Red Velvet (레드벨벳) “Feel My Rhythm” — A comprehensive list of all references and themes
The following is a list of all references to paintings, literature, music or general art styles in Red Velvet latest MV to their song “Feel My Rhythm”.
We mean to collect and categorize an overview of all references and hint at possible interpretations, we don’t aim to provide a coherent interpretation of the song or the MV as a whole. Timestamps are provided for each frame.
You will find all contributors and citations at the end of the article.
Pre-Raphaelites — Ophelia and Nymphs finding the Head of Orpheus
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a loose group of English poets and artist in the mid 19th century. Their distinct style is frequently referenced in recent pop culture and can also be found in A.C.E’s “Higher” or Gfriend’s “Apple”.
Our first and evident hint is towards John Everett Millais’ Ophelia, a painting infamous for the fact that the model Elizabeth Siddall caught a serious cold as a result of laying in a bathtub for hours during the painting process.
The shot matches the painting in composition and color through angle and color grading. We focus our attention towards the flowers floating next to Joy, as they introduce one of many recurring themes of symbolism in the MV.
Millais’ painting “contains myriad identifiable species of plants […] for which the Victorian public carried a specific symbolic association. The fritillary floating in the bottom right-hand corner, stood for sorrow; a poppy, by Ophelia’s right hand, for death; the name of the forget-me-nots is self-explanatory.” [2].
A second frame depicts a scene reminiscent of Waterhouse’s painting “Nymphs finding the Head of Orpheus”. Orpheus, who was killed by the women of Thrace is found and buried by the muses below Mt. Olympus.
Waterhouse’s work incorporated many classical themes, although Ophelia was a frequent subject of his as well. As Elizabeth Prettejohn summarizes [3], he shines at “finding a composition for a complex narrative subject that gives this powerful interpretation at a glance”.
The two paintings in this shot seem to be inconsistent in their setting (as one references Shakespeare and the other Greek mythology), but effortlessly merge into a larger composition that the camera pans over.
Fragonard’s Swing and Dress
Sprinkling in some Rococo, we encounter Irene on a swing, passing the scene above that is now in the background. The matching dress appears in later shots and several photos. Without going into more detail than necessary, the outrage sparked at the time of the commission is in fact best summarized by the corresponding Wikipedia article [5].
The Spy — Paul Dominique Philippoteaux
The Spy by Paul Dominique Philippoteaux is 19th century painting depicting a woman standing on a ladder, peeking over a wall. She appears to wear a late baroque or rococo (mid 18th century) dress, just like the woman on the swing by Fragonard. Again, the MV plays with various pieces of art from different times, but emphasizes a coherence in the visual language.
Other paintings of comparable depictions exist, we presume Philippoteaux’s or one of his contemporaries was drawn inspiration from.
Swan Lake— Tchaikovsky
Several gestures during the MV mimic the wings of a bird and the ballet theme had already been established with teasers and product images.
A possible inspiration is Tchaikovskys “Swan Lake” (1876), not to mention that “Psycho” already evoked “Black Swan” associations.
The Owl in The Garden of Earthly Delights — Hieronymus Bosch
The following scene introduces Seulgi as the owl on a throne within a construct of cloth and frames, and wraps around all the way to the end of the MV to the Fountain of Life. The fountain is taken from the left triptych of “The Garden of Earthly Delights” by Hieronymus Bosch,
The owl appears in various forms during the MV, first in human form, then as a painting and lastly flying towards the fountain.
Note that the owl already showed up in the last MV “Queendom”.
Regarding the role of the owl in Bosch’s painting, Cremades [9] cites Fray José de Sigüenza from 1605: “[…] the owl is a nocturnal bird, consecrated to Minerva (goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare, law, …) and to study, a symbol of the Athenians, among whom flourished philosophy, which one pursues in the quiet and silence of the night, consuming more oil than wine.”
Since little is known about the intentions and thoughts of Bosch in detail, we often cannot distinguish between devout traditional reading of sacred history and cynical madness. So the owl can be read as the above mentioned symbol of knowledge or a mockery thereof.
As a general note, but specifically regarding Bosch, we want to point out that conventional interpretations of these works greatly vary from different historic and cultural viewpoints. An additional layer of complexity is established through the multiple layers of references (as for example the MV referencing a painting, which itself is referential to a different period and finally their readings of mythological or religious stories).
In consequence we cannot give one single valid interpretation, but must consider and distinguish these layers to arrive at a holistic view.
Bosch continued: Flower Petals, Hatching Eggs and the Strawberry
Several scenes are connected through the strawberry, it is offered by Irene, seen floating underwater and picked from the grass.
“The Garden of Earthly Delights” features multiple strawberries. Regarding interpretations, we point towards an entire article on “The Strawberries of Hieronymus Bosch”[10].
To summarize, the strawberry is a prominent element in Bosch’s triptych and holds a specific significance: “Laurinda Dixon assigns the fruit a significant role as an alchemic allegory of death and resurrection. […] Sigüenza views it as a symbol of human transience, this fruit had, in fact, long enjoyed a positive reputation.”
Following the storyline through the MV, the strawberry is being passed on and later presented as larger than life, almost threatening, so a theme of temptation and downfall is suggested.
Eggs or other (organic) structures, that open or hatch, appear in multiple scenes during the MV and can be found in various forms and shapes in all three panels of the painting.
Yet another scene has the members seated next to human-sized birds, the corresponding part of the painting is found near the left border of the the second panel. The dancers and costumes tie into the overall theme, but could also be inspired from this and other of Bosch’s paintings.
Madame Monet and Her Son
Likely another case of primary visual inspiration, capturing the composition and point of view of the original painting with impressive effect.
Entering the Garden of Earthly Delights and Musée d’Orsay
Fitting the theme of the garden (and entering it) we find various forms of gates and archways. Most references in this MV point towards the first of the three sections of the triptych or are present in all three, possibly hinting at a continuation of the concept.
The CG building in the MV doesn’t resemble the Museum in every detail (we could think of a few other possible candidates), but the association is not far fetched as the museum exhibits Monet, Renoir and Manet among many other representatives of the styles referenced in the MV.
Update May 2022: As u/bexisnuts pointed out, the CG building shows great resemblance with the Grand Palais, also located in Paris!
Multiple Scenes: Picking flowers and strawberries
Several impressionist paintings depict such scenes and can be brought up as possible influences here, the above is one possible example.
The (Come)Bach
Main musical sample from Sebastian Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068, also known as “Air on the G String”.
Pending
- More detail and interpretation on the individual flowers
- The boat
Further Notes
As it was brought up, an association with Botticelli's Birth of Venus is rather vague, and the scene more likely matches the present theme of Bosch’s plants.
Acknowledgements and Sources
We would like to thank all contributing parties and writers for their collaborative efforts.
[1] Red Velvet (레드벨벳), ‘Feel My Rhythm’, SM Entertainment
[2] Barringer, Tim, and T. J. Barringer. Reading the Pre-Raphaelites. Yale University Press, 1999.
[3] Gunzburg, Darrelyn. “John William Waterhouse, Beyond the Modern Pre‐Raphaelite.” (2010): 70–72.
[4] https://twitter.com/sanaaa_xx on John William Waterhouse
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swing_(Fragonard)#Painting
[6] u/luxerae/ (secondary source)
[7] u/flooflez/ (secondary source)
[8] https://twitter.com/raidenrene on Bosch & The Owl
[9] Bosch, Hieronymus, Silva Maroto, María Pilar, Bruyn, Eric De, Vandenbroeck, Paul, Silver, Larry, Falkenburg, Reindert Leonard, Checa Cremades, Fernando, and Museo Del Prado, Host Institution, Issuing Body. Bosch : The 5th Centenary Exhibition / Edited by Pilar Silva Maroto. 1st U.S. ed. 2017. Print.
[10] Gibson, Walter S. “The Strawberries of Hieronymus Bosch.” Cleveland Studies in the History of Art 8 (2003): 24–33.
