In historical paintings, one can expect to see an animal included in the composition whether it be a bird perched in a cage, a cat lurking in the shadows, or a dog nestled at the foot of a bed. While it may seem like the artist only includes these animals for aesthetic purposes, they are almost always serving a symbolic role and are therefore worth our time and attention. This is especially true of artworks that explore female sexuality. In these works of art, the addition of an animal communicates what the artist believes ideal female sexuality is or is not. Two animals commonly used to symbolize female sexuality are dogs and cats. These two opposite animals symbolize opposing portrayals of female sexuality. Dogs symbolize fidelity and fertility and communicate that women should be submissive, dependent and exclusive in their sexuality. Cats on the other hand, are used as symbols of deceit, promiscuity, and independence. When cats are included in portraits of women that explore female sexuality, they often communicate something negative about the woman and her sexuality. Women who are tempted into affairs, courtesans who sell their bodies, and young girls embracing their sexuality are all painted next to cats while faithful women are painted next to dogs. This exhibit seeks to explore these opposite sides of female sexuality and how they are communicated by the inclusion of a dog or cat. Take time to find the animals in each painting (some are easier to spot than others) and consider if the form of female sexuality shown in the painting is considered idealized by the artist.
Galleria Degli Uffizi, Florence Italy
In Titian’s Venus of Urbino, a limited view of female sexuality is communicated. Commissioned by the Duke of Urbino as a marriage gift for his fourteen year old wife, this painting communicates that ideal female sexuality is bound by fidelity to a husband. To communicate this message, Titian includes a sleeping spaniel, a symbol of fidelity at the feet of a beautiful nude figure holding red roses. Together, these symbolic images communicate what the Duke expects of his wife, that she loves him passionately, looks beautiful, and makes her body available to him. Finally the inclusion of the dog teaches the young bride that a good wife limits these three qualities to her husband lest she become unfaithful.
The Wallace Collection, London UK.
The Swing, a painting from the Rococo era, shows a woman in an affair. The man poised to catch her is her lover while the man in the shadows is speculated to be her husband. As she swings between them she rocks between fidelity and infidelity. In contrast to Venus of Urbino ideal female sexuality is not tied to fidelity but is allowed to sway between duty and pleasure. This is clear in how inconspicuous the dog is. Like Titian, Fragonard includes a small dog that is meant to be a symbol of fidelity however in The Swing, the dog is not a central symbol but is nearly unnoticeable at the bottom right corner. Its message of fidelity is lost in the woman’s desire for pleasure. Overall this painting is sexually freeing as it communicates that the woman is in control of her sexuality and not tied to fidelity.
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Prelude to a Concert shows that ideal female sexuality is both innocent and erotic. While the scene of a man and woman making music appears innocent, the woman’s gaze, the gathering of her dress and the addition of a dog and a cat suggest otherwise. Eyes filled with desire the young woman gazes at her accompanist. It is unclear what her relationship to the man is, yet visual elements suggest that he is not her husband. Meanwhile a small dog looks up at her while a cat looks down from a table. The implied lines from their eyes and the gathering of her dress land on her crotch giving the otherwise innocent painting a suggestive air. The addition of the cat alongside a dog brings symbolic conflict into the piece. While the dog symbolizes fidelity, the cat symbolizes promsicuity and deceit. As a result female sexuality is allowed to swing between duty and desire just as in Fragonard’s work.
Theodore Gericautt Louise Vernet as a Child oil on canvas 1819, 23 ⅝” x 19 ¾”
The Louvre, Paris
In Louise Vernet as a Child, adolescent sexuality is considered as an ideal form of female sexuality. Gericautt communicates the child’s sexuality through her hiked skirt that reveals her legs, her suggestive gaze and her enormous cat which gazes menacingly from her lap. Despite all of these elements, Gericautt does not romanticize female adolescent sexuality. A sense of unease due to the enlarged scale of the cat, her direct gaze and the stormy sky keeps it from being stated as an ideal. What’s more the cat can also be seen as a symbol of evil not just promiscuity.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Similarly to Louise Vernet as a Child we are invited to look up the skirt of a young girl, however there is nothing in the painting that communicates that we should feel wrong about doing so. This is because Balthus, along many other modernist artists, idealized adolescent sexuality. As a result we as the viewer are invited to take part in the erotic painting. Whether we like it or not our eyes cannot help being drawn to her pure white underwear which is the focal point. To increase the eroticism of the piece, Balthus includes the crude metaphor of a cat lapping milk from a dish. Symbolizing promiscuity and independence, the cat mirrors Therese. Her eyes are closed as she is aloof to the world around her just as cats are. Overall, Balthus communicates the idealized view of adolescent sexuality through the inclusion of the cat.
Edouard Manet Olympia 1863 oil on canvas, 130 cm x190 cm
Musee d’Orsay France
In Olympia, Manet critiques the prostitution of Paris by showing what ideal female sexuality is not. Think of how Olympia is eerily similar to Venus of Urbino. Both feature a nude woman lounging on a bed with an animal at their feet. However Olympia does not have a docile dog of fidelity at her feet but a black cat peeking from the shadows. The fact that it is fading into the shadows represents the evil and forbidden sexuality hidden by the prostitution industry, but it especially symbolizes the nature of courtesans like Olympia, prostitutes who were able to infiltrate high society and jump from class to class. It shows how their immorality is able to be concealed, yet by painting Olympia as a Venus figure, the figure meant to be the most ideal form of female sexuality, as a courtesan, he reveals the prostitution that Paris has turned a blind eye to.
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