#ArtDept: Gingers in Art, an Appreciation

Hugo Simberg (1873 -1917) – Man With Red Moustache, 1903

Zinaida Serebriakova (1884-1967) – Portrait Of Boris Serebryakov, 1910

Michael Kidd (1937) – Self Portrait, 1977

Eustache Le Sueur (1617-1655) – The Abduction of Ganymede, 1650

George Owen Wynne Apperley (1884-1960) – Self Portrait

David Martin (1737-1797) – Self Portrait, 1760

Thomas Cooper Gotch (1854-1931) – Self Portrait, 1911

Henry Scott Tuke (1858-1929) – Charlie Mitchell, 1901

Kristian Zahrtmann (1843-1917) – Adam, 1914

Gentleman prefer blonds, but I dig Redheads. Just as you always expected, Gingers are mutants. The recessive MC1R gene that is in charge of the red hair, MC1R, is a genetic mutation. Genetic variations in MC1R gene are common in people with red hair. Gingers are incredibly rare; just 2% of the world’s population has red hair which comes to around 140 million. There are more redheads in Western Europe than anywhere else in the world which is 13%. Red hair comes in many different shades: Burnt Orange, Copper, Strawberry Blonde, Ginger, Harry Windsor Red.

Gingers are more sensitive to cold and hot than other hair colors, in fact, they are just more sensitive period. For surgery, it takes 25% more anesthetic to knock them out than patients with other hair colors.

Adolf Hitler was against the intermarriage of redheads believing that they produce devil children. Early Greeks believed redheads were Vampires. Aristotle wrote: “The reddish are of bad character”. Christian communities considered a mark of the devil were birthmarks, patches and the major one was red hair. Many Christians believe that Judas was a redhead, with textual proof from the Bible. This belief inspired painters to paint Judas with red hair.

Each September, the Netherlands holds a two-day celebration out of appreciation for redheads called Roodharigendag. The event includes crowning the Ginger King and Queen. Ginger Queens are always winners in my book.

Just a few Gingers from History:

King David (1037 BC – 967 BC)

Elizabeth I (1533 – 1603)

Malcolm X (1925 -1965)

Vladimir Lenin (1870 -1924)

Winston Churchill (1874 -1965)

Galileo Galilei (1564 -1642)

Mark Twain (1835 -1910)

James Joyce (1882 -1941)

Vincent Van Gogh (1853 -1890)

Thomas Jefferson (1743 -1826)

Antonio Vivaldi (1678 -1741)