Patient 001 (Case Study: Anorexia Nervosa/Melancholia) COMPLETE

    I just finished the painting I was working on from my mental illness series which has ties to the victorian era's treatment of mental patients, primary women, and the societal idea that the illness was a "disease of the soul". To read more about this painting, go here: Patient 001. The class critique went pretty well and it was received with the concepts it was attempting to convey so all in all i'm happy with the feedback. Its not smooth enough for my neoclassical-loving tastes and I intend to work on it more in the future once this layer of oil paint dries, but in the mean time- enjoy. 

Patient 001 (Case Study: Anorexia Nervosa/ Melancholia)

Oil on Canvas

3' x 5'

~Elise Mesnard

Patient 001 (Case Study: Anorexia Nervosa/Melancholia)

I just finished drawing my first patient in my "disease of the soul" series which delves into the victorian idea that mental illness was an affliction rooted deep within the soul. The first shows symptoms of nervous anorexia and depression. The former contains within it a skewed image of the patients figure, causing them to have an overactive fear of becoming obese.
To quote the good people at answers.com, it is a "psychophysiological disorder usually occurring in young women that is characterized by an abnormal fear of becoming obese, a distorted self-image, a persistent unwillingness to eat, and severe weight loss. It is often accompanied by self-induced vomiting, excessive exercise, malnutrition, amenorrhea, and other physiological changes." 
Its only fitting with the concept of self-loathing that I should already start to hate this painting a little bit. 
C'est la vie. 


~Elise 

ITS ALIVE!

This is the first mark among many that I make on this blog of mine.