Eternal Pain : Musee d'Orsay

I was very interested to find out that Eternal Pain by Paul Darde, which I had seen as part of The Angel of the Odd : Dark Romanticism from Goya to Max Ernst exhibit, is a permanent artwork at the Orsay Museum. It was explained in the Dark Romanticism exhibit that this piece along with many others from the 19th century were made to draw in a viewer while disgusting or terrifying them simultaneously. It had been explained that Dark Romanticism was a response to turbulent and fearful times. The artists chose to revive myths, and confront viewers with their fears. These artists would take one fear, such as mortality, and magnify the emotion using their artwork.
This sculpture of Medusa's head resting on a pile of her hair and snakes was one of the 19th century Dark Romanticism artworks. Medusa was the myth of the woman who killed men with her gaze. This artwork turned her into a symbol of mortality. Not only in that she could end another person, but that, even she, was brought to death. Little details like her eyes being wide open, bulging with no pupil and having both hair and snakes sprouting from her head undeniably triggers responses in the viewers mind. Paul Darde wanted the response to be fear and accomplished that exactly.

Citations:
Musee d'Orsay. www.musee-orsay.fr. Musee d'Orsay, n/a. Web. 26 June 2013.
Joanna Ebenstein. morbidanatomy.blogspot.com. Blogger, 12 April 2013. Web. 26 June 2013.