Words by Eva Ramos
Portrait of a Woman, 1638-39 by Guido Reni
The idea of beauty and its expectations have evolved greatly through history, from the slender builds and dark eyes desired in Ancient Egypt to the fixation of ‘Muscle Mommies’ and ‘BBL Baddies’ in our current world. These beauty trends come and go, just like the creeping revival of the 2000s ultra skinny – which we should be worrying about, by the way.
How women’s bodies look has always been a popular topic of discussion for men, where either end of an extreme is too unattractive – being plus-sized is not appealing, but being too skinny is also not enticing.
Today, we can see these demands of beauty through social media posts and ragebaiting alpha-male podcasts, but when these platforms did not exist, they were presented through art.
Art movements like the Renaissance and Neoclassicism are well known for their extraordinary artistry and groundbreaking use of the nude; notable figures like Botticelli and Titian are recognised for astounding skills and detail. The perfected form of the female body painted by these men served to appeal to the men more than it did to the women. These representations, ironically, worked to undermine the reality of women’s beauty. What a shocker!
Many of these artworks share a common thread. No, it isn’t the works themselves being undeniably beautiful to look at, and no, it is not how they are all naked. These pieces embody expectations of appeal, as well as the consequences of deviating from gender expectations.
These men, much like today, apply suggestions for women to appeal more to men, like smiling more or eating less. These suggestions are only placed to ensure the pleasure of these surveyors who look at women, so they can enjoy the experience of looking at the object.
As someone who has extensively studied art history, here are five artworks throughout various art movements commenting on the beauty of women, either implying what is appealing or ostracising deviation from the expectation.
The Birth of Venus – Sandro Botticelli (c. 1484-1486)
An iconic piece from the Renaissance that every art history buff will know. Venus, just like her Ancient Greek counterpart Aphrodite, needs to look beautiful; it’s like the only feature of these women. At least, according to these artists, anyway. Venus was the Renaissance ‘It Girl’, setting the standard for beauty, fashioning a voluptuous body, strawberry blonde hair, and perfectly small breasts. Of course, this meant her body was what women needed to look like.
Adam and Eve – Jan Gossaert (c. 1520)
It may seem a little weird, but a lot of religious artworks feature nudity, and Gossaert’s piece is no different. Just because Eve is shamed and was banished from the Garden of Eden does not mean she can’t look good! Her presentation of Renaissance beauty with her high forehead and pale skin sets up the idea for other women; Eve is the ideal. After all, she was made in God’s image. Ironically, this suggests women who possess different qualities from Eve are not beautiful.
Grande Odalisque – Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1814)
Despite this painting seeming like every other nude we’ve seen, this woman received a lot of backlash for, you guessed it! Her naked body! The French society found this painting quite distasteful for many reasons. For one, this is a painting of a female slave in a Turkish harem, and the idea of a woman having a sexuality is scary. Secondly, her body was just too weird for them! Her languid body and limbs, a feature of Orientalist art, did not look like other nudes in fashion at the time.
Olympia – Édouard Manet (1863)
Olympia, what a controversy she began! As a prostitute, she embodies all the rage of French beauty, with a cute little hairpiece, her smooth, pale skin, and her rosy cheeks. French beauty in the 1800s was all about being natural, despite all the starch powders used to achieve the look. French society did not like her as she, once again, did not look like all the other traditional nudes before her. Are we noticing a pattern here?
Reclining Nude on Blue Pillow – Amadeo Modigliani (1916)
If you know anything about Modigliani, you’ll know about his deep relationship between his art and naked women. True to French beauty, our subject has deeply rouged cheeks and matching red lips, a curvy figure, and an abundance of body hair – something very in at the time.
But if you see her eyes… well, you will notice there actually are none! The space for her eyes has been filled with a grey; her eyes have been removed to allow us to see into her soul. Modigliani implies there is more beyond the physical form within these women, something deeper and layered compared to the superficial.
