2 Outstanding Nudes Painted by Women
Plus, Blue Period: naked as natural state. And a thank you note
Since we’re all here, let’s start with a thank you note and super brief housekeeping.
When just a couple of weeks ago I published 5 Incredible Nudes from the Art World I would have never thought it possible to receive all the engagement and love that you guys have shown my story. What’s more, the story attracted a lot of good conversations in the comment sections, and a lot of dwelling on the psychology of nudity for me. Thus, as a thank you note, I wanted to propose another two nudes in art, this time looking at when women paint nudes.
As a housekeeping note, I would also like to invite you to join my Substack newsletter. It is mostly free, and you can receive my art history stories directly in your inbox.
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But now, without further ado, let’s talk about what we are here for!
Great Women Artists and Nudes: Two Examples.
While the great majority of nudes in art history were painted by males, some weren’t.
Some still followed the male gaze, while others have used their different perspectives to offer unseen views and new paradigms to nudes. All of the meaning that to be naked symbolises, what does the female eye see (and is it any different?), and how do the different execution shine through on the canvas.
For centuries, feminine artists have depicted the female body, and more recently, the male body. In my opinion, it is important to know this, as we can trace back the time thread that now links feminism, artistry, expression, and the concept of the female gaze.
Lavinia Fontana: Mars and Venus
I cannot lie to you: if I were able to create memes, I would use this painting as inspiration. There is something romantic, intimate, and funny about the scene. The two are naked — though notice, you can only see Venus’ glutes — and intimately play around in their bedroom, while a very young Cupid sleeps peacefully.
The two faces strike me as the most interesting part of the piece. Venus has a cheeky, and maybe a bit aloof, expression; she looks directly in our eyes as if she knew that now, centuries after the painting was completed, we would be there admiring her. Mars is completely taken: he stares straight at his lover’s visage. His posture adds to the intimate and not too serious composition. The hand on Venus’ bottom is in this case the symbol of what’s to come. Or more accurately (as we can see from his eye) Mars’ wishes about what may come next.
Maria Lassnig: Du Oder Ich (You Or Me)
This is a truly challenging picture. The body is oh so natural, yet, there is a peculiarity in the woman’s face. An urgency in her posture, her act.
“This striking self portrait of the artist’s naked, hairless, elderly body demonstrates her method of ‘body-awareness painting’, a term she coined to describe her efforts to paint bodily sensations, which Lassnig at times combined with external realities. Here, terror, violence and the absurd combine in a larger-than-life figure that resists easy interpretation”
The interpretation is not easy because our minds find it easy to concoct various easy interpretations. But the eyes, the colours, they fight back each attempt to give them defined meanings.
The striking painting, the mysterious box of meanings, is a self-portrait of the late Maria Lessnig.
Here I ask. What is she looking and pointing at? Us, the audience, or herself, in a mirror?
Also by a female artist, Blue Period (anime), gave me a way to think about nakedness, in art, but also life. About when a naked body is a channel (not an object) for sexual arousal, and when it simply is. There, proud or ashamed. Statuary of showing our dark thoughts.
In Blue Period, the character of Yatora Yaguchi and his friend (Ryuji “Yuka” Ayukawa) decide to take self-portraits of themselves naked. This happens almost providentially, as Yatora will need to investigate nude art for his final exam to enter the prestigious Tokyo University of Art.
After much self-questioning, our hero decides to paint the final nude with one idea in mind: nakedness is a human’s natural state. Dressing up is one way of hiding our true selves.
He then realises that his nakedness/natural state is that of shame, and low self-esteem. This allows him to create a fantastic piece which will get him into his coveted school.
A natural state… For some reason, I think that’s exactly what I needed to hear. There, wondering about art, nudity, and what it means when is not a tool for sexual arousal.
For more stories on art history:
32 stories about Art History and more curated by Jess the Avocado — Medium
My best performing story:
5 Incredible Nudes from the Art World | by Jess the Avocado | The Collector | Apr, 2022 | Medium
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