the red cap , shes liberty which is why her hands are clean so yeah you kinda got it right as a metaphor
I interpreted in the same way. Some people try to overthink it. Also, I think the painter tries to get us to empathise with her and to put ourselves in her shoes. Also the hysteria phenomenon of the 19th century has nothing to do with what is in the painting, those women, the hysterics were generally spoiled, from a rich family and never carred about anyone neither had any difficulties growing up. They weren't the stereotype in this painting. Also, it doesn't have anything to do with the political situation at that time same as "Anaconda" by Nicky Minaj doesn't have anything to do with the annexation of Crimeea.
I agree with you. I also think it's a good study of post partum psychosis, which is only now being recognized in the past 30 years ago. They used to call it "the baby blues." My sister's first child was stillborn, and even though she went on to have two more children, she still mourns the first one as if it happened yesterday.
As a mom, I interpret this as she had a still born baby and she couldn’t deal with the grief of losing her child so she replaced it with what she could. She probably talked to the log, fed it, sang to it, put it down to bed at night… all because she couldn’t do that for the baby that died. Grief drove her mad and that’s what we’re seeing in her eyes. But it’s just what I see in this painting. Thank you for introducing us to this forgotten painter. I’ve never heard of him before but he was definitely fantastic. I can’t wait to look up more of his work 😊
My first impression of this piece is the legend of the log changelings that went around Europe in the medieval times. It was believed that fairies would sometimes steal infants and leave a log in their place enchanted to look like the child to the parents. So it could happen that one village day you see a woman coddling a log instead of her new baby. You, the concerned neighbor, approach her and ask where her child is. She gets confused and acts like your crazy. Clearly she is holding her child, from her point of view. These stories usually end sadly with the parents attempting to raise a log, refusing to accept that there's anything wrong with it even as it fails to age or grow, remaining an infant in their eyes for years upon years until the parents finally pass from old age, believing their child still just needs more time to grow. when I see the woman's expression in this piece it reminds me of what a young mother might look like if being confronted by other villagers to let go of her log baby, trying to convince her it's just a log and not her child which has been stolen. She refuses to believe them and perhaps is compiling a story in her head that implicates everyone she meets as trying to separate her from her child so that they can steal it. She feels alone in the world and yes, something you could describe as hysterical. It's on her face, in how her body is twisted, and her clothes tattered. She is willing to sacrifice everything for a piece of wood.
The idea of someone trying to take away her "baby" corresponds exactly to my interpretation of this painting. How she is clasping it, her look and the tention of her body...
Or shes actually Liberty personified, hence the red cap on the log which represents the revolutions ideals…and why her hands are clean..its a political painting first and foremost.
I see a women suffering sorry and grief, I do not see a crazy woman. I feel deep compassion for this woman. I do not find it hard to look at. Amazing painting. I love the artist, the tones and expessiveness. Amazing.
Never seen this before and never heard of the artist. It’s so sad and beautiful at the same time. My assumption would be that her child died and her grief was too strong to accept the reality. After my husband died, I used to hug his pillow - of course I didn’t believe that it was actually him but it is easy to imagine the balance of reason tipping.
That was my first thought. My second thought was that, since she's perched on the edge of a well, that she may have had postpartum psychosis and drowned her baby. Her trauma is palpable.
What a haunting painting--and also beautiful. So many interpretations are possible. Because of the well, I am imagining her child drowned and she has replaced it with the log. But whatever the reason/meaning, it is true that he has made the woman real and human to the viewer. I can only feel compassion for her and sorrow with her.
It’s so bizarre that I have to think she was a real woman, maybe not exactly as he depicted her, but that he actually saw a woman cradling a log. It has a very real feel to it. Back before plumbing, a well was a very public place where you might see anyone and everyone in town.
This painting holds a spot in my heart no art could replace. My mother loved art and years ago was interested in learning about lesser known work. I remember distinctly one night waking up to her crying. She had found a picture of this painting. For context before my and my brother were born my mother had 21 miscarriages before having me and my brother at age 40. She saw this painting as an accurate representation of how she felt thinking she would never have children.
This makes me think of my mom as well, who experienced a lot of miscarriages and had a baby that was stillborn. She's only spoken in depth about it once, but it was clear that she still carries all that pain.
I interpreted it as- she's physically "clean", the illness was mental. Mental illness and physical disability was very much one and the same back then. Hmm.
Could also be a sign that she's put here by choice not because she has no where to go. She's wearing rags but she's clean - somewhere she has a place to go.
Hugues Merle was an incredibly talented Artist. I cannot believe that I’ve never heard of him before now! I AM a little familiar with this painting, though, which is why I clicked on this video. Intense anger and sorrow/depression come flooding directly from her eyes. Almost enough of it to drown me. TYSM for another awesome video! You seem to really know your stuff.
Ive seen this painting in person, the person that introduced me to her called her " the log witch" it's beautiful and haunting. I saw it shortly after I had a miscarriage, I saw the same pain and agony reflected in her eyes that I was going through I stood spellbound in front of her for literally 10 minutes just staring at her crying. I believe this woman has lost her child, and she has descended into madness over that loss, did she lose her child at that well? did it fall in? or is she contemplating throwing herself into it to end her pain?
I feel ya. I myself never had a child (since I myself is a child), but I also feel the deep sorrow in her. She looks angry and sad, like she's about to sob out all her pain. Also (even though I'm late) so sorry for the loss of your baby. I hope your son or daughter will watch you from Heaven and wonder how a such amazing parent you would've been ❤️
Good thing is the log would float. And I am not trying to make light of your situation. Just some black humor to try and make you laugh...that kind of laugh where you say "Jesus that's terrible" in your mind. Much love person. I've experienced the same thing. I rarely have a day I don't think about it tbh.
I think that's very plausible, and beautiful that a painting over a hundred years old could speak so directly to your experience, it reminds me of how similar we all are, and how things like art connect us. Thank you for sharing. ❤️
I too thought she had a miscarriage. In that era, some women suffered multiple miscarriages and infant mortality was high. If she is highborn, her primary job is to produce children. The well symbolizes the dark depths of her grief and madness.
As a woman who enjoys Art History in all its forms, you bring to me a way of looking at and perceiving art in a humorous way, different from all the books written by men. Thanks for the twist in all my past readings and looking. I have such a debt of gratitude for your gracious work!
I see a woman who lost her child recently and the sorrow overtook her. The grief is causing her so much pain she is about to doom herself falling into the well behind. With her child, the log, so she can be together in her final moment and hopefully met again on the other side. But at least the pain will be gone
I think so, too. The painter is very much drawing our attention to the well. But considering how dirty the bonnet is, I think she lost the child a while ago.
Really love your channel, I've never appreciated old artwork as much as hearing the interpretation you are providing. More interesting than 90% of the content on RUclips.
This is rapidly becoming one of my favourite channels. Thank you for your wonderfully insightful and illuminating coverage of these artworks. I have absolutely no understanding of art, but I think you're opening my eyes and my mind.
It looks like the person she is looking at said something or came closer and she recoiled and clenched the log baby. A painting with a thousand stories. Thank you for the engaging content!
Oh Wow. This Paiting is amazing and truly haunting on many levels !! The intense pain, suffering and anguish in her wild, piercing eyes, is overwhelming! I was actually in tears by the end of your wonderful and very eye, and heart opening video. Thank You for sharing this with us. And yes you are quite correct- I think anyone can "unsee" or forget this Masterpiece of Emotions !
This is possibly the inspiration for David Lynch's character "the log lady" in the series Twin Peaks. The mention of the St.Sulpice hospital in Paris under its creator the very famous Neurologist Dr.Charcot is a whole fascinating rabbit hole unto itself. More than that researching it closer opens up a whole can of worms illuminating the (male) intellectuals and artists of the time who frequented Charcots "tuesday theatre" ie demonstrations at his surgical theatre of patients he diagnosed with "Hysteria", (his very own invention) and subsequent "treatments" in front of a full house of up to a hundred men. As Hysteria was directly derived from sexual denial or obsession as per Dr. Freud's theories, there were various methods to demonstrate this... Charcot, priding himself in being a so called renaissance man, had a huge collection of fine art paintings with classical motifs of Greek mythology and biblical drama, he peculiarly hung throughout the asylum and showed off to aquaintances. He also had a trendy interest in photography, quite a recent modernity and had a full time photographer employed at the dark room he built in his institutions attic and regularly photographed and published portraits of the patients posing similarly (in some cases exactly) as the scenes in his art collection. You showed a few in the video. He gave these poses or attitudes clinical names for various states of "Hysteria" . The good models who took direction well for photography and "theatre" sessions became favorites, and especially one, referred to as Augustine in his publishings and notes. She was his pet patient for many years, whatever that may have involved. Alot about Augustine remains a mystery. But one day, she finally found the courage, cunning and opportunity to walk out of the asylum unnoticed wearing stolen men's clothing. And was never heard of again. There are extremely realistic engravings depicting the tuesday theatre and the regular audience, all identifiable men many later and still revere for their talent, intelligence. Like Degas to name only one, the artist most known for painted ballerinas undressing or stretching from angles that suggest they weren't aware of his gaze, in an era when ballerinas were considered lude and immoral women but fair game to paint and exibit. There's alot to read and ponder about the extreme sexism of this era. About who controls the narrative regarding womens health, will of their own, and claims on womens bodies and sexuality and why, to what consequence. In light of recent developments in certain western parts of the world, you and other young women may find studying this era and phenomenon of the exclusive medical superstars of the time interesting. I know I did when I was a young artist. Another phenomenon of this exact era was the quite common occurance of having family photographs taken together with dead infants who were either stillborn or died in infancy. All dressed up to look alive. Sometimes eyes painted onto their eyelids (horrifically) I saw a huge Paris exibition on the subject, thousands of photos nobody ever speaks about. It was the most haunting thing to look at, and much like this portrait here very tragic and moving as well. Photography was new, expensive, slow and only used formally in most regular peoples lives. It was probably a need of rememberance, proof of existance of a lost child. Dark subject matter but highly interesting. It's just a few generations ago really. Edited to not make claims I can't substantiate reg Lynch.
Thank you for taking the time to share all of this knowledge. The story of Augustine is so interesting... and horrible! And the stillborn exhibition... Gives me chills just thinking about it!
@@Art_Deco there are many artists and writers who've based works on these historic oddities! And research published on them! The exhibit was sometime around the end of the 1900s at the Muséum D'Orleans if memory serves me right. They published at least one book about it! There was also various famous so called "death-masks" in the exhibition, also a practise back in time of making a plaster cast of the face of famous newly deceased people, not only royals. One was very popular in French homes, of a legendary girl who drowned in the Seine, with some myth attached. Can't remember her name. The exibits name was probably something like "the face of death" or "dearly departed" or something like that, if you search for it.
@@gnarbeljo8980 L'Inconnue de la Seine, is how she is often referred to. I first learned about her in Rilke’s Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, where her death mask is described. Then again in Louis Aragon’s Aurélien. Muse from beyond the grave. Also, thank you for sharing your comments which I very much enjoyed- upon seeing this painting my first thought was I wonder if David Lynch saw this and if it was the inspiration for the log lady
@@StereotypicBehaviour ah yes, Malte Laurids Brigge! Great authors. Did you see the exhibition in Paris? She was featured in many ways. Also the death mask of Dante Aligieri was, and many more. I always regretted not buying the book, but I was travelling and it was impractical to pack and a bit expensive. Thanks for your comment and reminder! I have the literature right here in my library, my ex has Aragon's, I have Rilke, was years since I read him now! Thankyou again!
I absolutely adore haunting but very beautiful paintings. This one is definitely one of them. The woman kinda looks scary, but at the same time, we feel how she feels. Broken, sad, and about to have maybe your fifth breakdown after your child is never to be seen again. Oml whoever painted this I love you
I came across Merle on one of my daily art quests....my daily dose. This painting struck me immediately and my first reaction was of lose. The lose of child which to me shows in her glare. Anger is a coping mechanism and one of the stages of grief. I do recommend finding his work and enjoying his detail.
She reminds me of someone I knew. I used to work in a project for people with serious mental illness. In that place was a woman who was so anxious and stressed all the time that she would contort herself when she sat anywhere. She would twist her legs around themselves, just like the woman in the painting and would bend over almost double as if she was trying to tie herself into a knot. Her arms would be pulled in very tight to her body, as if she were almost hugging herself. She'd then rock, backwards and forwards for hours, just smoking cigarette after cigarette, muttering to herself.
Anxiety is horrible. Not many people understand how destructive and painful it can be. When I have a really bad anxiety attack I freeze and cant move. Sometimes for a very long time...and I can relate to the chain smoking. I think the repetitive motion can be very comforting.
I love the descriptions you give. I’ve never really understood art and why certain pieces are called masterpieces and others not,but your descriptions and explanations bring these paintings to life and give me a better understanding. Thank you! More please!!
Thank you especially for placing her on the bench on the modern train platform. Yes, the individuals in excruciating pain are still with us everyday, and hard to look at; yet in the picture (where she can't really look back at us, in need of help) it's hard to look away.
When I look at this picture, what I see is a woman who has maybe lost her child & therefore her mind. I don't know but to me it's like she's holding the sticks as you would a child & she is staring at whoever as if to say "do not dare tell me that this is not my baby" it stirs up so many heartbreaking emotions in me each & every time I look at it. It's hauntingly beautiful. Thank you so much for your work, I only came across it today & I've been really enjoying each video you share with us. You have a new subscriber, again thank you & keep up the good work. Lots of love from Ireland 🇮🇪 Paula xx
If anyone is wondering what inspired this piece and it’s backstory: (This is all I can remember, so if I give anything that has errors and I’ve accidentally misinterpreted, do tell me please) The artist this created this piece once visited a town or village, and saw the exact woman that we see in this art. She was carrying the wooden log we see with the red ragged bonnet and wrapped in what seems to be dirty fabric blanket, with a despaired look reflected through her big eyes. He goes around and asks the locals of the woman and why she carried a log. apparently, this woman had recently gave birth to a newborn not too long ago, but due to their poverty and poor-ness, the baby shortly died after a few days later from hunger. The woman grieved by taking a short log and wrapped it in a baby blanket and made it wear a Bonnet, as if trying to make a reality where her baby is still alive, come true.
This painting reminds me of Gretchen from Goethe's Faust. Her mom and brother died and Faust left her knocked up. She went mad and drowned her baby sometime after the birth but only remembers people taking it away. When we see her imprisoned and awaiting execution for infanticide, she's reciting a fairy tale (The Juniper Tree, sometimes translated as The Almond Tree, also about a murdered child), almost as if telling a story to a child that isn't there. The woman in the painting is also sitting at a well, just as Gretchen is in Faust when she hears unkind gossip about another girl who got pregnant out of wedlock and realizes she'll be ostricized too if Faust doesn't come back and marry her. This baby also wasn't the first she was responsible for, as when she was even younger, she tried to keep her baby sister alive all on her own, but that baby died too. This isn't to say I think the painting was intended to portray Gretchen, just that she was the first thing to come to mind when i saw it.
I love your deconstruction of these well-known and lesser known masterpieces. You speak thoughtfully and intelligently about each piece and I’m always learning something new from you. I really hope that your channel continues to grow and that you get the recognition that you deserve. Thanks so much for sharing these lovely works of art with us!
Wow, what an evocative image--I love this painting. I can only suspect that this is where David Lynch got the idea to create the Log Lady in TWIN PEAKS.
I am pretty sure the only reason this video showed up on my feed is because youtube knows I like Twin Peaks and art, and managed to extrapolate a connection from the words "woman" and "log." But hey, sometimes the algorithm works in mysterious ways. While this was not the Twin Peaks content I was looking for, it did lead me to a really cool video and channel nonetheless. A rare win for Algy the Algorithm. Most of the time it just tries to indoctrinate me into fascism, not matter what else I watch.
I'm very surprised neither "Twin Peaks" fans nor David Lynch himself, who majored in fine arts before becoming a film maker, never mentioned this painting when talking about "the Log Lady." I don't think it's a coincidence; David Lynch is very learned and has a vast knowledge of art especially themes that explore the darkness in human nature.
Lynch was a painter before he became known for his work in film, and I believe both he and Catherine Coulson, who would later go on to co-create and portray the character of Margaret Lanterman/The Log Lady, studied together at the Philadelphia Institute. I don't know if the the painting was there at the time, but as far as I can gather, it's currently in the collection of the Chryster museum of art in New York. These days, it's pretty common for art students studying elsewhere on the east coast to take regular day trips to New York City. At the Maryland Institute where I studied, we even had a free (well, "free" in that it was complimentary with our exorbitant tuition) round trip bus to NY every Saturday and I would take advantage any time I could to get access to the "center of the artworld." I don't know if they had a bus like that when Lynch and Coulson were students, but I imagine a trip from Philly to NY for gallery/museum crawling may have been a common thing either way. So I wouldn't be too surprised if Lynch and Coulson took a similar art-viewing day trip one weekend and happened upon this painting, which might have informed their initial idea of The Log Girl, which I think was more of an inside joke between them at the time, which many years later would evolve into The Log Lady we all know an love. Knowing Lynch, whether he himself knows, remembers, or is willing to divulge any connection to this painting is dubious, so we may never know, especially since Catherine Coulson is no longer with us, sadly ... But it is, indeed, "something interesting to think about."
Art history at its very best. You did a phenomenal job placing this work in the historical context, both in terms of the political crisis of the loss of the Franco-Prussian War, and of the scientific consensus. Really enjoyable. Thank you.
Reminds me of the Czech fairy tail, Little Otik. A poor childless couple find a log in the woods and adopt it as a baby. The log comes alive and eats everything. Variations of this story spread throughout Europe. I think anyone of the time would be familiar with the stories, so the audience could make the connection that this is about the price of grief, envy, and obsession.
That is a very interesting theory, thanks for sharing. Im Czech and would not have thiught of it... Do you mean "Otesánek"? The name quite literally means "the one who was carved out of wood" (tesat - to care wood, otesat - to care out of wood, -nek - a diminutive ending).
"Our own sorrow and pain is hard for us to look at" this sentence hit me like boom, relatable and my tear run down. Under the rage and madness vibe, it's so heartbreaking details. and It always like this when I talked with some patients who are fighting with mental illness.
This painting is one of the permanent pieces at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia. Admission is free or whatever you choose to donate. I've seen it in person and it highly recommend it, if anyone is in the area.
I recently found your channel, and love it! I think I see a woman that can't cope with the loss of a child, the most awful thing to happen to a mother and the fuel of nightmares. It happend quite often back then.
I can't believe I never heard of this dude, those are some beautiful paintings that he created. This particular one I personally think is a masterpiece. And my two cents added, the picture of her alone is way better than with the ensemble. There's much more gravity having her singled out this way rather than among a group of people that somehow don't seem to fit. I won't deny I clicked on this because of David Lynch's log lady. I'm glad I did plus it got you a subscriber.
The woman and child at 2:10 evoke sadness even though this portrait is not the subject of the video. More context is provided by the background activity of what seems to be a wedding. Perhaps the man that sired this woman's child is marrying another. But the woman is probably a pauper and has no voice in this outrage.
If you look through his gallery, you will see alot of angry looking women holding a baby. One called "The Widow" looks eerily similar to the piece hold a log. So as a pattern I do believe the drawing is of a mother who has lost her child and went insane.
My first thought was that the log symbolizes France somehow. The log and the red bonnet reminded me of the Phrygian cap mounted on a fasces, one of the most common symbols of the French Revolution. Probably a coincidence, but after learning it was done by a French artist after a major defeat of France, maybe it makes some sense
Yep, it may symbolize France's feelings of deep confusion and grief, the regret of their past mistakes in the Revolution and yet their continued desire to see France restored to her former glory. Their feelings of helplessness and entrapment. The protective pose of the woman represents the deep urge to defend France, and yet the delicate hands and lack of weapons suggest this woman is all but defenseless, while the log of dead wood might indicate that France is perhaps already beyond savjng. But I also love some of the interpretations in the comments about who the woman is as a person and a mother and that she may have lost a child. I don't see why there can't be two meanings to a painting at once.
4:35 I really like this version because it shows the way mentally ill people are percieved in society: the two young girls looking at the woman with pity in their eyes represent the way some people view mentally ill people as people to pity and nothing more, the little girl on the other side of the painting with a judgmental look represents the stigma surronding mental illnesses and mentally ill people which are a taboo, something you need to avoid etc and finally the little boy represents the way many children may not understand mental illnesses as they're something 'foreign' to them. The thing about mentally ill people is that they represent a marginalised group you can be part of or find out you've always been part of in any moment of your life. One day you might find out that actions and thoughts you thought were experienced by everyone are actually symptoms of a mental dosorder.
This might be too literal of an interpretation, but when I saw this the first thing I thought of was mother nature. That she holds her child cleaved by axes, her clothes are tattered because of neglect, and her stare contains pain as well as anger over her inability for others to take care of her. I loved the variation as well as to me it looks as if the people around her are apathetic to what is going on. Except the child who shows concern over the future of what will be coming next, seeing her pain and yet to become numb to thinking, "It's just the way it is". The other ladies seem to say, "What's wrong?" while disregarding the obvious that something has been taken from her. She has become removed from the forest in the back and sits unbalanced next to a well as if she is about to fall in. Like a person on a ledge, surrounded those blind to her pain clutching the little that she can hold onto. Anyway... my two cents for what it's worth.
I am TOTALLY loving your channel!! 🥰😍🥰 Not only do you make art history entertaining, but you bring us down into the moment the art represents. It's a crime we don't use art like this anymore.
Before I watch the video, I'm gonna make a guess at what's going on in the painting. The woman had a child that died, maybe stillborn, or it died after, but however it happened, it was traumatic to her. Lack of proper care in the aftermath cause her to fall back on the coping mechanism of treating the log as her child, and she's glaring because people are ridiculing her. This is just a guess tho.
At first I thought maybe Merle offered or the woman requested for a painting of her and her "child", based on his reputation & experience painting mothers and children, and she looks so guarded because she is known locally as a lunatic so she's waiting for the other shoe to drop - to find the artist is only the latest to mock or hurt her. After seeing there is an alternate version though, I don't know if that still fits.
spite for what was taken from her, ignorance of what she never had, and hatred for who she believes to be the culprit. i feel this painting is far more significant now then when it was made, and that's why they call her the fool.
I think you walked right past it. She is obviously very upset. What is she holding? A log dressed to look like a baby. Why? Because she wants a baby, because she lost a baby. She isn't a classic crazy person, she is a mother with a heart that is broken, and cannot come to terms with the fact her baby is no longer there. The log is a coping mechanism. The people around her are concerned, she is obviously looking at someone, as if they were trying to explain to her, that her baby is gone. If you want to read more into it, I would be concerned about that well.
I wonder if there a political statement about France and liberty. The red bonnet on the baby log is reminiscent to the Phygian Cap associated with the French revolution of 1789. Could the madwoman be Marianne, the personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason of the French Republic?
Could the well be the cause of her child's death? Perhaps she can't leave it because this is where her child fell in. Perhaps the startling appearance of the woman frightens away other children who might otherwise be curious enough to make the same mistake as her deceased child.
@@filmbuff000 She has tears in her eyes, is clutching a piece of wood, and is not smiling, and everyone around her is upset. Yes, obviously she is upset. What, does she look happy to you? Did she just get done winning the lottery? Is she telling a joke? Its a painting, you are meant to assume what is going on by what is in the painting. That woman is upset, or let me put it this way, the OPPOSITE of happy.
In my opinion this painting could also be a reference to Meleager from the Illiad, the fates told his mother that his lifespan would only last till a piece of wood gets burnt at the hearth. One day he went hunting with Atalanta and rewarded her with the hide of a boar, his uncles weren’t happy with the prize being awarded to a woman, and during the argument Meleager kills them. When his mother heard that his son killed her brothers, she burnt the wood. I might be over reading this but personally I see this as her contemplating while struggling between her love for her son and grief for her brothers.
Thank you for your addition! It's a great point! I think she (the mother) was also considered slightly crazy for keeping the log, or associating it with the lifespan of her son
Her eyes say revenge to me! She's looking like somebody stole and killed her baby and now she's holding/hiding her revenge weapon. Very creepy painting!
High and strong emotion is something that the Pre-Raphaelite started to want to add to their subjects, the Lady of Shallot, Drowned Ophelia, Circe....even the less high emotive faces all bared marks of deep emotion that before wasn't usually seen in portraiture or the capture of everyday scenes...
@@Art_Deco You know, it’s somewhat difficult to come across an approach that is unique and good. You’ve done that. I suspect it’s because your approach embraces who you really are.
This has honestly got to be the creepiest/most harrowing painting I’ve seen to date. And I grew up in a house with books and books of paintings including the likes of Bosch, various demons and hell-scapes, Saturn eating his son (Goya)… I remember those eerie and surreal scenes used to scare me as a child, but something about this painting holds a fear that’s more real and familiar. I had to look away several times during the video bc you wouldn’t stop ZOOMING IN ON THOSE EYES 👀 😂
I can't help but think of folklore when it comes to this painting. Of stories of fairies stealing babies and replacing them with either other fairies called, "changelings" or logs dressed up as babies. Perhaps this is what Merle is going for. The story of a woman whose child was stolen by something supernatural and replaced by a log. Only the woman is still entranced to think that the log is her child. That's why she is so wild eyed. She is under a spell.
That's the look I give my husband when he leaves the seat up and I fall in at 3 am. Seriously though. I can really feel the mood of this painting. I have clinical depression and will be giving birth to our first baby in about a week. I worry about postpartum depression and how I will handle it...I think that might be something like this here. The way she clutches that log and stares so sad and broken I can imagine the story behind this painting and it's very VERY sad.
"Why is she holding a log?" Why not?? 😅 Seriously, I love your channel. Your short, concise, and informative analyses of paintings are easy to understand for those of us who love art, but aren't pretentious art snobs. Your videos make art accessible to everyone.
What is more likely is the loss of a child drove this woman crazy. And she's the only one who does not realize she's not holding a baby. The loss of a child is the worse pain any person can go through. And at the time this was painted, it was very common for people to lose one or more children.
I enjoy your voice and your way of analyzing. I agree the paiting forces us to look inside of our selves. All great pieces of arts do; that's what make them great. Thank you for yet another wonderful video ❤🌹
I see a mother mad with grief and desperation. Sometimes those boil up and over into rage. A few moments ago she was only broken, now she’s furious again that she will never make the wrong thing right. She’s glaring at someone who loves her and wants to help her, and she hates them for both of those things. In another moment or 20, she’ll be back to being shattered I hate it here lol
It's not fun that I was in a hotel in a mountain far away from society, brushing my teeth in a large bathroom alone at 3AM and THIS video is what came up when I said "Imma play youtube vids so i dont feel scared" Realtalk I love this video so much.
0:33 "maybe you seen this woman before". You know, I think I have. Pretty sure it was in the movies though. Films like Rocky, First Blood, Demolition Man, Judge Dredd...just to name a few.
I've just discovered your work, it's absolutely great ! As a French, I didn't know this painter so thank you ! For me, it's definitely a woman grieving her child, and I agree with you about how Hugues Merle seemed to be very interested in the theme and variations about maternity. The link with the context of the 1870 war doesn't seem far-streched to me, maybe it was unconscious... I also thought about the consequences about the war, many French painters and writers depicted the impact on the people. Maybe she lost her child because of the well, or maybe because of the starvation following the war, who knows. I saw that the painting was named sometimes "La pauvre folle", so "The poor crazy woman" (btw in French "folle" or "fou" always means "crazy", never "fool", it's a "fake friend" ;) but "pauvre" has the same polysemy as "poor"). Maybe the painter wanted to draw our pity upon the harsh life of the lower classes ? If you look at his paintings "The beggar", "The poor mother" and "The abandoned", he's familiar with the theme. Oh, and they all have clean hands, so I guess that's an artistic choice... after all, he's more of an Academic than a Realist ! (And I agree with you, he's such a boss at painting hands and hair !) Little anecdote : the French title immediately reminded me a light novel of Maupassant, also named "La folle" : it's about a woman who lost in the span of one month her father, her husband and her child (the causes are not precised). She falls into a catatonic state, and lays silent all day all night in her bed, yelling when someone tries to get her out. Then the war happens, Prussians come in her house to occupy it. They want to use her bedroom, but she doesn't move and yells when they touch her. So they finally take the mattress with the indifferent woman on it to the forest, come back without their burden, and the woman is never found again. (Yeah, absolutely gloomy o_o) The stories are quite different (and Maupassant wrote this in 1882) but I don't know, the story immediately popped in my head (oh, and along with the log lady of Twin Peaks, of course).
I've think I've heard of the artist lately, but this painting is beautifully painted by him and you can almost feel her sorrow, loss, loneliness and pain. It would be hard to give this lady a hug and to tell her everything would would be ok.. it really can make one cry 😭 just by understanding that meaning.
In western Europe in certain “Changeling” folktales, the faeries would sometimes enchant logs to look like the children that they had stolen and then in a few days it would revert to its log form, and the mother would be left distraught, cradling the sopping wet log. This even happens as a plot point in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
Thanks. That's definitely worth consideration.
How interesting!
That was my thought when I read the title!
This is exactly what I thought of, especially since babies who died were sometimes said to have been taken by the fairies and replaced with a fake - log or not. So it could also be referring to the "madness" of a superstition that was for a very long time a way for women to deal with their grief.
This is exactly what I thought, a fairy stolen child.
As a mother, I look at this woman and see a picture of bereavement and the unwillingness to accept that her child is gone or was never there to begin with. It's absolutely heartbreaking.
as a single man with no children i feel the same way....
I interpret her as a mother who has lost her child and has gone mad with grief. She can no longer hold her own child in her arms, so she's found the nearest substitute. The log was once alive, like her child, and it won't change, like her memories of her child, who will never grow up. I feel that the woman is sitting on the edge of the well to indicate that her child as drowned.
Or she might be contemplating throwing herself in to end her grief.
Well the log represents the french revolution as a changeling baby hence the red cap , shes liberty which is why her hands are clean so yeah you kinda got it right as a metaphor
I interpreted in the same way. Some people try to overthink it. Also, I think the painter tries to get us to empathise with her and to put ourselves in her shoes. Also the hysteria phenomenon of the 19th century has nothing to do with what is in the painting, those women, the hysterics were generally spoiled, from a rich family and never carred about anyone neither had any difficulties growing up. They weren't the stereotype in this painting. Also, it doesn't have anything to do with the political situation at that time same as "Anaconda" by Nicky Minaj doesn't have anything to do with the annexation of Crimeea.
I agree with you. I also think it's a good study of post partum psychosis, which is only now being recognized in the past 30 years ago. They used to call it "the baby blues." My sister's first child was stillborn, and even though she went on to have two more children, she still mourns the first one as if it happened yesterday.
Maybe it fell out of her hands as she attempted to raise the bucket over the edge? Grief+blame is a shitty combo.
As a mom, I interpret this as she had a still born baby and she couldn’t deal with the grief of losing her child so she replaced it with what she could. She probably talked to the log, fed it, sang to it, put it down to bed at night… all because she couldn’t do that for the baby that died. Grief drove her mad and that’s what we’re seeing in her eyes. But it’s just what I see in this painting.
Thank you for introducing us to this forgotten painter. I’ve never heard of him before but he was definitely fantastic. I can’t wait to look up more of his work 😊
My first impression of this piece is the legend of the log changelings that went around Europe in the medieval times. It was believed that fairies would sometimes steal infants and leave a log in their place enchanted to look like the child to the parents. So it could happen that one village day you see a woman coddling a log instead of her new baby. You, the concerned neighbor, approach her and ask where her child is. She gets confused and acts like your crazy. Clearly she is holding her child, from her point of view. These stories usually end sadly with the parents attempting to raise a log, refusing to accept that there's anything wrong with it even as it fails to age or grow, remaining an infant in their eyes for years upon years until the parents finally pass from old age, believing their child still just needs more time to grow. when I see the woman's expression in this piece it reminds me of what a young mother might look like if being confronted by other villagers to let go of her log baby, trying to convince her it's just a log and not her child which has been stolen. She refuses to believe them and perhaps is compiling a story in her head that implicates everyone she meets as trying to separate her from her child so that they can steal it. She feels alone in the world and yes, something you could describe as hysterical. It's on her face, in how her body is twisted, and her clothes tattered. She is willing to sacrifice everything for a piece of wood.
The idea of someone trying to take away her "baby" corresponds exactly to my interpretation of this painting. How she is clasping it, her look and the tention of her body...
Or shes actually Liberty personified, hence the red cap on the log which represents the revolutions ideals…and why her hands are clean..its a political painting first and foremost.
I came here to comment on changelings so have a like !
This is what I felt as well.
I felt this was the case as well. Changelings.
I see a women suffering sorry and grief, I do not see a crazy woman. I feel deep compassion for this woman. I do not find it hard to look at. Amazing painting. I love the artist, the tones and expessiveness. Amazing.
Never seen this before and never heard of the artist. It’s so sad and beautiful at the same time. My assumption would be that her child died and her grief was too strong to accept the reality. After my husband died, I used to hug his pillow - of course I didn’t believe that it was actually him but it is easy to imagine the balance of reason tipping.
Lora Ricketts, that was my interpretation, too. That her actual baby died and it was more than her mind could stand.
That was my first thought. My second thought was that, since she's perched on the edge of a well, that she may have had postpartum psychosis and drowned her baby. Her trauma is palpable.
Yes. Me too. Her grief is palpable 🙏
I'm sorry for your loss
@@LouiseAttaque888 thank you
I just see grief and determination in her eyes. Part of her knows the truth and chooses the lie.
What a haunting painting--and also beautiful. So many interpretations are possible. Because of the well, I am imagining her child drowned and she has replaced it with the log. But whatever the reason/meaning, it is true that he has made the woman real and human to the viewer. I can only feel compassion for her and sorrow with her.
Or she's drowning in her own sorrow.
It’s so bizarre that I have to think she was a real woman, maybe not exactly as he depicted her, but that he actually saw a woman cradling a log. It has a very real feel to it. Back before plumbing, a well was a very public place where you might see anyone and everyone in town.
That's a genius interpretation, especially since logs float
Companions in misery!
@@faconda4364 woah that was a neat way to build on what she said... eerie.
This painting holds a spot in my heart no art could replace. My mother loved art and years ago was interested in learning about lesser known work. I remember distinctly one night waking up to her crying. She had found a picture of this painting. For context before my and my brother were born my mother had 21 miscarriages before having me and my brother at age 40. She saw this painting as an accurate representation of how she felt thinking she would never have children.
21 miscarriages?? Holy fricking shit. I'm so sorry, and I'm glad she had you :) you must've been so loved
Dear God 21 losses 😞. I cannot imagine… 🙏🏿💐💐
This makes me think of my mom as well, who experienced a lot of miscarriages and had a baby that was stillborn. She's only spoken in depth about it once, but it was clear that she still carries all that pain.
@@syd5380 I’m so sorry. 💐 🕊️😞 I can’t imagine that type of pain
Could clean hands and feet mean she is an innocent victim of her circumstances? Thank you for introducing me to this amazing artist.
That is a great guess! I like that one!!
close....jesus/or any religion really. it's def a statement. hugues is in my 5.
I interpreted it as- she's physically "clean", the illness was mental. Mental illness and physical disability was very much one and the same back then. Hmm.
Could also be a sign that she's put here by choice not because she has no where to go. She's wearing rags but she's clean - somewhere she has a place to go.
yes presicely
Hugues Merle was an incredibly talented Artist. I cannot believe that I’ve never heard of him before now! I AM a little familiar with this painting, though, which is why I clicked on this video. Intense anger and sorrow/depression come flooding directly from her eyes. Almost enough of it to drown me.
TYSM for another awesome video! You seem to really know your stuff.
Ive seen this painting in person, the person that introduced me to her called her " the log witch" it's beautiful and haunting. I saw it shortly after I had a miscarriage, I saw the same pain and agony reflected in her eyes that I was going through I stood spellbound in front of her for literally 10 minutes just staring at her crying. I believe this woman has lost her child, and she has descended into madness over that loss, did she lose her child at that well? did it fall in? or is she contemplating throwing herself into it to end her pain?
I feel ya. I myself never had a child (since I myself is a child), but I also feel the deep sorrow in her. She looks angry and sad, like she's about to sob out all her pain. Also (even though I'm late) so sorry for the loss of your baby. I hope your son or daughter will watch you from Heaven and wonder how a such amazing parent you would've been ❤️
I'm sorry for your loss, my deepest condolences
Good thing is the log would float.
And I am not trying to make light of your situation. Just some black humor to try and make you laugh...that kind of laugh where you say "Jesus that's terrible" in your mind. Much love person. I've experienced the same thing. I rarely have a day I don't think about it tbh.
I think that's very plausible, and beautiful that a painting over a hundred years old could speak so directly to your experience, it reminds me of how similar we all are, and how things like art connect us. Thank you for sharing. ❤️
I too thought she had a miscarriage. In that era, some women suffered multiple miscarriages and infant mortality was high. If she is highborn, her primary job is to produce children. The well symbolizes the dark depths of her grief and madness.
As a woman who enjoys Art History in all its forms, you bring to me a way of looking at and perceiving art in a humorous way, different from all the books written by men. Thanks for the twist in all my past readings and looking. I have such a debt of gratitude for your gracious work!
I see a woman who lost her child recently and the sorrow overtook her. The grief is causing her so much pain she is about to doom herself falling into the well behind. With her child, the log, so she can be together in her final moment and hopefully met again on the other side. But at least the pain will be gone
Jaehaerys - And that's why her feet are arched in that manner...she's about to 'push away' and fall backwards.
You are asolutely right with your Interpretation! It is a sad picture, but a unique masterpiece.
I think so, too. The painter is very much drawing our attention to the well. But considering how dirty the bonnet is, I think she lost the child a while ago.
Really love your channel, I've never appreciated old artwork as much as hearing the interpretation you are providing. More interesting than 90% of the content on RUclips.
I seriously love your new videos, I've wanted an easily consumable art history channel - your editing style is great!
I'm so happy you are liking them! Thank you so much for supporting the channel!!
This is rapidly becoming one of my favourite channels. Thank you for your wonderfully insightful and illuminating coverage of these artworks. I have absolutely no understanding of art, but I think you're opening my eyes and my mind.
It looks like the person she is looking at said something or came closer and she recoiled and clenched the log baby. A painting with a thousand stories. Thank you for the engaging content!
That’s what I thought. I feel guilty looking at how upset she is almost like I’m the one who hurt her ):
Yes. She looks exactly like she is recoiling!?
Oh Wow. This Paiting is amazing and truly haunting on many levels !! The intense pain, suffering and anguish in her wild, piercing eyes, is overwhelming! I was actually in tears by the end of your wonderful and very eye, and heart opening video. Thank You for sharing this with us. And yes you are quite correct- I think anyone can "unsee" or forget this Masterpiece of Emotions !
This is possibly the inspiration for David Lynch's character "the log lady" in the series Twin Peaks.
The mention of the St.Sulpice hospital in Paris under its creator the very famous Neurologist Dr.Charcot is a whole fascinating rabbit hole unto itself. More than that researching it closer opens up a whole can of worms illuminating the (male) intellectuals and artists of the time who frequented Charcots "tuesday theatre" ie demonstrations at his surgical theatre of patients he diagnosed with "Hysteria", (his very own invention) and subsequent "treatments" in front of a full house of up to a hundred men. As Hysteria was directly derived from sexual denial or obsession as per Dr. Freud's theories, there were various methods to demonstrate this...
Charcot, priding himself in being a so called renaissance man, had a huge collection of fine art paintings with classical motifs of Greek mythology and biblical drama, he peculiarly hung throughout the asylum and showed off to aquaintances.
He also had a trendy interest in photography, quite a recent modernity and had a full time photographer employed at the dark room he built in his institutions attic and regularly photographed and published portraits of the patients posing similarly (in some cases exactly) as the scenes in his art collection. You showed a few in the video.
He gave these poses or attitudes clinical names for various states of "Hysteria" .
The good models who took direction well for photography and "theatre" sessions became favorites, and especially one, referred to as Augustine in his publishings and notes.
She was his pet patient for many years, whatever that may have involved.
Alot about Augustine remains a mystery.
But one day, she finally found the courage, cunning and opportunity to walk out of the asylum unnoticed wearing stolen men's clothing.
And was never heard of again.
There are extremely realistic engravings depicting the tuesday theatre and the regular audience, all identifiable men many later and still revere for their talent, intelligence. Like Degas to name only one,
the artist most known for painted ballerinas undressing or stretching from angles that suggest they weren't aware of his gaze, in an era when ballerinas were considered lude and immoral women but fair game to paint and exibit.
There's alot to read and ponder about the extreme sexism of this era. About who controls the narrative regarding womens health, will of their own, and claims on womens bodies and sexuality and why, to what consequence.
In light of recent developments in certain western parts of the world, you and other young women may find studying this era and phenomenon of the exclusive medical superstars of the time interesting.
I know I did when I was a young artist.
Another phenomenon of this exact era was the quite common occurance of having family photographs taken together with dead infants who were either stillborn or died in infancy. All dressed up to look alive. Sometimes eyes painted onto their eyelids (horrifically)
I saw a huge Paris exibition on the subject, thousands of photos nobody ever speaks about. It was the most haunting thing to look at, and much like this portrait here very tragic and moving as well.
Photography was new, expensive, slow and only used formally in most regular peoples lives. It was probably a need of rememberance, proof of existance of a lost child.
Dark subject matter but highly interesting. It's just a few generations ago really.
Edited to not make claims I can't substantiate reg Lynch.
Thank you for taking the time to share all of this knowledge. The story of Augustine is so interesting... and horrible! And the stillborn exhibition... Gives me chills just thinking about it!
@@Art_Deco there are many artists and writers who've based works on these historic oddities! And research published on them!
The exhibit was sometime around the end of the 1900s at the Muséum D'Orleans if memory serves me right. They published at least one book about it!
There was also various famous so called "death-masks" in the exhibition, also a practise back in time of making a plaster cast of the face of famous newly deceased people, not only royals.
One was very popular in French homes, of a legendary girl who drowned in the Seine, with some myth attached. Can't remember her name.
The exibits name was probably something like "the face of death" or "dearly departed" or something like that, if you search for it.
@@gnarbeljo8980 L'Inconnue de la Seine, is how she is often referred to. I first learned about her in Rilke’s Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, where her death mask is described. Then again in Louis Aragon’s Aurélien. Muse from beyond the grave. Also, thank you for sharing your comments which I very much enjoyed- upon seeing this painting my first thought was I wonder if David Lynch saw this and if it was the inspiration for the log lady
@@StereotypicBehaviour ah yes, Malte Laurids Brigge! Great authors. Did you see the exhibition in Paris? She was featured in many ways. Also the death mask of Dante Aligieri was, and many more. I always regretted not buying the book, but I was travelling and it was impractical to pack and a bit expensive.
Thanks for your comment and reminder! I have the literature right here in my library, my ex has Aragon's, I have Rilke, was years since I read him now!
Thankyou again!
I was wondering if anyone was going to bring up Twin Peaks "Log Lady" !!
I absolutely adore haunting but very beautiful paintings. This one is definitely one of them. The woman kinda looks scary, but at the same time, we feel how she feels. Broken, sad, and about to have maybe your fifth breakdown after your child is never to be seen again. Oml whoever painted this I love you
crazy how none of my art history classes have covered his work. his paintings have a truly haunting quality
I came across Merle on one of my daily art quests....my daily dose. This painting struck me immediately and my first reaction was of lose. The lose of child which to me shows in her glare. Anger is a coping mechanism and one of the stages of grief. I do recommend finding his work and enjoying his detail.
She reminds me of someone I knew. I used to work in a project for people with serious mental illness. In that place was a woman who was so anxious and stressed all the time that she would contort herself when she sat anywhere. She would twist her legs around themselves, just like the woman in the painting and would bend over almost double as if she was trying to tie herself into a knot. Her arms would be pulled in very tight to her body, as if she were almost hugging herself. She'd then rock, backwards and forwards for hours, just smoking cigarette after cigarette, muttering to herself.
Anxiety is horrible. Not many people understand how destructive and painful it can be. When I have a really bad anxiety attack I freeze and cant move. Sometimes for a very long time...and I can relate to the chain smoking. I think the repetitive motion can be very comforting.
I hope she's feeling better now
@@janellafernandez6476 Actually, she died several years ago.
@@midnightmosesuk May she rest in peace.
@@Kyuteruko Amen! -_-
I love the descriptions you give. I’ve never really understood art and why certain pieces are called masterpieces and others not,but your descriptions and explanations bring these paintings to life and give me a better understanding. Thank you! More please!!
Thank you especially for placing her on the bench on the modern train platform. Yes, the individuals in excruciating pain are still with us everyday, and hard to look at; yet in the picture (where she can't really look back at us, in need of help) it's hard to look away.
When I look at this picture, what I see is a woman who has maybe lost her child & therefore her mind. I don't know but to me it's like she's holding the sticks as you would a child & she is staring at whoever as if to say "do not dare tell me that this is not my baby" it stirs up so many heartbreaking emotions in me each & every time I look at it. It's hauntingly beautiful. Thank you so much for your work, I only came across it today & I've been really enjoying each video you share with us. You have a new subscriber, again thank you & keep up the good work. Lots of love from Ireland 🇮🇪 Paula xx
This painting is the embodiment of “Don’t talk to me or my son ever again!” I don’t find it bizarre so much as I find it unbearably sad.
If anyone is wondering what inspired this piece and it’s backstory:
(This is all I can remember, so if I give anything that has errors and I’ve accidentally misinterpreted, do tell me please)
The artist this created this piece once visited a town or village, and saw the exact woman that we see in this art. She was carrying the wooden log we see with the red ragged bonnet and wrapped in what seems to be dirty fabric blanket, with a despaired look reflected through her big eyes.
He goes around and asks the locals of the woman and why she carried a log. apparently, this woman had recently gave birth to a newborn not too long ago, but due to their poverty and poor-ness, the baby shortly died after a few days later from hunger. The woman grieved by taking a short log and wrapped it in a baby blanket and made it wear a Bonnet, as if trying to make a reality where her baby is still alive, come true.
This painting reminds me of Gretchen from Goethe's Faust. Her mom and brother died and Faust left her knocked up. She went mad and drowned her baby sometime after the birth but only remembers people taking it away. When we see her imprisoned and awaiting execution for infanticide, she's reciting a fairy tale (The Juniper Tree, sometimes translated as The Almond Tree, also about a murdered child), almost as if telling a story to a child that isn't there. The woman in the painting is also sitting at a well, just as Gretchen is in Faust when she hears unkind gossip about another girl who got pregnant out of wedlock and realizes she'll be ostricized too if Faust doesn't come back and marry her. This baby also wasn't the first she was responsible for, as when she was even younger, she tried to keep her baby sister alive all on her own, but that baby died too.
This isn't to say I think the painting was intended to portray Gretchen, just that she was the first thing to come to mind when i saw it.
I love your deconstruction of these well-known and lesser known masterpieces. You speak thoughtfully and intelligently about each piece and I’m always learning something new from you. I really hope that your channel continues to grow and that you get the recognition that you deserve. Thanks so much for sharing these lovely works of art with us!
She has that 1000 mile stare and tears in her eyes. She has lost her child and has gone mad.
Thanks!
Thank you so much for supporting the channel!
Wow, what an evocative image--I love this painting. I can only suspect that this is where David Lynch got the idea to create the Log Lady in TWIN PEAKS.
That was the first thing I thought when I saw the painting. 😆
I am pretty sure the only reason this video showed up on my feed is because youtube knows I like Twin Peaks and art, and managed to extrapolate a connection from the words "woman" and "log." But hey, sometimes the algorithm works in mysterious ways. While this was not the Twin Peaks content I was looking for, it did lead me to a really cool video and channel nonetheless.
A rare win for Algy the Algorithm. Most of the time it just tries to indoctrinate me into fascism, not matter what else I watch.
I WAS LOOKING FOR YOU!
YES
I got here from searching ASMR
4:07 I've seen that one before, but I always totally thought it was an early Bouguereau. I learn so much from this channel!
The look in her eyes is that of someone who's experienced incredible loss...too much for her to cope with.
hauntingly beautiful. He was really able to capture emotion in a way I don't recall seeing terribly often
I'm very surprised neither "Twin Peaks" fans nor David Lynch himself, who majored in fine arts before becoming a film maker, never mentioned this painting when talking about "the Log Lady." I don't think it's a coincidence; David Lynch is very learned and has a vast knowledge of art especially themes that explore the darkness in human nature.
Most directors are inspired by paintings and often recreate them in their films.
Lynch was a painter before he became known for his work in film, and I believe both he and Catherine Coulson, who would later go on to co-create and portray the character of Margaret Lanterman/The Log Lady, studied together at the Philadelphia Institute. I don't know if the the painting was there at the time, but as far as I can gather, it's currently in the collection of the Chryster museum of art in New York.
These days, it's pretty common for art students studying elsewhere on the east coast to take regular day trips to New York City. At the Maryland Institute where I studied, we even had a free (well, "free" in that it was complimentary with our exorbitant tuition) round trip bus to NY every Saturday and I would take advantage any time I could to get access to the "center of the artworld." I don't know if they had a bus like that when Lynch and Coulson were students, but I imagine a trip from Philly to NY for gallery/museum crawling may have been a common thing either way.
So I wouldn't be too surprised if Lynch and Coulson took a similar art-viewing day trip one weekend and happened upon this painting, which might have informed their initial idea of The Log Girl, which I think was more of an inside joke between them at the time, which many years later would evolve into The Log Lady we all know an love. Knowing Lynch, whether he himself knows, remembers, or is willing to divulge any connection to this painting is dubious, so we may never know, especially since Catherine Coulson is no longer with us, sadly ...
But it is, indeed, "something interesting to think about."
Came looking for a twin peaks reference.
@@Photobunce same lol, it was the first thing I thought when I saw the photo 😂😂
The Chrysler museum is in Norfolk, VA.
Give us MORE !! I love these videos, keep them coming!
Art history at its very best. You did a phenomenal job placing this work in the historical context, both in terms of the political crisis of the loss of the Franco-Prussian War, and of the scientific consensus. Really enjoyable. Thank you.
Thank you so so much!
@@Art_Deco You're very welcome. Thank you for posting.
I absolutely love your choice of paintings and commentary. Thank you!
Reminds me of the Czech fairy tail, Little Otik. A poor childless couple find a log in the woods and adopt it as a baby. The log comes alive and eats everything. Variations of this story spread throughout Europe. I think anyone of the time would be familiar with the stories, so the audience could make the connection that this is about the price of grief, envy, and obsession.
I was just trying to remember the movie. Most bizarre thing I ever watched at 2am. Didn’t help me fall asleep😅
That is a very interesting theory, thanks for sharing. Im Czech and would not have thiught of it... Do you mean "Otesánek"? The name quite literally means "the one who was carved out of wood" (tesat - to care wood, otesat - to care out of wood, -nek - a diminutive ending).
"Our own sorrow and pain is hard for us to look at" this sentence hit me like boom, relatable and my tear run down.
Under the rage and madness vibe, it's so heartbreaking details. and It always like this when I talked with some patients who are fighting with mental illness.
This painting is one of the permanent pieces at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia. Admission is free or whatever you choose to donate. I've seen it in person and it highly recommend it, if anyone is in the area.
Thanks for the info! Next time I drive through there I will go!
I recently found your channel, and love it!
I think I see a woman that can't cope with the loss of a child, the most awful thing to happen to a mother and the fuel of nightmares. It happend quite often back then.
I can't believe I never heard of this dude, those are some beautiful paintings that he created. This particular one I personally think is a masterpiece. And my two cents added, the picture of her alone is way better than with the ensemble. There's much more gravity having her singled out this way rather than among a group of people that somehow don't seem to fit. I won't deny I clicked on this because of David Lynch's log lady. I'm glad I did plus it got you a subscriber.
The woman and child at 2:10 evoke sadness even though this portrait is not the subject of the video. More context is provided by the background activity of what seems to be a wedding. Perhaps the man that sired this woman's child is marrying another. But the woman is probably a pauper and has no voice in this outrage.
First time I hear about this piece, so good! Thank you for all this info :)
I'm thrilled to introduce you to it! It's amazing!
As soon as you said what this painting was called my heart broke for this woman. To me it's obvious she's lost a child and can't get over it.
If you look through his gallery, you will see alot of angry looking women holding a baby. One called "The Widow" looks eerily similar to the piece hold a log. So as a pattern I do believe the drawing is of a mother who has lost her child and went insane.
My first thought was that the log symbolizes France somehow. The log and the red bonnet reminded me of the Phrygian cap mounted on a fasces, one of the most common symbols of the French Revolution. Probably a coincidence, but after learning it was done by a French artist after a major defeat of France, maybe it makes some sense
Yep, it may symbolize France's feelings of deep confusion and grief, the regret of their past mistakes in the Revolution and yet their continued desire to see France restored to her former glory. Their feelings of helplessness and entrapment. The protective pose of the woman represents the deep urge to defend France, and yet the delicate hands and lack of weapons suggest this woman is all but defenseless, while the log of dead wood might indicate that France is perhaps already beyond savjng. But I also love some of the interpretations in the comments about who the woman is as a person and a mother and that she may have lost a child. I don't see why there can't be two meanings to a painting at once.
I was thinking that too
Holding on to a dead never-growing cause.
Thank you very much for exploring this amazing painting.
I love how you have great sense of humor, while also being informative. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite channels.
Shockingly beautiful masterpiece.. thank you for bringing it to my attention , reminds me of Florida ..
Fantastic work on this one. Love the video, never heard of Merle, but will be looking into him more now.
Thank you! I think Merle's work is amazing. My favorites are this one and Mary Magdalene in the Cave!
4:35 I really like this version because it shows the way mentally ill people are percieved in society: the two young girls looking at the woman with pity in their eyes represent the way some people view mentally ill people as people to pity and nothing more, the little girl on the other side of the painting with a judgmental look represents the stigma surronding mental illnesses and mentally ill people which are a taboo, something you need to avoid etc and finally the little boy represents the way many children may not understand mental illnesses as they're something 'foreign' to them.
The thing about mentally ill people is that they represent a marginalised group you can be part of or find out you've always been part of in any moment of your life. One day you might find out that actions and thoughts you thought were experienced by everyone are actually symptoms of a mental dosorder.
This might be too literal of an interpretation, but when I saw this the first thing I thought of was mother nature. That she holds her child cleaved by axes, her clothes are tattered because of neglect, and her stare contains pain as well as anger over her inability for others to take care of her.
I loved the variation as well as to me it looks as if the people around her are apathetic to what is going on. Except the child who shows concern over the future of what will be coming next, seeing her pain and yet to become numb to thinking, "It's just the way it is". The other ladies seem to say, "What's wrong?" while disregarding the obvious that something has been taken from her. She has become removed from the forest in the back and sits unbalanced next to a well as if she is about to fall in. Like a person on a ledge, surrounded those blind to her pain clutching the little that she can hold onto.
Anyway... my two cents for what it's worth.
I am TOTALLY loving your channel!! 🥰😍🥰 Not only do you make art history entertaining, but you bring us down into the moment the art represents. It's a crime we don't use art like this anymore.
Before I watch the video, I'm gonna make a guess at what's going on in the painting.
The woman had a child that died, maybe stillborn, or it died after, but however it happened, it was traumatic to her. Lack of proper care in the aftermath cause her to fall back on the coping mechanism of treating the log as her child, and she's glaring because people are ridiculing her.
This is just a guess tho.
At first I thought maybe Merle offered or the woman requested for a painting of her and her "child", based on his reputation & experience painting mothers and children, and she looks so guarded because she is known locally as a lunatic so she's waiting for the other shoe to drop - to find the artist is only the latest to mock or hurt her. After seeing there is an alternate version though, I don't know if that still fits.
spite for what was taken from her, ignorance of what she never had, and hatred for who she believes to be the culprit.
i feel this painting is far more significant now then when it was made, and that's why they call her the fool.
I can't help but think of the log lady from Twin Peaks.
i've really enjoyed all of your videos, definitely informative and engaging! really need more of these. keep up the good work
Thank you! I'll keep 'em coming!
There are several of his paintings which I absolutely love,Baiginese and Young beauty,along with this one. The work in them is just stunning.
I think you walked right past it. She is obviously very upset. What is she holding? A log dressed to look like a baby. Why? Because she wants a baby, because she lost a baby. She isn't a classic crazy person, she is a mother with a heart that is broken, and cannot come to terms with the fact her baby is no longer there. The log is a coping mechanism. The people around her are concerned, she is obviously looking at someone, as if they were trying to explain to her, that her baby is gone. If you want to read more into it, I would be concerned about that well.
Me too, Something is very odd about the well. Seems like a very odd setting.
I wonder if there a political statement about France and liberty. The red bonnet on the baby log is reminiscent to the Phygian Cap associated with the French revolution of 1789. Could the madwoman be Marianne, the personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason of the French Republic?
part of me thinks she was confronted so she wouldnt jump in there
Could the well be the cause of her child's death? Perhaps she can't leave it because this is where her child fell in. Perhaps the startling appearance of the woman frightens away other children who might otherwise be curious enough to make the same mistake as her deceased child.
@@filmbuff000 She has tears in her eyes, is clutching a piece of wood, and is not smiling, and everyone around her is upset. Yes, obviously she is upset. What, does she look happy to you? Did she just get done winning the lottery? Is she telling a joke? Its a painting, you are meant to assume what is going on by what is in the painting. That woman is upset, or let me put it this way, the OPPOSITE of happy.
I absolutely love the narrator's voice and script. I am so glad I discovered this channel. Thanks!!!
In my opinion this painting could also be a reference to Meleager from the Illiad, the fates told his mother that his lifespan would only last till a piece of wood gets burnt at the hearth. One day he went hunting with Atalanta and rewarded her with the hide of a boar, his uncles weren’t happy with the prize being awarded to a woman, and during the argument Meleager kills them. When his mother heard that his son killed her brothers, she burnt the wood. I might be over reading this but personally I see this as her contemplating while struggling between her love for her son and grief for her brothers.
Totally agree with you! That's also the first thing that popped into my head.
Thank you for your addition! It's a great point! I think she (the mother) was also considered slightly crazy for keeping the log, or associating it with the lifespan of her son
^^thanks for the replies! I thought I was the only one who thought so
Absolutely mesmerizing! I must have a copy of this piece in my living room!
Her eyes say revenge to me! She's looking like somebody stole and killed her baby and now she's holding/hiding her revenge weapon.
Very creepy painting!
I really enjoy your guides on the artist itself and the painting. The story behind and all. You quickly became my fav of the genre
High and strong emotion is something that the Pre-Raphaelite started to want to add to their subjects, the Lady of Shallot, Drowned Ophelia, Circe....even the less high emotive faces all bared marks of deep emotion that before wasn't usually seen in portraiture or the capture of everyday scenes...
Big Thanks for your enjoyable, great video! Can't wait for your next one...
Making the intellectual entertaining; you make learning and being exposed to new things fun. Truly nice work.
Thank you so much!
@@Art_Deco You know, it’s somewhat difficult to come across an approach that is unique and good. You’ve done that. I suspect it’s because your approach embraces who you really are.
I remember how I felt after losing a baby and her face says it so well. The emptiness, the pain, clinging on to something, anything.
I lost my 2nd daughter aged 3 months.i understand you.x
@@cathrynhesketh5703 I feel you. Thank you for taking the trouble to message. I so appreciate the kindness x
This has honestly got to be the creepiest/most harrowing painting I’ve seen to date. And I grew up in a house with books and books of paintings including the likes of Bosch, various demons and hell-scapes, Saturn eating his son (Goya)… I remember those eerie and surreal scenes used to scare me as a child, but something about this painting holds a fear that’s more real and familiar. I had to look away several times during the video bc you wouldn’t stop ZOOMING IN ON THOSE EYES 👀 😂
Same girl its just creepy i had this phobia on staring big eyes too and its uncomfortable.
Thank you for your insight on this painting and the artist. Always nice to learn something new about the art world.
I love how you explain everything and and ask the questions I wonder of the paintings and you answer them. So cool!
Stunning image of grief. Post partum and a lost child (taken or dead). She forces us to feel uncomfortable by holding her gaze. I'm fascinated.
I can't help but think of folklore when it comes to this painting. Of stories of fairies stealing babies and replacing them with either other fairies called, "changelings" or logs dressed up as babies. Perhaps this is what Merle is going for. The story of a woman whose child was stolen by something supernatural and replaced by a log. Only the woman is still entranced to think that the log is her child. That's why she is so wild eyed. She is under a spell.
the production quality of this channel is ridiculous! what a hidden gem
Since I discovered your RUclips channel I absolutely fell in love with it!
Truly fascinating, your presentations are most interesting.
Thank you so much!
your explanation made it all the more sadder. she truly looks like she's suffering. happy new year to you
That's the look I give my husband when he leaves the seat up and I fall in at 3 am.
Seriously though. I can really feel the mood of this painting. I have clinical depression and will be giving birth to our first baby in about a week.
I worry about postpartum depression and how I will handle it...I think that might be something like this here.
The way she clutches that log and stares so sad and broken I can imagine the story behind this painting and it's very VERY sad.
Tough subject
Beautifully revealed
Cleverly created
Well Done
Indeed!:)
"Why is she holding a log?"
Why not?? 😅
Seriously, I love your channel. Your short, concise, and informative analyses of paintings are easy to understand for those of us who love art, but aren't pretentious art snobs. Your videos make art accessible to everyone.
What is more likely is the loss of a child drove this woman crazy.
And she's the only one who does not realize she's not holding a baby.
The loss of a child is the worse pain any person can go through. And at the time this was painted, it was very common for people to lose one or more children.
OMG! The "log lady" from David Lynch's tv serie Twin Peaks had to come from this painting! Disturbingly amazing!
The owls are not what they seem.
Never seen this painting before- it's so good! It's so real! Thank you for helping me discover it.
I enjoy your voice and your way of analyzing. I agree the paiting forces us to look inside of our selves. All great pieces of arts do; that's what make them great.
Thank you for yet another wonderful video ❤🌹
Thank you so much! I completely agree. Her eyes seem to reach right into the soul.
Watching your videos make me realize just how much goes in to painting a masterpiece, the detail blows my mind
I see a mother mad with grief and desperation. Sometimes those boil up and over into rage. A few moments ago she was only broken, now she’s furious again that she will never make the wrong thing right.
She’s glaring at someone who loves her and wants to help her, and she hates them for both of those things.
In another moment or 20, she’ll be back to being shattered
I hate it here lol
It's not fun that I was in a hotel in a mountain far away from society, brushing my teeth in a large bathroom alone at 3AM and THIS video is what came up when I said "Imma play youtube vids so i dont feel scared"
Realtalk I love this video so much.
Hughues Merle is one of the greatest painters who ever lived! There are so many forgotten masters and also so many who are overrated.
0:33 "maybe you seen this woman before". You know, I think I have. Pretty sure it was in the movies though. Films like Rocky, First Blood, Demolition Man, Judge Dredd...just to name a few.
I'm a huge fan of your work. Keep 'em coming.
I will! Thank you so much for watching!
I've just discovered your work, it's absolutely great ! As a French, I didn't know this painter so thank you ! For me, it's definitely a woman grieving her child, and I agree with you about how Hugues Merle seemed to be very interested in the theme and variations about maternity. The link with the context of the 1870 war doesn't seem far-streched to me, maybe it was unconscious... I also thought about the consequences about the war, many French painters and writers depicted the impact on the people. Maybe she lost her child because of the well, or maybe because of the starvation following the war, who knows. I saw that the painting was named sometimes "La pauvre folle", so "The poor crazy woman" (btw in French "folle" or "fou" always means "crazy", never "fool", it's a "fake friend" ;) but "pauvre" has the same polysemy as "poor"). Maybe the painter wanted to draw our pity upon the harsh life of the lower classes ? If you look at his paintings "The beggar", "The poor mother" and "The abandoned", he's familiar with the theme. Oh, and they all have clean hands, so I guess that's an artistic choice... after all, he's more of an Academic than a Realist ! (And I agree with you, he's such a boss at painting hands and hair !)
Little anecdote : the French title immediately reminded me a light novel of Maupassant, also named "La folle" : it's about a woman who lost in the span of one month her father, her husband and her child (the causes are not precised). She falls into a catatonic state, and lays silent all day all night in her bed, yelling when someone tries to get her out. Then the war happens, Prussians come in her house to occupy it. They want to use her bedroom, but she doesn't move and yells when they touch her. So they finally take the mattress with the indifferent woman on it to the forest, come back without their burden, and the woman is never found again. (Yeah, absolutely gloomy o_o) The stories are quite different (and Maupassant wrote this in 1882) but I don't know, the story immediately popped in my head (oh, and along with the log lady of Twin Peaks, of course).
I like the version without people more. It gives me this strange uncanny feeling like I saw something that I should't have and now can't look away. 😨
I've think I've heard of the artist lately, but this painting is beautifully painted by him and you can almost feel her sorrow, loss, loneliness and pain. It would be hard to give this lady a hug and to tell her everything would would be ok.. it really can make one cry 😭 just by understanding that meaning.
Agent Cooper a few hours after getting in Twin Peaks:
If you hadn’t mentioned Twin Peaks, I’d have done.
May all raise a cup for the belated Log Lady!
That's so funny! I had never heard of this show or the log lady. I'm going to have to watch it now. Thank you bringing it up!
The detail in the painting are incredible