Running head: WOMEN IN ART HISTORY Tanner Warn Women in Art History Art History: Art 100 October 4, 2020 John Murphy Westcliff University 1 WOMEN IN ART HISTORY 2 Women in art have been seen differently and commented differently around the world and in different time periods. Viewing modern art versus art in the ancient times can indicate that there are differences in the way that women are depicted in art throughout history. The ancient Romans and ancient Egyptians depict women differently than today, however we can find some similarities in contemporary art too. From viewing art from ancient times, to observing art from today, we can see that art in contemporary times is more exposing to women and might have a bit more details in the facial expressions. Juxtaposing opposite art forms from different time periods may seem abrupt, however in detail, we can examine similarities and differences amongst women in different art forms. First, taking a look at the chronology of art, we can see that Ancient Egyptians were one of the earliest civilizations to start making art and creating fascinating sculptures and headdresses. Women in particular were one with fashion in Egypt, in that they created a style that helped them adapt to their hot environments, including linen (Thompson, 2010 ). Artists in Egypt, however, depicted women almost always with a male figure, showing that they are spouses, or are about to get married (Thompson, 2010 ). It is said that Egyptians showed love and compassion for their spouse and in that, “Egypt treated its women better than any of the other major civilizations of the ancient world. The Egyptians believed that joy and happiness were legitimate goals of life and regarded home and family as the major source of delight” (Thompson, 2010 ). With that being stated, it can be deduced that women and their role in society had an affect on their art styles, depicting women as caretakers to the men and families. Shown below is a depiction of Egyptian women in art and can be seen with a male figure. In that depiction, the Egyptian female and male are caressing each other to show affection for one another. This can indicate that marriage and family life was very important to their values as WOMEN IN ART HISTORY 3 humans. The style is very basic, not showing a lot of emotion or detail, and is very monotonous looking and is a realistic representation of Egytian women that depicts women in their real sense, not over-exaggerating any details. Overall, Ancient Egyptian art depicting women can be seen as showing little variation in their art styles, which is very different from today’s depiction of women, which can be seen in more detail, and more exposing. Image 1: Secondly, comparing Roman art styles to Egyptian art styles, it can be seen that there are some similarities between the two cultures. One similarity is that women were portrayed as caretakers to their husbands and families, which is an important aspect of Roman culture. Seen below is a portrait of “Terentius and his wife” in the working class, and it shows that women, “were expected to be involved in cloth production: spinning, weaving and sewing. Slave and free women who worked for a living were concentrated in domestic and service positions - as perhaps midwives, child-nurses, barmaids, seamstresses, or saleswomen” (Dixon, 2011). Image 2: WOMEN IN ART HISTORY 4 The differences between the Roman art and Egyptian art depicting women today would be that the Romans depicted their art in ways that showed the women in the working class much more frequently, whereas Egyptian art was focused on family life. The similarities between these ancient cultures and the modern day art forms are very broad, but if viewed correctly, it can be seen that the cultures reflect similar values, such as women being depicted with men. In comparing modern day art to ancient art, it can be stated that women in today’s modern art can be more of the main picture, rather than the women being accompanied by men. For example, Frida Kahlo was an amazing artist in the 1940’s that portrayed art as a, “Mexican painter best known for her uncompromising and brilliantly coloured self-portraits that deal with such themes as identity, the human body, and death” (Zelazko, 2020). Frida is an example of modern day art that portrays women differently than that of women in art in ancient times. The painting below depicts an amazing self portrait of Frida with animals surrounded by tropical leaves and shrubbery. The culture seems to be in the Mexican traditions, and can be seen by the portrait below. The woman in the painting is the artist herself, which is unique compared to the ancient Egyptian art or early Roman art. Self-portraits are more revealing to what the artist is trying to portray because it imitates the nature of the artist themselves, and in this case of Frida Kahlo, she is trying to portray the theme of identity, and the surrounding animals could represent the different personalities within the painting itself. She exposes herself by showing a face that shows little to no emotion with cute animals crept around her, which could have a representation that she wants to expose her emotional side, which is different from ancient portraits that depict women with men more often. WOMEN IN ART HISTORY 5 Image 3: Comparing the modern day art to art in the past, we can find similarities to them. For example, Frida Kahlo, known as a modern day artist, portrays herself blank-faced, which can be seen in ancient times. The melancholy look on her face in her portraits can be identified in ancient cultural art such as ancient Egypt or Roman art. Their faces and demeanor are the same, which in comparison with different cultures’ art is very similar to today’s depictions of women in art. The differences between today’s art and ancient art would be that men in ancient times were predominantly the focus of art, making it rare to have women in art, as compared to that of women in art today, where the main focus is on the women themselves. In summary, the juxtaposition of women in art in modern day times versus women in ancient art can identify different ways women are presented. Women were primarily care-takers and held the house-hold duties, which was portrayed in ancient times. The women portrayed in modern times can be seen as more open to emotions and intellect than that of the past. Humanity seemed to be more focused on the house-hold and the family life, rather than the women themselves being the primary focus, which was a major difference in today's modern art versus ancient art. WOMEN IN ART HISTORY 6 References Dixon, S. (2011, March 29). History - Roman Women: Following the Clues. BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/roman_women_01.shtml. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2019, December 4). Diego Rivera. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Diego-Rivera. Thompson, J. (2010, July). Women in Ancient Egypt. http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/women_in_ancient_egypt.htm. Image 1: Thompson, J. This tomb painting illustrating the reunion of a husband and wife in the after-life shows the very real affection that was considered the norm in Ancient Egypt. photograph. Image 2: Dixon, S. A fresco portrait of Terentius Neo and his wife . photograph. Image 3: Zelazko, A. Kahlo, Frida: Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird. photograph, Austin, Texas.
