Unwelcome Exposure

    It has only been in the last hundred years or so that women have risen from the shadows of oppression. However, this has not been an easy trek nor is it one that is complete. For as long as we have records of, which is a very long time indeed, we have heard stories and seen evidence of how women were viewed and treated. They have been seen as weak, lesser, dangerous, and seductive beings. Women have been pushed into corners for centuries unless they gave their husbands a son, and even then, their time in the sun was short.
    Through this exhibition, there are many examples of the ways in which men saw women in relation to their social status in the private and public spheres. Though time passed, cultures changed, and people developed new skills, the ideas of who and what women were remained fairly similar for centuries. When these works of art are viewed in today’s culture, the content can be pretty shocking. But what would it have looked like if we were in 19th century Paris? Or 15th century Italy? The reactions would not be the same as they are today.
    It is through different mediums, time periods, cultures, and artists that we are given these varying interpretations of women and all that made them less important in the eyes of man. It is important to note that there are other works of art that tried to fight this notion of the dangerous, weaker woman. This exhibit will focus on the various harsh depictions of women made by men from the 15th - 20th century while also providing a countering female narrative.

Edgar Degas, The Dancing Class, 1870; 7 3/4 x 10 5/8 in., oil on wood, Impressionism
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)

Dancers in 19th century Paris were far from glamorous. In fact, they were fairly low on the food chain, and that's just how Edgar Degas liked them. In this painting, like many of his others, Degas is giving viewers an inside look at what goes on behind the curtain when the audience isn't looking. He is highlighting those on the fringes of society, who are, in this case, female dancers. The catch? These women were seen as animalistic beings. Edgar Degas spent years painting these women and showing them in a vulnerable space. Did he view these women as individuals of a greater story? Or were they merely the animals he needed to capture?

Pablo Picasso, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907; 96 in × 92 in., oil on canvas, Cubism
The Museum of Modern Art (New York)

It was very difficult for women to have something that was purely their own up until the last hundred years or so. The way to make it in the world was to get married and be a 'good wife.' So when women didn't get married, they had to find a way to provide for themselves. One method was prostitution. In Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, the viewer is presented with five women who are sex workers. In this painting viewers are met with women painted as shards, emphasizing the idea that they are broken people in their society. Furthermore, the two women on the right are wearing animalistic masks, repeating the theme of women being seen as less than human.

Donatello, Judith of Holofernes, 1457-1464; 93 in., bronze, Italian Renaissance:
Hall of Lilies (Sala dei Gigli), in the Palazzo Vecchio (Florence)

There are countless depictions of battles or scenes where people are being murdered. When you view these, take note of who is doing the killing. Is it a man or a woman? In Donatello's statue of Judith, viewers are able to see a woman killing a man, which is pretty out of character. It is happening before the gore starts to show, unlike many others. Compare this piece to Cellini's Perseus and Medusa and pick out the differences in which the murder is being carried out. This statue was originally placed in one of the main walkways in Florence where everyone could see it for all that it was. It had a very short life in that spot. It was soon moved because it caused uneasiness due to the fact that a woman was killing a man. There was fear that the woman had too much agency and because of her actions, she was viewed as monstrous. The statue that replaced it, which was glorified for its beauty and elegance, was a depiction of a woman being sexually assaulted. 

Edouard Manet, Olympia, 1863; 51.4 in × 74.8 in, oil on canvas, Impressionism:
Musée d'Orsay (Paris)

Where are your eyes drawn to first? Her eyes? The woman to her side? The casually placed hand that covers herself? The cat? Eduoard Manet's painting caused an outcry when it was displayed because viewers thought it was missing too many elements and showing all the wrong ones. While the intention was to paint a modernized Venus portrait, critics were shocked because they felt they were viewing a courtesan in a hypersexualized setting. The woman lying down was seen as 'dirty' and a part of the low life society of Paris. During this time, black women were seen as being so sexually passionate that it was dangerous for men. Here, women are seen as a threat purely because of their bodies and nothing to do with their actions. On top of all that, the woman who is lying down can be seen as being too abrasive due to the direct eye contact. It was a sort of aggression that no viewer in 19th century Paris wanted to look at. 

Giambologna, Abduction of a Sabine Woman, 1579 - 1583; 13ft, marble, Italian Renaissance:
Loggia dei Lanzi (Florence)

People cannot own people; it is as simple as that. However, this was not so easily said in 16th century Italy. In this statue, a soldier is stepping over a fall Sabine warrior as he takes a Sabine woman as his prize. His prize. As if women were just nothing more than a participation trophy at the end of a youth soccer season. It might be easy to disregard the horror of what is going in this piece because it is, in fact, beautifully constructed. However, the disrespectful message it is sending is what is most important of all. This piece has an alternate title as well: The Rape of the Sabine Women. Women were viewed as property and vessels for birthing sons and heirs. Women were viewed as land waiting to be colonized, as seen in this statue. 

Artemisia Gentileschi, Susanna and the Elders, 1610; 67 in × 47 in, oil on canvas, Baroque:
Schloss WeiBenstein (Bavaria)

This painting is not the only one of its kind. There are actually very many of this same scene painted by men. This one in particular, by Artemisia Gentileschi, takes a stand against improper depictions of women. Throughout the years, women have been painted as complacent and willing beings when depicted by men. They are usually shown with blank stares on their faces because why wouldn't a woman want the advances of a man? Because nobody deserves to be treated as an object. Women have suffered and continued to suffer under this objectification. In this painting of Suzanna, the viewer can see emotion coming from the woman as two men interrupt her private bathing with the intention of sexually assaulting her. She shows disgust and even a hint of fear. This painting by Gentileschi serves as an accurate representation of the emotions and horrors that women were going through rather than a man's depiction of a woman idly accepting, and even welcoming, the unwarranted and inappropriate advances of men such as these.