Despite the institutional and societal limitations women artists have faced, portrait art has long been regarded as a feminine preoccupation. Since ancient times, female artists have excelled in portraiture. While male portrait artists are more celebrated, women seem to excel in this over other genres of art. This post was born after I read two essays: Linda Nochlin’s Why Have There…
-
-
Reclaiming the Canvas: Suzanne Valadon
From sculptures of Greek goddesses in ancient temples to high-fashion models on Vogue covers, we can see women everywhere in art; rich or poor, young or old, impeccably dressed or completely naked. However, less common are the females behind the canvas: history provides us with a dearth of well-known female names. I’ve talked about this in previous posts – I…
-
Female Nudes and The Male Gaze
The artistic convention of the nude has been around since ancient times, and its sexist undertones have always accompanied it. The naked female body has long been a source of pleasure to the male eye. It is commodified and assigned value through its sexual attractiveness to the male eye. The conventions of nudes have shifted to please male audiences throughout…
