inting focuses on how history is reflected in the painting. He comments on features such as the gestures of man, the burning candle, and the artist's signature which all reflect important marriage customs of the time. Lisa Jardine in "Worldly Goods" shows another approach to the painting. She sees it as a showcase of possessions, including the woman herself who is the property of a successful merchant. The bride portrays the stereotype of a good docile woman at the time.
             These two different interpretations of the same work challenge the reader to form an opinion. While my history on the time period is limited, given Panofsky's information his analysis seems to have merit. After reading the article, the little details of history reflected in the painting amazed me. My initial thoughts concerning Jardine's article were summed up in my e-mail response for September 12, "I find it much more comforting for the painting to be a representation of a happy marriage than a testimony of the possessions of a man." At this point in the course, I remained optimistic that this was the case. However, later in the course the subject of the role painting served in shaping gender roles was raised. The discussion focused on Renaissance portraiture and highlighted many readings from both sides of the debate. Some scholars feel that images are a major part of shaping our views of masculinity and femininity. Others feel that art needs to be seen as "Art," a field that transcends the politically correct jargon people so often are caught up in today. After studying this issue for quite some time and writing a paper on it, I did develop my own opinion. I feel that influential members of society who have the ability to do so have often used their power to regulate certain other groups via imagery. The art in the Renaissance differed in respect to males and females, did not reflect the social reality of...