The mysterious painting
- There is a painting of a young woman on the hallway of Aunt Ruth's house, which is prominent in certain scenes (e.g., it was centered between a shot of Betty and Rita sitting on the couch). In real life, this is a painting by Guido Reni called "Beatrice Cenci".
- Beatrice Cenci was a young Roman noblewoman who lived from 1577 to 1599. She was a victim of the incestuous advances of her father and so she hired two hit men to kill her father and then make it look like an accident. Even though she was caught and executed for the crime, along with other family members, the sympathies of the public were with Beatrice. She became legendary as a symbol of the lost innocence of victimized daughters, and she has inspired many works of art, books, plays and even a few movies that attempt to capture her story. One author, Percy Bysshe Shelley, who wrote a play about the tragedy called "The Cenci," said Beatrice's story is about "the most dark and secret caverns of the human heart." — Alan Shaw
- Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can (2002), similarly 'borrowed' (consciously/intentionally or not) the Cenci. screenshot
Theme of sexual abuse?
At one scene we see both Betty and Rita sitting together on the same couch where Betty was talking with her aunt over the phone earlier and the painting is in the background right between the two of them. It is clear that Lynch wants us to probe the connection between this picture and Diane's relationship to Camilla. And I believe the only logical conclusion is that Diane's sexual abuse as a child led her into an unhealthy image of herself, which then led her into a relationship with Camilla. Camilla's role in Diane's life comes after the abuse, but by encouraging the view that Hollywood success comes from exploiting a sexual image, Camilla pointed Diane down a path that led her to continually relive the abuse. — Alan Shaw