Great Influences: The Art of Marilyn Manson and Francesco Clemente

This week we do a time warp back to 1998, when Manson´s paintings started to become notorious and Mechanical Animals saw the light.

Around the same time the movie "Great Expectations" with stars Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow came out and while watching it again I couldn´t help noticing the beautiful watercolors and charcoals that where displayed for the character of Finnegan Bell.

 They were actually made specially for the film by Italian painter Francesco Clemente.He has also been quoted as one of Marilyn Manson´s influences according to Ilse Murdock, from the Parsons School of Design.

 But I´ll leave you with these comparisons as an exercise to see how much Manson has been inspired by the artist. One thing they have in common is their passion for Surrealism and Expressionism.

Guardians, by Francesco Clemente.

And Now a Special Sort of Death for One So Fair by MM.

Virgine, Francesco Clemente, 1995.

Pretty Persuasion, by MM.

Fire,Francesco Clemente, 1982.

Baby´s On Fire, by MM.

Self portrait With And Without The Mask, Francesco Clemente,2005

Sometimes I Squeeze Things Too Hard, by MM.

Visual Parallels: Marilyn Manson and Madonna

ell yes, both have stage names that start with "M" but that's not the only visual coincidence.



Recently, this photo appeared in 2010 for the cover of Interview magazine in which Madonna is shown with a red cross in front of her face. Remember a few years ago the singer turned to Kabbalah? (Jewish mystical teachings), but she still can't deny her Catholic roots, as showed in the eighties with the controversial video "Like A Prayer."



Immediately I recalled the image of the cover of Marilyn Manson's single "Personal Jesus" released in 2004 around the era of Lest We Forget.

The art is also suspiciously similar to Madonna's, since it focuses on the theme of Jesus, there are symbols and a thick red cross on a black and white background.

Copy cat or coincidence? What do you think?