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1165
The Universal Man by Hildegard von Bingen
The painting is a full-body male figure, with repeated concentric patterns around the circular illustration and thin brush strokes with varying textures to create the image of an eye. It is done on a parchment or vellum with a border containing miniature art. Hildegard created this artwork to illustrate the relationship between God and man. I chose this painting because it is an illumination characteristic of medieval art -
1200
Seven Liberal Arts by Herrad of Landsberg
The seven liberal arts grammar are logic, rhetoric, geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and music, which are represented by the seven semi-circles attached to the inner circle. Philosophy sits at the center with Socrates and Plato. Herrad of Landsberg created this painting to show the superiority of philosophy as a source of knowledge upon which all other forms of knowledge depend. -
Period: 1450 to
Week 2 - The Renaissance
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Period: 1476 to 1492
Week 1 - The Middle Ages
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Period: to
Week 3 - The 17th Century
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Minerva Dressing by Lavinia
Lavinia’s paintings titled “Minerva Dressing” was done in 1614. Through the painting, Lavinia wanted to challenge the sociocultural expectations of the Renaissance period concerning the conduct of women. She was the first female artist to depict female nudity through art. She wanted to break the sociocultural stereotypes that limited women from enjoying their artistic freedoms and exploring their sexuality. -
Judith Slaying Holofernes by Gentileschi
Gentileschi created the painting as a protest against her experience of rape. The slaying of the male by females symbolizes the power of women in fighting sociocultural power imbalances and injustices visited upon them by males. The depiction in the painting is a symbolism of women’s physical and spiritual assertion which challenged the norms and traditions of the Renaissance. -
The Proposition by Judith Leyster
Judith Leyster's 1631 painting titled 'The Proposition" shows a woman sewing in candlelight in a darkened room as an older man leans over her, touching her right shoulder and offering her coins. Leyster created the above painting to highlight women's choices in response to male advances. The woman is focused on sewing and appears disinterested in the man's monetary offers. The painting was inspired by the 17th-century stereotypes rooted in the sexual objectification of women. -
Venus Attired by the Three Graces
Killigrew’s painting, Venus Attired by the Three Graces, created in 1650, is one of her prominent artworks. Killigrew created the painting to showcase female beauty, fertility, and spirituality. The painting reinforces the norms of the 17th century that sexualized women and judged them based on their sexual attraction. The depiction of nudity could symbolize physical feminine beauty, but based on 17th-century norms, nudity could be an undignified representation of women. -
Period: to
Week 4 - The 18th Century
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Ariadne Abandoned by Angelica Kauffman
The painting is by Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807), a Swiss painter renowned for history paintings during the 1st century. Kauffman created the painting based on a myth from literature. The painting shows Ariadne in desperation after Theseus abandoned her. Kauffman depicts the power of love and the pain of betrayal from a woman's perspective. -
Self-Portrait with Two Pupils by Labille-Guiard
This art is by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard (1749-1803) a French artist who specialized in miniature art and portraiture. She created the painting to challenge traditions that restricted women artists from having pupils at the Royal Academy. Only male artists were allowed to have pupils at the Royal Academy during the 18th century. By depicting two female pupils, Labille-Guiard aimed to suggest that more women should be admitted to the Royal Academy. -
Period: to
Week 5 - The 19th Century
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Labourage Nivernais by Rosa Bonheur
Bonheur created the painting to portray her association with masculine attributes since plowing was largely a man's job due to the physical strength demanded. During the 19th century, women were confined to domestic spaces while men got involved in the world of work. She was rejecting the norms of domesticity of women and the notion that women were physically incapable of undertaking hard labor portrayed by most female artists. -
At the Seashore by Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz
The painting shows a woman and her child seated at the seashore. Bilińska created the painting to show the challenges of motherhood. The presence of a child and the hoop net on the right could indicate mothers' struggle to feed their children. The gloomy atmosphere in the painting signifies the struggle and the pain of motherhood. The painting reflects the cultural changes that were taking place in the 19th century, prompting women to become breadwinners. -
Period: to
Week 6 & 7 - 20th Century
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Group of Four Nudes by Tamara de Lempicka
The painting shows a group of 3 nude women frolicking together. Tamara created the painting to strongly express female sexuality by depicting nudity. She uses the naked female body to portray women’s suppressed and taboo sensuality due to cultural stereotypes. She challenged the traditional notions of femininity regarding physical appearance and gender-based social relations. The female models in the painting embody feminine sensuality and challenge the idea of a male voyeur. -
Black iris by Georgia Totto O'Keeffe
O'Keeffe’s painting, Black Iris, shows a black iris flower using oil on canvas. O'Keeffe created the painting to evoke the viewer to consider the flower beyond its superficial beauty. Flowers have been used to invoke many emotions and interpretations in art. O'Keeffe used flowers to symbolize deeply feminine emotions and eroticism. This painting establishes a connection between femininity and nature, suggesting that women are an inevitable part of the natural order. -
The Liberation of Aunt Jemima by Betye Saar
The assemblage shows Aunty Jemimah, a popular character of a black maid created by a pancake company in the 1890s. She created it to depict the plight of black Americans, especially women, in the 19th century. In her right hand, Aunty Jemimah holds a broomstick symbolizing black slavery, servitude, and domesticity that characterized black women's lives. In front of Aunty Jemimah’s image, a black maid holds a white child, which also symbolizes black women's servitude at the hands of whites. -
Abortion series by Paula Rego
The photo shows a woman seated on the bed, legs folded on the knees and holding them with her hands. Rego created the painting as part of her abortion series to protest against the outlawing of abortion. A campaign to legalize abortion in Portugal culminated in the 1998 referendum on abortion, but its legalization failed. Rego wanted to send the message that abortion was a right that women were willing and ready to protect despite it being illegal. -
Period: to
Week 8 - The 21st Century (Late 20th Century)
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Equilibrium by Amy Sherald
The painting shows a black woman in a long skirt standing on and holding horizontal poles. Sherald created the painting to celebrate the strength of black women. Equilibrium is a state in which opposing forces are balanced. The woman's suspended posture shows the determination to balance forces that are likely to throw black women out of balance. Sherald wanted to show the black woman's ability to withstand social, cultural, racial, and political forces that characterize her life. -
Efflorescence by Alexandra Gallagher
This is a print showing the naked upper body of a woman covered with flowers on the head and the lower part of her torso. Gallagher created the print to depict the experiences of women in Western societies. The nude upper body is an expression of feminine sexuality and beauty. Gallagher's prints have figures with lucid and dream-like appearances, creating the impression of holiness and religious idolization. She illustrated women as symbols of beauty, nature, and divinity all in one image.