A Dança de Salomé by Astra de la Crème in London

Watercolour and Ink on canvas. This piece is inspired by the painting Tanz der Salomé (Dance of Salomé) by Leopold Schmutzler, 1905-1907. The image tells the story of Salome, who is known from the New Testament, where she is not named, and from an account by Flavius Josephus. In the New Testament, the stepdaughter of Herod Antipas demands and receives the head of John the Baptist. The gospel story of her dance at the birthday celebration of her stepfather, who had John the Baptist beheaded at her request, inspired art, literature and music over an extended period of time, such as Gustave Moreau, Titian and also, Oscar Wilde. In my painting, I am relating Salomé with the Cigana Sete Saias (Gypsy Seven Skirts) who is considered the Goddess of Love by the people of the Orient, and it is to her that women resort in the absence of love. She takes this name because she always wears a seven-coloured skirt. The story goes that when she was a child, she saw the rainbow for the first time and was enchanted, so she asked her mother to make a skirt with the seven colours. In my painting, the seven colourful skirts are replaced by seven rue branches (galhos de arruda) that are used in Umbanda to ward off negative energies and pessimism. In Salomé’s head, a teeth crown, a feature commonly used in my paintings. One interesting explanation of the symbolism of teeth is that ‘it could relate to appearances, the way the subject shows their faces to the world or present themselves to it. Teeth can also mean insincerity, wisdom, or growing old.’ The glitch background creates a scenario in red in order to welcome the gipsy and her dance. The trident is the symbol of power and is commonly associated with the Pombagira (gipsy) and so it is with Exu. Exu and Pombagira are referred to as people from the street (povo de rua) in Umbanda. The trident is a magical symbol of the ternary in conjunction with mother earth, it has three points turned upwards, seeking to reach the threshold of the heights and, with this, the spiritual evolution that is necessary for all beings, whether incarnate or disincarnate. Other explanation around the symbolism of trident is that the three points represent the three impulses: sexuality, self-preservation and spirituality (self-realisation) - the source of all easily exalted desires and immanent nature. Sexuality and self-preservation are indispensable forces for life, but they also represent the danger of perversion and the essential weakness that can possess man.