Post 4

Cynthia Patel

"The “male gaze” invokes the sexual politics of the gaze and suggests a sexualised way of looking that empowers men and objectifies women" (Loreck, 1). Through the Middle Ages to modern day, women were and still will be objectified from their looks to their bodies. The Renaissance is a great representation to take a look at the idea of the male gaze. Tintoretto's Susanna and the Elders in 1555 is a fine example to help battle this idea. In this painting, Susanna is shown looking in a mirror while she is getting ready. However she is not alone, men are watching her. The men are hiding behind objects just to stare at her naked body while she gets dressed. I believe Susanna knows that she is being watched but does not say anything or act upon it because she is used to it and no matter what she does, men will continue to stare at her. Approximately fifty-five years later, a woman known by Artemisia Gentileschi, painted her own take on Susanna and the Elders in 1610. There are similarities such as Susanna being naked and the two men eyeing her. Despite the similarities, there are also some differences. One of the main differences is how Susanna is reacting to the men staring at her. In Gentileschi's painting, Susanna is being ringed in by the men. You can see it in her face that she is highly uncomfortable and does not want their presence anywhere near her. Gentileschi had a feminist approach towards her paintings. A man whom was supposed to train her to become a more skillful artist raped Gentileschi. I believe a lot of her paintings have to do with how she personally felt inside and the male gaze itself because of this situation that occurred. "The theme of women's labor intersects with that of female sexuality and men's control over the bodies of women. It has been argued that the stability of the Victorian household rested in part on the existence of prostitutes; domesticated middle-class femininity was secured through constant contrast with the perils of unregulated female sexuality" (Chadwick, 188). Fast forward to Victorian England in which women were expected to stay at home and take care of all household activities. In previous centuries, women worked parallel to men. There was no set rule that women were only made to take care of the house and children while the man is away for the day making money. At least not until the 19th century. Although women took care of everyone and everything, women were still not acknowledged. Alice Walker's painting Wounded Feelings in 1861 portrays this idea. In this painting, a woman is shown upset while being comforted by a woman who seems to be her friend. It seems as if she upset because the man shown in the picture is speaking to another woman. Men are still objectifying women. It does not matter whether women are working or taking care of a man and his kids, the man will still be interested in bodies and that women still needed a man's recognition and support. Mary Cassatt was a painter that painted during Impressionism. One of her famous paintings, Woman in Black at the Opera, 1880. This painting also shows the idea of the male gaze. The woman in black is at the opera with her glasses focusing on the play while in the background there is a man using his glasses to look at her. Instead of focusing on the play itself, his gaze is fixed on her. "Feminist theory has often held to the premise that the viewing field is organized for a male subject who exercises power through looking, and in this way asserting visual control over the objects of his desire" (Chadwick, 241). Jumping into modernism in which women started to draw and paint the female body. The only difference now was that they were painting the female body in a female perspective, which we call the female gaze. Alice Neel was a painter in the 20th century. She painted many nudes not just of other women but of herself too. She moved from Greenwich Village to Spanish Harlem to the Upper West Side. Through all the moves she made, she painted real life people she encountered. Her paintings asserted the female point of view. Barbara Kruger, a 21st century artist. Her art tackles on the idea of feminism. "Her works examine stereotypes and the behaviors of consumerism with text layered over mass-media images" (Artnet, 1). From the Renaissance to 2017, feminism has progressed. Although we do have many more problems to face in society regarding feminism and women rights which essential are basic human rights, art helps to illustrate the problems and help move forward from it.

Work Cited

Women, Art, and Society by Whitney Chadwick 4th edition 

http://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-the-male-gaze-mean-and-what-about-a-female-gaze-52486

http://www.artnet.com/artists/barbara-kruger/