Fertilization Narratives In The Art Of Gustav Klimt, Diego Rivera And Frida Kahlo: Repression, Domination And Eros Among Cells

Fertilization narratives are powerful biological stories that can be used for social ends, and 20th-century artists have used fertilization-based imagery to convey political and social ideas. In Danae, Gustav Klimt used an esoteric stage of early human embryos to indicate successful fertilization and the inability of government repression to stifle creativity. In Man, Controller of the Universe, Diego Rivera painted a mural of a man controlling an ovulating ovary, depicting Trotsky’s view that society will rationally regulate human fertilization. His former wife, Frida Kahlo, refuted this view in Moses: Nucleus of Creation, wherein she painted images of fertilization and embryo formation as the ultimate acts of erotic consummation and generation. Fig. 1. Gustav Klimt, Danae, oil on canvas; 77 × 83 cm, 1907. private collection. the rectangle on the left represents Zeus, while the circular biomorphic forms in the purple robe are interpreted to be blastocysts [73]. Danae had been imprisoned to prevent her becoming pregnant. Zeus, however, visits Danae, and the prophecy is fulfilled. (Danae’s son, perseus, does accidentally kill akrisios with a discus.) the dating of the painting is not exact [74].