Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/"Love or Duty"

"Love or Duty"

 * Reason:Spikebrennan had a beautiful eleventh hour idea to nominate a pic for Valentine's Day. So I rushed over to LoC and restored this from Image:Love or duty.jpg.  Obviously, the nun and the painter have fallen in love.  There's a visual hint of which decision she's making: two chains hang from her wrist.  One has a crucifix and the other has a charm like a human skull.  The crucifix is receding into her sleeve, while his cape slides back to reveal a dagger (love conquers all, Sigmund Freud would have a field day with this but it's 30 years before his time).  Needs a little WP:IAR on the nomination time frame (and please help with the article, especially if you speak Italian).
 * Creator: Gabrielé Castagnola
 * Articles this appears in: Gabrielé Castagnola, Chromolithography
 * Support as nominator Durova Charge! 01:12, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Support Durova uploaded another good one. Nuff' said. Dengero (talk) 01:41, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Support This looks non-controversial enough that three more days should be sufficient time. 11th hour, indeed!--HereToHelp (talk to me) 02:56, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't know... while I'm willing to bend the rules, the earliest this can be closed is the 12th due to practical (i.e. volume) reasons - the "worst" case scenario is 12 promotions in 2 days. MER-C 05:19, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * You've got me confused, why is there a mirror operation involved in the restoration?! --Dschwen 14:21, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Why do you think the second picture is the original? All the signatures are backwards. Matt Deres (talk) 16:33, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I wasn't infering that. But still weird that LoC has a flipped version on file. I didn't notice the writing. Anyways good job on the restoration. --Dschwen 16:57, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Yes, I agree it's weird that LoC hosted a flipped version.  Durova Charge! 00:38, 10 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Strong Support - brilliant restoration. Well done. —Vanderdecken∴ ∫ξφ 17:06, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Comment - There is a large amount of text on the bottom of the painting. Should that have an affect on the status of this painting? -- ZeWrestler   Talk 19:31, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Chromolithograph, actually. Is this a request to remove the text?  I could...  Durova Charge! 19:48, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * If it doesn't affect copyright status or anything to remove it, then by all means, go for it. -- ZeWrestler  Talk 20:51, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Done. :) Durova Charge! 22:14, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * 'Support edit 1'-- ZeWrestler  Talk 00:58, 10 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Comment Judging from the expression of her face and eyes, she's closer to passing out than she is to falling in love. Good restore, Durova! Clegs (talk) 20:15, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * The face seems like a visual pun on that painting of the Madonna. Obviously this lady is thinking of something much more earthbound. ;)  Durova Charge! 20:34, 9 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Comment Can someone confirm the colour balance on this? I would have guessed much of her clothing would be white instead it's a deep cream - almost a yellowy orange. --Fir0002 09:15, 10 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I don't know that there's any way to do so. Generally, chromolithography has a decay problem.  I started with the assumption that the white on the painter's sleeve was a correct or true white, and adjusted the balance so that it wouldn't be blown.  That leaves the nun with a near-white wimple and a cream colored cloak.  The artist takes several other liberties with factual detail: the slashed sleeve is sixteenth-century fashion, which means the painter ought to be wearing shoes with squared toes instead of pointed toes.  So I read the color balance as metaphor: the religious art is entirely dull earth tones while the painter wears luxurious red velvet - certainly not an outfit anyone would actually wear to paint a canvas (he's still carrying a palette), but perfectly representational of earthly pleasure and sin.  So earth tones on the nun suggest she's still a virgin - she's kept her vow to the Church so far.  Durova Charge! 00:39, 11 February 2008 (UTC)
 * Support, with all due speed and haste. What a lovely image.  Spikebrennan (talk) 22:12, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

MER-C 04:00, 11 February 2008 (UTC)