Do you remember Gilmore Girls? The show revolved around a small town and the funny little characters in it, specifically Rory Gilmore and her mother Lorelai, occasionally it focused on their shitty relationships but when Sam, I mean Dean (Jared Padalecki) wasn’t an interesting concept to revolve an episode around, they had to do something to fill that time!
I kid around of course, if I had guilty pleasures, Gilmore Girls would be one of them, It’s a cozy show with cozy characters who will do things that make you want to scream at the tv, but sometimes their episodes are oddly educational.
The Festival of Living Art was the 7th episode of season 4 of Gilmore Girls, and it centered around a special event the town was putting on, exactly what it sounds like.. townspeople were to dress up and be made up to look exactly like figures from famous paintings, it was a very ambitious idea for an episode, and for a small town to do. Lets dive a little bit into what the hell I’m talking about before you get tired of reading and click off the article….
First up we have Rory (Alexis Bledel) reliving the painting “Portrait of a Young Girl Named Antea,” which was painted in or around 1524 by Italian mannerist artist Parmigianino.
Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, or more commonly known as Parmigianino (which translates to ‘The Little One From Parma’, thanks google for the help!) was a mannerist painter from Italy. Unfortunately Parmigianino’s career was disrupted by the Sack of Rome in 1527, and then ended by his death at only the age of 37.
This painting went on quite a journey in it’s lifetime as it was moved to the Ducal Gallery in Parma in the 17th century, and then moved again to Montecassino where it was stolen by the occupying german forces at the time, they brought it to Berlin and it wasn’t returned to Italy until 1945.
That’s one hell of a vacation.
Anyway, what’s with the weasel in this painting? So back in the 16th century (and before) any furry little critter from the mustelid family (which includes weasels, ermines and stoats) were considered good luck talismens for women’s fertilty and for getting pregnant, and thus they were often seen in portraits of young woman almost as an odd fashion statement. And also we can’t ignore that weasels were also phallic symbols. How? Well, the women are holding them like….
Moving on.
Next up we have Lorelai (Lauren Graham) who portrays the beautiful girl in Dance at Bougival painted in 1883 by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The original painting depicted two of the painters friends dancing in Bougival, a favorite spot for impressionist artists to paint their scenes. Renoir painted two companion pieces called “Dance in The City” and “Dance in The Country” to showcase a couple dancing in different environments.
You could see other townsfolk and paintings in the background of the episode but Rory and Lorelai were undoubtedly the stars of this town event, the makeup for this episode was so good it even won an emmy!
Pay close attention next time you’re watching your favorite show because this episode of Gilmore Girls has taught us that even the most innocuous tv show or movie, or video game can teach us more about the world of art.
In real life there is a similar event held in Laguna Beach, California called “Pageant of the Masters” which aims to recreate works of art with lighting, makeup and the clever use of backdrops, if you’d like to know more about the Pageant of The Masters, check out their website linked at the end.
Pageant of The Masters: https://www.foapom.com/
Gilmore Girls Wiki: https://gilmoregirls.fandom.com/wiki/The_Festival_of_Living_Art
Game Painting 