In her article, “Judith Leyster’s Proposition – Between Virtue and Vice,” Frima Fox Hofrichter offers the readers to acknowledge a painter of still-life, portraiture, and genre works named Judith Leyster, who had been greatly commended in her native city of Haarlem by introducing a new view in painting that contradicts a popular theme. The key question that the author, Frima Hofrichter, is addressing is Judith Leyster’s outlook towards her painting of The Proposition, instead of the actual subject in the art piece.
The most important information in this article is Judith Leyster’s notable painting called, The Proposition, and several paintings done by artists, such as Quentin Metsys and Dirck Van Baburen, whose works differ from Leyster’s
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theme. In the art piece, The Proposition, Leyster depicts a woman sewing and sitting down by an oil lamp while an older man leans over her shoulder with coins on his hand, which, as mentioned by Hofrichter, is when the proposition begun (Hofrichter 3). What makes Judith so unique in her work is that instead of having the usual depiction of a prostitute who is willing and submissive to promiscuous men, Leyster represented a woman who shows no interest in the sexual favor, which was unusual at the time. Frima Hofrichter discusses that the theme of brothels or prostitution was greatly accepted since it described the life in Holland during the seventeenth-century (Hofrichter 3). Unlike Leyster, the artist Quentin Metsys made a work called, Matched Lovers, where he used the popular scene of a Prodigal Son with a woman who is shown very seductive and is trying to get money from him with the trade of love or sex. The author also mentions another artwork done by Barburen called the Procuress, which like Metsys painting, shows a female prostitute with eager men discussing the services the woman can give to them for money (Hofricther 5). The key concept that we need to understand in this article is Judith Leyster’s viewpoint on sexual exchanges for money, which she clearly displays in her painting of The Proposition.
By this concept the author means that it was common for artists during the sixteenth-century to make artworks where the subject matter is about prostitution, brothels, and procuresses (Hofrichter 3). Frima Fox mentions that not only was Leyster’s perspective different from her compatriots, but also her behavior towards the subject (Hofrichter 4). The main point of view presented in this article that the author, Frima, is looking at is Leyster’s attitude toward prostitution. The author believes that Judith Leyster’s painting displays her standpoint as a woman of virtue, which is visibly portrayed in Judith’s artwork, where the woman is dressed formally and is ignoring the man’s offer (Hofrichter 6). Waiting for a response of the woman sewing, the scene is described as a silent and intimate propositional scene, which was not brought up again until 25 years later when Gerard Ter Borch was present (Hofrichter 7). The author trusts the influence of Judith Leyster’s Proposition on other artists, like Metsu and Vermeer, whose works show a similar concept of a woman being disturbed by a male figure and the silent mood of proposition in painting (Hofrichter
9). Frima Fox Hofrichter's article is written very well and I definitely agree in her view on Judith Leyster as being a predecessor for artists such as Metsu and Ter Borch for the intimate proposition theme. The author gave enough names and information about different artists to support her whole purpose of writing the article. I read the whole article with ease and it was really thorough. My opinion of what the author is trying to say is very positive, since I really liked Judith Leyster’s take on depicting a virtuous woman in a popular theme of prostitution.
Carol Armstrong begins her essay by pointing out the two main points that come about when discussing A Bar at the Folies-Bergere. These two points are the social context of the painting and its representation of 19th century Paris, and the internal structure of the painting itself with the use of space. She then goes on and addresses what she will be analyzing throughout her essay. She focuses on three main points, the still life of the counter and its commodities, the mirror and its “paintedness”, and the barmaid and her “infra-thin hinge” between the countertop and the mirror.
Contextual Theory: This painting depicts a portrait of life during the late 1800’s. The women’s clothing and hair style represent that era. Gorgeous landscape and a leisurely moment are captured by the artist in this work of
The painting depicts a mother and her four children, who are all leaning on her as she looks down solemnly, her tired, despondent expression suggests she felt trapped in her roles as being a mother and a wife. The woman and her children are clearly the focal point of the artwork as the bright colours used to paint them stand out impeccably against the dull, lifeless colours of the background. This painting appears to be centred around the ideology that women are home-keepers, whose main role is to satisfy and assist her husband while simultaneously minding the children and keeping the home tidy and ready for his return. The social consequences of this artwork could have been that the woman could have been berated for not taking pleasure out of being a mother and raising her children, as a woman should. She could have been made redundant as her husband may have felt as though she is no longer useful if she couldn’t adequately adhere to her roles as a mother and a
In a sense, Geismar accuses Cather's heroines of sacrificing their marital roles for their art (172). However, marriage is not the only aspect that raises the subject of sacrifice for Cather's protagonists - there is also the issue of family. This is because a woman artist, or any woman, is judged not only on her art but also on her personal life, especially by her submissiveness to man in the role of daughter, wife and mother. If a woman is unable to commit towards one of these roles, she is blamed for renouncing her expected role for something that is associated with a man's world talent. Many readers judge Thea Kronberg and Lena Lingard according to their female roles, and hence place the accusation of sacrifice upon them.
I found The Raising of Lazarus and Annunciation to be interesting pieces on their own as well as to be compared. At face value, these paintings do not appear to contain many contrasting features. However, by examining these paintings closely, one can conclude that paintings with similar themes, mediums, and time periods can still differ in countless ways. Light, medium, subject, color, space, and viewpoint are just a few of the characteristics that can be considered when analyzing Wtewael and Caliari’s works. It is imperative that observers of art take a deeper look into the different features of artwork in attempt to uncover the intentions of the artist.
Caterina van Hemessen was born around 1528 around the Flemish city of Antwerp in modern day Belgium. She is the earliest female painter of the Northern Renaissance to have work attributed to her. In the Renaissance era, education and training in art were reserved almost exclusively for men. This idea was reinforced by the types of training aspiring artists were subject to in their early years. Potential artists would be required to move in with and learn from an experience professional from a very young age. Additionally, artists in training would be required to extensively study the nude form of the human body, something which was bel...
Aristotle once claimed that, “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” Artists, such as Louise-Elizabeth Vigée Le Brun and Mary Cassatt, captured not only the way things physically appeared on the outside, but also the emotions that were transpiring on the inside. A part no always visible to the viewer. While both artists, Le Brun and Cassatt, worked within the perimeters of their artistic cultures --the 18th century in which female artists were excluded and the 19th century, in which women were artistically limited-- they were able to capture the loving relationship between mother and child, but in works such as Marie Antoinette and Her Children and Mother Nursing her Child 1898,
Adèle Ratignolle uses art to beautify her home. Madame Ratignolle represents the ideal mother-woman (Bloom 119). Her chief concerns and interests are for her husband and children. She was society’s model of a woman’s role. Madame Ratignolle’s purpose for playing the pia...
Accordingly, I decided the purposes behind women 's resistance neither renamed sexual introduction parts nor overcame money related dependence. I recalled why their yearning for the trappings of progression could darken into a self-compelling consumerism. I evaluated how a conviction arrangement of feeling could end in sexual danger or a married woman 's troublesome twofold day. None of that, regardless, ought to cloud an era 's legacy. I comprehend prerequisites for a standard of female open work, another style of sexual expressiveness, the area of women into open space and political fights previously cornered by men all these pushed against ordinary restrictions even as they made new susceptibilities.
The women of Voltaire’s Candide emphasize the exploitation of females in the 1800s. Cunegonde, Paquette, and the Old Woman are raped, forced into prostitution, and sexually exploited. Women are valued for their beauty and can only succeed if they have pretty face to recommend them. Women in the nineteenth century exist for the pleasure of men and are subjugated to these men.
The contrasts between depth and surface, figure and landscape, promiscuity and modesty, beauty and vulgarity all present themselves in de Kooning’s Woman and Bicycle. Although the figure is a seemingly normal woman out for an afternoon with her bike, she becomes so much more through the artist’s use of color, contrast, and composition. The exotic nature of woman presents itself in her direct stare and slick buxom breasts in spite of a nearly indiscernible figure. It is understood that, on the whole, de Kooning did not paint with a purpose in mind, but rather as an opportunity to create an experience, however, that does not go to say that there isn’t some meaning that can come of this work. Even Willem de Kooning once said that art is not everything that is in it, but what you can take out of it (Hess p.144).
The benefits of this communication are varied perspectives influenced by one’s social class, gender, age and moral values. Within the painting all in attendance are from the same social class as shown by their clothes and hair styles. Both men and women are present ranging in age from the older gentleman on the right to the young girl. Most importantly, their facial expressions depict their varying reaction to an ethical issue. The young girl and her crying mother are the most illuminated in the entire painting representing their level of
Her chief arguing points and evidence relate to the constriction of female sexuality in comparison to male sexuality; women’s economic and political roles; women’s access to power, agency, and land; the cultural roles of women in shaping their society; and, finally, contemporary ideology about women. For her, the change in privacy and public life in the Renaissance escalated the modern division of the sexes, thus firmly making the woman into a beautiful
The painting, in its simplest form, consists of a naked woman lying elegantly upon stately and rich cloths, while a young, also nude boy, is holding a mirror which contains her reflection. Upon first glance of this work, I was quickly able to make out the identity of the two subjects. ...
In an empty room at the Timken Museum of Art hangs one of the most iconic paintings of Johannes Vermeer, the astonishing painting, Woman in Blue Reading a Letter. In the painting a pale woman’s stands patiently while reading a letter. The woman appears to be wearing a blue jacket and a long gray skirt, and only gazing at the letter, ignoring all of her surroundings. The top right of the painting seems to be a map of the Netherlands, which attracts the viewer because it explains the setting of where the painting took place. The blue jacket around the woman’s torso appears to exaggerate the woman’s stomach, giving the impression that she might be pregnant. The blue chairs resemble a sign of absence as if she lives alone. The light on the top left shines on her face which enhances the viewer’s view of the woman’s facial expression. Johannes Vermeer’s interpretation of complex colors, the light, and her body language inflicts a persuasion on the viewer that the women is traumatized by the news in the letter.