Slave of Love
In the face of true love, a human being becoming a slave is the theme that Giovanni Boccaccio clearly leaves for the reader to pick up. Fortunes, prized possessions, virtues, and opinions are all things that love forces humans to change. In Boccaccio’s tale “Federigo’s Falcon”, Federigo threw away his entire fortune for the woman he had fallen madly in love with. After years in solitude Federigo realized what a mistake he had made doing so. When the same woman was at his doorstep and into his life once more, Federigo killed his prized possession, the falcon, and served it to honor her. These actions show how under the shackles of love one thinks highly on actions they normally would not even dream of following through with. Without love Federigo would have been a wealthy man with a hobby of falconing he would have regularly spent doing. In this picture, like Federigo, this man has been chained and slaved to love. The shackles on this man are used to show that love has made him a slave under its rule. The disappointment on this man’s face shows how his actions for the one he loved left him with little in life to treasure. Like Federigo he became a changed man because of actions he thought were necessary at the time. If love had not struck these two men they would have become the men they were destined to be with the values and riches of their previous lives they had found so dear.
Giotto. Slave Bound. 13290-1330. Tempera on panel. National Gallery of Art. Web. 13 Feb
Tyler, your connection between Fedrigo's Falcon and the photograph are great. The theme of slave to love connects well between the two. The man being shackled and having a sad appearance fits well. Fedrigo being shackled to love and giving his most prized possession in order to honor his love. The connection between the story and the photograph fit together well.
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DeleteTyler, your connection between the painting and Fedrigo's Falcon really stood out to me among the others. I like how you showed that love had not only changed Fedrigo, but it also required him to change his life style to accommodate the love he was in. Often when people "fall in love" a dramatic change is noticed within that person; for better or for worse. In this you show that sometimes people in love feel like they are held back or restricted, and the painting you choose is strongly comparable.
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