as individual figures- they are all very much cut from an identical cloth.
This is why Maud Sulter’s work is so fascinating. She has completely broken the mould for everything
generic about previous depictions of the Muses. Her depictions of the mythical female figures show them
as strong females, and individuals in their own right. This is the first and foremost notable thing about
Sulter’s work. As opposed to showing the muses as a group, as most classical depictions seem to do,
Sulter opted to portray her muses as individuals. This allows the audience to become more aware of the
singular persona- both in what they represent, and who they are. The Muses are indeed armed with
symbolic objects- in homage, perhaps, to classical representations- yet this is merely the tip of the iceberg
in regards to Sulter revealing to the audience who they are. The women in Sulter’s images unashamedly
look straight from beyond the canvas into the eyes of the audience. This in itself creates almost a daring
defiance, a stark reminder that these are not, as so many of the classical paintings were, merely visual
representations, but a portrait of a person who lived, breathed, and achieved- creating a persona for
themselves in their own right, which is then channelled by Sulter through the guise of the Muses.
Another critically important point, one which arguably makes Sulter’s work stand out beyond anything
else, is the way she opted to exclusively use Blackwomen as models for her interpretation of the Muses. I