All types of art have a message they are trying to pass to the world some of which may be straightforward and others hidden. For this reason, it is very important to understand, interpret and critically analyze the art in order to get the intended message. The major theme that I am going to analyze is the viewpoints and representation of women in artwork. Some artists have depicted women as mother figures, wives and lovers. They describe the women as caring, loving and protecting them from harm. Other artists depict women who are undergoing different life experiences, the challenges they face and the pressure that the society puts on them. However, many artists have depicted women as sexual objects, hence referring to their nudity. Female nudity …show more content…
The oil painting is known as Venus of Urbino, which was done in 1538 during the Renaissance time period. In Greek and Roman cultures, Venus was worshiped as a goddess. In her cult images, she was often depicted as a woman who possessed everything an ideal beautiful woman should have. During the Renaissance she was no longer literally considered to be a goddess. The title “Venus” was applied to a woman who is the idealized, sexualized form of beauty . It is a very erotic painting that depicted a naked woman identified with Venus, lying on a bed and her frontal view is on display. She looks like she is enjoying being admired. The woman stares straight into the viewers’ eyes while one of her hands covers her genitals and the other holds red roses. In the background there is a maid and a dog which is often viewed as a symbol of fidelity. Some have interpreted the painting to mean a sign of marital love and fidelity since it was painted to celebrate Guidobaldo’s …show more content…
An archaic woman was expected to have big breasts and thighs in order to show their fertility. The painting depicts the woman as very curvy and fleshy, in other words very beautiful during this time period. This is what influenced art during the Renaissance and attitude towards women’s sexuality. The women were considered to be sex objects and their duty was to satisfy men in bed and produce the children. The artist of The Blue Room, Valdon, was one of the painters who chose to revolutionize how people view the woman’s body. She chose not to paint the typical woman, but rather use slightly overweight models, including herself, who were fully clothed. She represents women as an experience rather than a sexual object. She focuses on the intensity of the moment and its circumstances rather than the body and posture of the women. Valdon centers her piece on the changes that women undergo with their bodies at different stages in their lives. The purpose of her piece seems not to please men, but to see the beauty in modesty and versatility of women’s shapes. This painting has been criticized by both men and women- who view the woman as fat and unfeminine and it has sometimes been referred to as
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
The concern of this piece of artwork is the importance of fertility to mankind. The artist was emphasizing the important fertility features woman have that lead to procreation and ensure mankind’s existence in the future. The emphasis on the breasts and pelvic region are related to what
Knowing the sex of the artist introduces the preconceived notion of how the artist may view the opposite sex. In this painting, because I know the artist is a male when viewing the subjects of the painting I understand why they are painted in the way they are. His gender influences my
). This shows that humanity is aware of what is wrong with themselves, constantly “forgetting” (19) what they already have, “the secret of life” (18-19) in which it is spoken of as a tangible thing; highlighting that humanity is already in possession of “the secret” (18) but purposely choosing to not want to use it and just keep it in their “pants” (19).
Even though some artists, as Berger claims, tried to resist this tradition, they couldn’t overcome the cultural tradition of female objectification that has continued to the present. These artists failed to create a different view in culture because of the media and how the perception wouldn’t change in the eyes of men. One famous artist who tried to resist this awful trend was an artist name Rubens. In his portrait of his second wife, the painting named Helene Fourment in a Fur Coat, he tried to portray the same message with a different image.The image is of a women with no other clothing other than a fur coat looking shameful. The middle-aged looking women in the painting was wearing a big brown fur coat. The difference between a regular “nude”
The portrait is displayed horizontally with a gold trimmed frame. The subject is a female that looks to be in her early 20’s sitting upright on a large brown chair. If the viewer travels up the painting the first indication of the woman’s class is her satin, blue dress. The saturated blue shines and falls in the light like water. Paired with the dress are her exceptionally detailed endings to her sleeves. The lace is even painted as though it is translucent, allowing a little of the blue dress to show through the sleeve. Flowers throughout history have symbolized innocence of a woman and her virginity. The repeating theme of flowers, in the sleeve cuffs and ribbon) in the woman’s attired suggests her purity or innocent nature. Another very details section of the painting includes the corset/torso details. The sewing suggests texture in the torso with small beading in between. Towards the top of the chest in the center, the female seems to bear an extravagant, ribbon piece with a tear drop bead in the center. The light pink
Much of media has enhanced the obsession with looks, beauty, and the “perfect” body. Many feminists try to fight against this thinking, as women have always been judged for their looks. Jenny Saville takes an interesting position on the subject, her paintings of nude women being exaggerated. The women tended to be very obese, in contrast with the lithe, skinny models in the media. Saville also painted transgender men and women.
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.
Throughout history female figures have played an important role as subject matter. The female figure is very subjective, as peered through the different lenses of varying cultures. The status and functions of women in these cultures are the primary factors that influence how they are portrayed in art of a certain culture. However, the female figure itself through its natural and inherent iconography represents fertility and the importance of women in society. This natural iconography creates certain parallels in content between all works that use the female figure as subject matter. This varying subjectivity of a female’s status based on an artist’s culture will create differences in content and themes; however some aspects remain similar
Finally, prohibiting the sale of high-capacity magazines will also help minimize the crime in America. A bill was recently passed that prohibits the sale, manufacture, transfer and importation of 157 of the most commonly owned military-style assault weapons (Feinstein). It also bans an additional group of assault weapons that can accept a detachable ammunition magazine and have one or more military characteristics (Feinstein). The bill bans large-capacity magazines and other ammunition feeding devices that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition (Feinstein). These devices allow shooters to fire numerous rounds in rapid succession without having to stop and reload (Feinstein). I believe this bill is a big step toward ending the mass shootings that have devastated families across the country.
The image attached is a painting - An Allegory of Venus and Cupid - by an artist named Agnolo Bronzino, who was inspired by Michelangelo in the 16th century. Painted in 1540-50, it is regarded as one of the greatest paintings ever made. It is known as “Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time” as an allegory for a various range of symbols from a mythological world. I will be using John Berger’s idea of the self-scrutiny of a female to discuss this work of art, and contrast my findings with Kenneth Clark’s ideology.
I will consider the women in Titian painting, Venus of Urbino, to be in the nude. Even though the artist painted her in a seductive way, I see her as confident, a beautiful women not afraid of posing in the nude. There is a different in being nude a being naked, but only the one is seeing the nude picture can decide if it’s a nude or naked image. For some people a nude person in a painting is art because they see it as beautiful and perfect and for some people a naked person in a painting as just a person not having clothes on, also ugly and a shameful image. Only that individual person that is observing the painting can make the judgement of is it nude or naked.
The question of “why feminism?” has been presented to a number of female artists who deal with strong constructions of gender in their work. The answer, overwhelmingly, has been the desire to modify stereotypes about women that have prevailed in male-dominated art history. In the 1960’s, women who explored “feminist” issues in their art were criticized, causing mass mobilization and conscious raising as to what, exactly, was the purpose of feminist art (Crowell, 1991). Since that time, women have been trying desperately to overturn the art world and rescind the traditional stereotypes and images that have plagued them. Feminist artists created somewhat of a unified front during that
To the right of the painting is Nymph, also known as "The Hours", Greek goddesses of the seasons. She has on a very elegant dress and holds a robe out for Venus which is decorated with red and white daises, as well as yellow flowers of some sort, and blue cornflowers. These are all flowers of spring time which is appropriate for the theme of birth. The Nymph also wears garland which is also decorated with roses. The Nymph seems to be welcoming not only Venus, but the season of spring as well. This open arms welcome is very comforting to view.
The fixation is set on her in the center of the painting due to the triangle of light used to create a focal point for the viewer. Surrounding her on both sides are the linear equivelants of past and future. From the left we see her creators helping her along with strength and the force of the wind. To the right we see her handmaiden ready to usher her into the world, where she will be clothed and no longer represent innocence. Both exhibit two very different forms of love and caring to Venus.