Welcome to Aesthetic Solutions! The primary goals of this blog are to discuss technological solutions that can better peoples' lives as well as the aesthetics that artists use to address a problem.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

How Has the Portrayal of Women Changed Throughout Art History?

After reading "There Is No Unmarked Woman", by Deborah Tannen, I connected Tannen's purpose, that all women are "marked" in an unfortunate way, to how women have been portrayed, or "marked", as aesthetically pleasing (or not) in art.  Women were looked down upon for much of history, and this has been reflected in art history. 
The negative portrayal of women in art began in the early modern period, also known as the Renaissance; portraits emerged during the early modern period.  It would seem that portraits made it easier to depict this deprecation, but, during this period, women and men were portrayed similarly, and the deprecation was composed through the details.  These details, which are excellently portrayed in Portrait of a Lady, by Rogier van der Weyden, include:  stiff posture, downcast eyes, head coverings, arms' positions, no showing teeth, bound hair, and uncrossed legs.  Because Portrait of a Lady has most of these details, the lady was considered to be very virtuous.  However, not all artists back then wanted women rendered as obedient or virtuous, as shown in Self Portrait, by Judith Leyster.
Portrait of a Lady by Rogier van der Weyden
Self Portrait by Judith Leyster













Women continued to be belittled until the Feminist Movement in the 1960s.  The Feminist Movement changed the perspective of women from submissive subsistence to independent individuals that are in control of their own lives and are able to act however they want; this change has affected all forms of art since the Feminist Movement began, such as the photograph Untitled, by Cindy Sherman, and the acrylic painting Hotline for Troubled Teens, by Joe DeMers. 

Untitled by Cindy Sherman
Hotline for Troubled Teens by Joe DeMers


1 comment:

  1. I liked this informative post on how the portrayal of women has changed...it's surprising how different the women are displayed from the time of the Renaissance and the time after the Feminist movement!

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