“Art is a product of its time. It is a result of the social, political, and religious context in which it was made” (Cruz). For the aforementioned reason, it is imperative to take into consideration the culture, time period, and the gender of the artist because those individualities have a major influence on the depiction of the women in art. For example, gender is a cultural classification, hence, various artists might have portrayed the identity of the female in a different way. Moreover, gender roles are a set of stringent behaviors and expectations set by the society based on the biological sex of a person. The art works were predominantly created by male artists, thus women were represented based on what the society considered to be …show more content…
For example, Figure 1 depicts a sculpture entitled: Bhudevi. It was created during the Chola Period in Southern India, specifically in Tamil Nadu in the late 11th-early 12th centuries Bronze. In India, Bhudevi is considered to be the Goddess of Mother Earth and one of the wives of the Hindu god Vishnu. One conspicuous attribute is her body figure, which seems to be the epitome of female image in India during that time period. She has a small nose and chin, fat deposition in the cheek area (round face), fuller hips and large breasts, which are considered to be signs of fertility. As a matter of fact, she is the “Fertility-form in which she is the Mother Earth” (“About Bhudevi”). She has a ring on the pointer finger of her left hand, which can be symbolized as the Earth that is rotating. Her graceful gestures, such as having one of her hands faced down, depict the feminine nature of women, while having the other one pointed diagonally to lead to her husband, Vishnu. This gesture implies that Vishnu is her husband and that he holds a position of power. The way she is posed portrays her femininity because she is positioned in a way so that her curves are enhanced. She is also depicted naked, which according to some Hindus, the erotic nature portrays Kama-one of their goals in human life. Furthermore, Bhudevi
Prehistoric and ancient artists represent men and women in various ways and the works of art tell an altered story, which reinforces old-fashioned gender roles. Additionally, representations of prehistoric and ancient genders illustrate the social standards of their specific periods. The views of gender presented by the works of art are still recognizable, despite all individual’s current sensibilities and views today. An individual’s contemporary view is of gender and gender rules illustrates the significant social progress that the human culture has made. Although the Woman of Willendorf and Kouros/Statue of standing Youth artworks were created at different times, the genders can still easily be depicted within the artwork.
Some of my themes will include fetishism, sexual desire through artworks, the image of women being no more than the male “other” and symbolism creating narratives by the artists themselves. I will focus on one particular Italian artist; Titian whose work exemplifies the subject through his pieces including one titled Venus of Urbino: a 1538 oil painting. I will also focus on readings by Laura Mulvey and Norman Bryson stating the ideas in which women throughout history in paintings and the more recent films and advertising, are typically the subjected objects. The power of men over women is exhibited in many linguistic senses whether it’s through terms or symbols, there is always a comparison that exists between men and women.
How do the works of Yasumasa Morimura, Julie Rrap and Anne Zahalka challenge conventional ways in which gender has been depicted historically in the visual arts?
Also, in my discussion I reflected on how, “this image is culturally important because it represents that females can be strong and powerful.” I never realized how much art can reflect upon the society and how important the media is when it. There are a lot of politics in art, but not all art forms can be pleasing to the viewers, it’s about doing what you like and there is no need to adjust your point of view. There are so many different types of art forms, and I’m glad we experienced and learned about them in this class. I have ultimately formed a love for different art forms, and can’t wait to experience them in the future.
Throughout history people can see many of the developments and differences among cultures, through the artworks that were produced. This essay will carefully analyze, evaluate, and compare four distinct works, from different time periods and cultures. The works to be compared are: The Woman from Willendorf, The Bust of Nefertiti, Figure of A Woman, and Young Flavian Woman. Throughout this paper the style and function of each individual work will be explored, along with the cultural ideas presented in each piece.
Many male artists during the Baroque Period were tremendously successful having received many commissions from a multitude of rich patrons. Their equally talented female counterparts were not as accepted in the male dominated society. Although equally talented, the patriarchal mentality of the times ensured a difficult road for some in the artistic world. The more prominent female artists such as Artemisia Gentileschi, Lavinia Fontana and Orsola Maddalena Caccia had the advantage of having fathers who were prodigious artists themselves and provided the training required for them to flourish as great virtuosos in their own right. I will show and explain some of their known works.
The role of women have had an influence on art as well by opening up the softer more motherly side of art that men may not necessarily be able to tap into. The way that some see women’s art work is a softer more flowing piece. Buildings have a softer line while men design them with edges, sharp points, and more eye catching details. Photography is more sunsets, animals, insects, or landscape pictures as if they want to catch life as it is happing naturally where there is no human interaction.
First, almost all the present figures are philosophers, the elite, in other words. Moreover, remarkable figures like Plato and Aristotle were placed exactly in the center of the fresco, matching the vanishing point and giving a sense of gravity to their importance more than the rest. Second, women are not, if any, included in this state gathering, a masculine notion that would last for centuries. Women’s absence does not merely happen in state policy making, but also happens in things related to knowledge and art. It should be
Since Robusti’s painting was very similar to that of her father, she was not credited for her artwork, rather it was credited to her father. She was considered a workshop assistant; “assistants were largely confined to working on less important areas of the canvas” (20), which shows that Robusti was treated as someone who was barely an artist, despite her having multiple artworks. “The work of many women has been absorbed into that of their better known male colleagues” (22). Although many women’s artwork were displayed, they were not given credit, rather it was given to a male companion. Women have the freedom to create art, but not the freedom to display it as theirs.
In sum, we will argue that Ancient Roman Art emphasizes female likeness as solidly attached to female social identity “as the women whom they were meant to represent belonged to a certain kind of elite, of status, descent and wealth.” In other words, we would argue that Roman artistic representation of the female figure would constitute a social and political agencies directed at the male actors who commissioned them. As women’s status was directly related to the males, they were closely associated with, the identity of an upper class woman was highly tied to her social position as wife, daughter, thus sharing their distinction with their male kin. We will conduct our discussion in the comparison between the distinctions that are to be fond among this particular category: between the various fashions of the “Pudicitia” and the representation of imperial women, with the Statue of Agrippina (Fig. 4) Maior (Tiberian Period) and the Coin of Caligula (Fig. 5) (37-41
Lavinia Fontana, a well known female artist from 1552-1614 is a great example given in the article. She is a well known female artist due to the fact that she was considered a professional in a variety of genres such as portraits, mythological/religious artworks arts even nudes. A quote given after she is introduced was, "A work of art by a woman was considered bizarre, simply because it was made by this.... woman... who was doing a very male thing, simply by being artistic. (Women Artist, pg.1-2)
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.
Gender bias is known as the inclination towards or the prejudice against one gender, which are women in art world in this circumstance. This is an unequal treatment in employment opportunity, such as privileges or benefits (Oxford dictionary). It is also known as women discrimination. According to Inga Muscio, Remedios Varo did not receive the recognition she deserved because of the male social system. “The white, male portion” gave them the authority to present art as an artist but not women. Women did not have a right and had been excluded from the process of creating “art” (202). So, what had happened in the 19th century, which prevented Muscio from gaining her recognition
When one thinks of art and religion, one may think of gender role defiance and non-conformism. While this may be generally true in present times, it was not always this way. Women and men have had distinctly different places in society, these places often being unequal. Generally most well-known works throughout the ages have adhered to and represented what society regarded as the proper gender roles for men and women. This is represented in three works of art which will be discussed: Hamlet by William Shakespeare, The Courtier: Book 3 by Baldassare Castiglione, and Luncheon on the Grass by Eduoard Manet. While these three forms of art come from different times and are of different mediums, they are connected in that they follow and represent the gender roles of their time.
Religion is a major cornerstone of human identity and culture. Anywhere you look on earth where there are people, there is a religion or set of beliefs that those people follow. Many times, the teaching of these Religions can be twisted and manipulated to justify gender bias. The Simple truth is people are treated very differently based on their Gender by followers of two of the most popular religions in the world: Islam and Judaism. I am going to examine some ways the teaching of these two major religions are used to oppress, abuse, and differentiate women.