STUDENT WORK / La Mort d’une Femme / ARCH 248

Meghan Won’s “La Mort d’une Femme”

ARCH 248 Enlightenment, Romanticism and the 19th Century  |  Val Rynnimeri

^{“La Mort d’une Femme”
Photograph print, 91cm x 61cm
Meghan Won
2018}

La Mort d’une Femme, or The Death of a Woman, is a photographic parody of The Death of Marat set in a contemporary context. The image shows a trans woman dead in a bathtub, taking the place of Marat in the original. The allegorical narrative depicts a trans woman murdered for straying from what is considered the normal and expressing herself freely via the internet. The parallel to The Death of Marat pushes the narrative of an unjust silencing of speech to stifle ideas outside the ‘status quo.’ The woman represented is unnamed, as a placeholder for all the trans woman murdered throughout history for speaking their truths. As Marat was a symbol for the French Revolution, this woman is a symbol of the unjustly abuse and murder of trans woman and other LGBTQ+ members and to fuel continued advocacy for fair treatment.

^{Meghan regrets not being able to use a trans woman as the model for this project due to multiple constraints. She does not wish to take opportunities from those in the trans communities or support the erasure of their voices advocating for their own struggles.}

^{“La Mort de Marat”
oil on cavas, 165cm x 128 cm
Jacques-Louis David
1793}

La Mort de Marat or The Death of Marat was painting by Jacques-Louis David of French revolution leader and journalist, Jean-Paul Marat. The painting depicts the scene of his friend’s tragic death on July 13th, 1793, in his bathtub as he takes his last breath. David took Marat and painted him in his ideal state, his skin unblemished, the knife fallen from his wound, illuminated by a glowing light. With this painting, Jacques Louis David displays Marat’s death in a way that shows innocence and strikes compassion. David wanted viewers to see the sacrifice Marat made by utilizing his freedom of speech. He depicted Marat as a martyr of the revolution, reminiscent in style to Christian martyrs. Although an artifact of the past. The Death of Marat remains as a reminder as to the impact the power or words and free press had on the French Revolution.

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