#!/usr/bin/perl -l

# http://perlmonks.org/?node_id=1201392

use strict;
use warnings;

local $/ = '<footer>';

open my $fh, '<', \<<END;
<blockquote>
<p><b>Joos van Cleve</b> - Lucretia (detail)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>beautiful</p>
</blockquote>
<p>indeed I am</p>
<footer><a href
END

while(<$fh>)
  {
  /^(.*)\n.*<footer>/m and print $1 =~ s/<.*?>//gr;
  }