Something odd about Chanarach's portrait

[Aeshdan he/him]

So I was looking at the endpaper portraits for the Heralds (the ones that are supposed to be the in-world equivalent of the Sistine Chapel paintings), and I noticed something very odd about Chanarach's portrait. As you can see below, Chanarach is shown with both her hands exposed (Battar and Vedel are shown wearing gloves on their safehands, and Shallash has a modesty sleeve). This seems a highly unusual artistic choice for a Vorin artist depicting one of the Heralds, and I can't help feeling that there must be a reason for it. Anyone have any ideas for what this could signify? 

 

[Treamayne]

1 hour ago, ReaderAt2046 said:

This seems a highly unusual artistic choice for a Vorin artist depicting one of the Heralds, and I can't help feeling that there must be a reason for it. Anyone have any ideas for what this could signify? 

It likely ties into this (Coppermind):

Spoiler

Though Chana is likely of similar age to other Heralds, Vorin artwork tends to present her as a young woman.^[7]

If they are trying to depict her as "young enough to not yet need to cover her safe hand" then it could just be a deliberate artist choice to depict her youth.

[Firesong she/her]

On 8/4/2023 at 10:07 PM, Treamayne said:

It likely ties into this (Coppermind):

  Hide contents

Though Chana is likely of similar age to other Heralds, Vorin artwork tends to present her as a young woman.^[7]

If they are trying to depict her as "young enough to not yet need to cover her safe hand" then it could just be a deliberate artist choice to depict her youth.

The thing is, the source for that claim is this artwork. 

[Hatman he/him]

On 8/4/2023 at 11:07 PM, Treamayne said:

It likely ties into this (Coppermind):

  Hide contents

Though Chana is likely of similar age to other Heralds, Vorin artwork tends to present her as a young woman.^[7]

If they are trying to depict her as "young enough to not yet need to cover her safe hand" then it could just be a deliberate artist choice to depict her youth.

I think she looks physically too old for that to be the reason. 

[Underwater_Worldhopper he/him]

Could it be that this painting was made before Vorin sensibilities about modesty sleeves developed, and the thing about her being depicted as too young to need one despite her obviously being older than that being a later justification for why someone so important in their religion wouldn't be wearing one?

[Aeshdan he/him]

Alternately, it occurs to me that this could be a reflection of her non-feminine role (at least by modern Vorin standards). Chanarach is associated with Guards and Bravery, and is probably second only to Taln in how closely her legend is tied to soldiers and warfare (Notably, she's shown holding her Blade, while Shalash and Vedel don't have theirs visible). So perhaps the exposed safehand is meant to signify that Chanarach does not fit the Vorin feminine ideal, the same way that female ardents are not required to cover their safehand because they are outside the regular gender roles. 

[Firesong she/her]

29 minutes ago, ReaderAt2046 said:

Alternately, it occurs to me that this could be a reflection of her non-feminine role (at least by modern Vorin standards). Chanarach is associated with Guards and Bravery, and is probably second only to Taln in how closely her legend is tied to soldiers and warfare (Notably, she's shown holding her Blade, while Shalash and Vedel don't have theirs visible). So perhaps the exposed safehand is meant to signify that Chanarach does not fit the Vorin feminine ideal, the same way that female ardents are not required to cover their safehand because they are outside the regular gender roles. 

That would make sense, yeah. 

[Ψιτιsτηε Βεsτ]

On 8/4/2023 at 8:07 PM, Treamayne said:

they are trying to depict her as "young enough to not yet need to cover her safe hand" then it could just be a deliberate artist choice to depict her youth.

I think this explanation makes most sense to me

[Rorzikel]

Agreed on it perhaps being her role being depicted as non-feminine in art, but I would also like to say that art doesn't have to hew perfectly to religious morals or public modesty even in the real world. Michelangelo's Statue of David was funded by the Church and was beloved by  Renaissance Florence, despite it having full nudity. The only reason they didn't put it on the roof of the cathedral was because it ended up weighing 8.5 tons.

[Treamayne]

Do we even know how "recent" these depictions are meant to be? Safehands are, relatively speaking, a recent addition to Vorinism (popularized after the Recreance, and absorbed into the Culture over time since then). If these images are meant to have been created shortly after the Recreance, the "rules" might not have even fully developed - such that some early era interpretations of "Arts and Majesty" may have included "women in these professions cover their safehand" rather than "all women always cover their safehand."

From the Coppermind:

Spoiler

Arts and Majesty was written by a female artist^[1][2] well before the Day of Recreance.^[4] It may not have had much influence on culture before the Recreance; soon afterward, however, some men in power came across it and began emphasizing it to justify keeping Shardblades and Shardplate away from women.^[5][6] As retaliation, a movement of women ensured that writing and literacy moved fully into the domain of women.^[1]

The division between masculine and feminine arts became part of Vorin culture over the next few decades^[4]

 

[Firesong she/her]

On 8/11/2023 at 9:04 PM, Treamayne said:

Do we even know how "recent" these depictions are meant to be? Safehands are, relatively speaking, a recent addition to Vorinism (popularized after the Recreance, and absorbed into the Culture over time since then). If these images are meant to have been created shortly after the Recreance, the "rules" might not have even fully developed - such that some early era interpretations of "Arts and Majesty" may have included "women in these professions cover their safehand" rather than "all women always cover their safehand."

From the Coppermind:

  Hide contents

Arts and Majesty was written by a female artist^[1][2] well before the Day of Recreance.^[4] It may not have had much influence on culture before the Recreance; soon afterward, however, some men in power came across it and began emphasizing it to justify keeping Shardblades and Shardplate away from women.^[5][6] As retaliation, a movement of women ensured that writing and literacy moved fully into the domain of women.^[1]

The division between masculine and feminine arts became part of Vorin culture over the next few decades^[4]

 

Vedel and Paliah had Safehands. We don't know about Battar as it is being kept secret until SA5. So, Chana does stick out. 

Her art was done around the same time as the Nale portrait, the other 2 female Heralds (currently revealed) were by different artists. (As, iirc, it was 2 portraits from each artist irl, but that it also applies to them also sharing an artist in-world. I remember a WoB about that)