Eroticism and Female Imagery in Nineteenth Century Art

If she stays true to this ideal, then she cannot find time to do anything beyond the walls of her house. Ultimately, Nochlin highlights external influences as the reasons behind the lack of great women artists. The problem is within the system itself, not within the individual. Another effort to answer the question suggests changing the ground somewhat and asserting, as some modern feminists do. That there is a distinct kind of greatness for women's art, thereby assuming the presence of a characteristic and recognizable feminine style, distinctive both in its formal and its strong qualities and based on the distinctive character of women's situation and experience. There are no great women artists because women are incapable of greatness. Nochlin says that society often restricts women and their freedom to live life and learn freely. It is said that drawing nude models is one of the most difficult tasks in art. So if women were denied to even try such a challenge, then how can they excel as

During the Renaissance period, sexuality impacted how people, both men and women, were treated and how they behaved. The lives of women were completely defined by the ideals of sexuality that were enforced during that time. Every area of a woman’s life from birth was influenced by outside influences rather than by they themselves. It took a particular type of woman to break past the clearly defined description of what a “Renaissance woman” should be.

Envision a realm, filled with genderless inhabitants. A realm of pure bliss, where there is no such thing as “mankind and all beings are [biologically] equal. Now imagine an opposite realm, a realm in which Andrea Dworkin resided. Advocate turned author turned agitator. Andrea Dworkin was a heterodox feminist vanguard who paved a path of her own to support this women’s crusade. Defiant, confrontational and arguably offensive, she immersed herself into the tacit realm of patriarchy, seeking to enlighten and expose the sinister sexual methodologies of man that preserve the role of women as besmirched objects of male indulgence and exploitation. Her ideas and concepts of such is best expressed in Dworkin’s two earliest novels; Pornography: Men Possessing Women [1981] and Intercourse [1987]. Consecutively loved and loathed, Dworkin’s has exerted an important impact on the means and degree of male dominated sexuality and female oppression.

The main focus of the painting intended by Titian is a nude woman, Venus, looking straightforwardly at the audience. The young woman’s nipples are erect; with her left hand covers her pubic area, the sexuality of this painting is unquestionable. She is completely naked except for the ring on her little finger and the bracelet around her wrist. It is clear that the intention of this painting is to evoke sensual feelings in its audience.

This particular artwork could be interpreted as symbolic for identifying a future for sexual freedom of women; women being able to discuss themselves sexually, accept who they are and their individual beauty and the freedom to express female sexuality art, removing the stigma

This trait of a submissive female is reversed within Rrap’s exhibition; Persona and Shadow: Puberty 1984. This piece is an appropriation and deconstruction of Edvard Munch’s work; Puberty 1894 which

In representing female subjects, both Pablo Picasso’s oil painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907) and Édouard Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (1882) manipulate the formal techniques of composition and perspective to create new ways of seeing their subject, emulating their contemporary society’s shifting views of women and the individual. Les Demoiselles depicts five naked prostitutes, flaunting their bodies, and some wearing tribal masks. In comparison, A Bar at the Folies-Bergère represents a female, who may also be a prostitute, tending a bar. The depiction of previously ‘hidden’ female subjects alone was an innovation of the perception of the artist, however, the formal treatment in representing these subjects was an important break from tradition.

Reclining nude female is a common subject matter in art history since the Venetian Renaissance, Titian’s Venus of Urbino painted in 1538 is one of the earliest reclining nude female in painting history. It described a beautiful young female laying on her bed with her sleeping dog, on the back ground is her maids looking for cloth or her in the cassone. Manet’s Olympia that painted in 1865 is a painting with a similar composition, A nude young female who was suggested a prostitute, behind her is her black female maid holding a big bouquet of flower which is possibly from her customer. On the same part of the composition, there is an animal as well, but this time it is a cat. Titian and Manet’s reclining nude female have a same composition and subject matter, however They are very different in art history, both stylistically and culturally.

In Chapter 3 of his book, “Ways of Seeing”, John Berger argues that in western nude art and present day media, that women are largely shown and treated as objects upon whom power is asserted by men either as figures in the canvas or as spectators. Berger’s purpose is to make readers aware of how the perception of women in the art so that they will recognize the evolution of western cultured art.

Sexuality has an inherent connection to human nature. Yet, even in regards to something so natural, societies throughout times have imposed expectations and gender roles upon it. Ultimately, these come to oppress women, and confine them within the limits that the world has set for them. However, society is constantly evolving, and within the past 200 years, the role of women has changed. These changes in society can be seen within the intricacies of literature in each era. Specifically, through analyzing The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, one can observe the dynamics of society in regards to the role of women through the lens of the theme of sexuality. In both novels, the confinement and oppression of women can be visibly seen as a result of these gender roles. Yet, from the time The Scarlet Letter was published to the time The Bell Jar was written, the place of women in society ultimately changed as well. Hence when evaluating the gender roles that are derived from sexuality, the difference between the portrayals of women’s oppression in each novel becomes apparent, and shows how the subjugation of women has evolved. The guiding question of this investigation is to what extent does the theme of sexuality reflect the expectations for women in society at the time each novel was written. The essay will explore how the literary elements that form each novel demonstrate each author’s independent vision which questions the

The reading claims that nudes throughout artistic history have been an important source of beauty and controversy. Nudes began to spike during the Baroque period as they were used for the more expressive and emotional arts of the time. In the nineteenth century, nudes became more common, yet became more sensitive. Artists would train by drawing nudes of ancient Greek statues and figures from myth. However, many artists would then move on to create works depicting prostitutes or peasant naked women. This would not please patrons as they were extremely societally taboo. However, this did not start artists from making them, as they moved into the twentieth and twenty-first century. This shows the importance of artistic nudes and their impact

This binary relationship manifests itself in Levy’s work in another way, as well. Toward the very end of the book Levy claims she has no complaint against women who do gain genuine sexual pleasure from “their vaginas waxed, their breasts enlarged” (Levy, 198). On one hand, Levy recognizes that sexuality is personal and that everyone’s own experiences and preferences are unique. Yet at the same time, by drawing the line between “authentic” and “fake”, she must impersonally interpret these experiences in order to classify them as “problematic”. This desire to judge yet not judge women’s sexual nature represents an underlying tension within the book that threatens to unravel her arguments.

Artist and people viewing the art work have always had a fascination with the female nude. Even when I was a child my attention was captured by the nude art not because I was a kid and I saw a nude lady , but it forced me to wonder more about why the female nude was so amazing as a tool for art and why this is repeated so many times throughout the centuries. One female nude painting in particular was the subject of controversy and exposed the syncretism and or the power of the female nude painting.

Her Kawii shaped viridian eyes, Cupid's bow lips, triangular cheekbones, upturned nose, perky alert tits and firm tight buttocks; skin so white, almost seemed prosthetic: no pimple or mole blemished this lactescent flesh: her jet black hair darker than a raven's feather; her anus, quaint and clean like the fossilisation of a daisy: ultimately, all these amenities did not provide her with the perfection of angelic beauty, but more the imperfection in sex appeal, as she stretched languorously, naked on black velvet covers, bored out of her silly little skull and yet, comfortable in salacious surroundings. Her alias, Amber Summers, experienced porn mannequin at 21 years of age, winner of a Golden Clit award, demonstrated zealous panache when performing, which in contrast to her current state, fetch quite the dualism.

The “modern woman” developed a façade (also known as a masquerade) that allowed them to appear like a typical woman — perhaps deemed narcissistic, to use the words of Sigmund Freud — but in fact they were exploring their personal sexual intrigue and ignited the female gaze; which was something to counteract the male gaze, which they had felt the pressure of for centuries (or even millennia). An example of this could be a successful and intelligent working woman after showing her ‘worth’, deciding that she needs to flirt and gain attention from male colleagues for her own entertainment and empowerment. Two artists of Art Deco that used the ‘masquerade’ in their art are Tamara de Lempicka (see Figure 8) and Marie Laurencin (see Figure 9), however both have taken greatly opposing approaches. Lempicka’s piece, Andromeda, shows a chained, nude woman looking submissively and longingly into the distance, perhaps waiting for her Perseus. However, it can be considered that Lempicka’s model is positioned in a way that resembles a strip tease or burlesque dancer, which — as the name suggests — is a form of teasing. A parody or masquerade that exaggerated the model’s femininity that disguises to the male audience that her intention was to bend them to her will. These images of writhing and sexualised bodies were extremely crucial to Lempicka’s art. Meanwhile, Laurencin’s work Camille is particularly indicative of her work style, presenting her exaggeration of femininity as soft, fragile