In art there are eternal themes. One of them is the theme of women, the theme of motherhood. Each era has its own ideal of a woman, the entire history of mankind is reflected in how people saw a woman, what myths surrounded her and helped create Her. One thing is certain - in all centuries and times The feminine character has attracted, is attracting and will continue to attract special attention from artists.
Created in portrait art images of women carry the poetic ideal in the harmonious unity of its spiritual qualities and appearance. From portraits we can judge how a woman’s appearance and her mental makeup are influenced by social events, fashion, literature, art and painting itself.
We present to you a variety of images of women in paintings of different directions
REALISM
The essence of the direction is to capture reality as accurately and objectively as possible. The birth of realism in painting is most often associated with creativity French artist Gustave Courbet, who opened his personal exhibition “Pavilion of Realism” in Paris in 1855. The opposite of romanticism and academicism. In the 1870s, realism was divided into two main directions - naturalism and impressionism. Naturalists were artists who sought to capture reality as accurately and photographically as possible.
Ivan Kramskoy “Unknown”
Serov "Girl with Peaches"
ACADEMISM
Academicism grew by following the external forms of classical art. Academicism embodied traditions ancient art, in which the image of nature is idealized. Russian academicism of the first half of the 19th century is characterized by sublime themes, a high metaphorical style, versatility, multi-figures and pomp. Biblical scenes, salon landscapes and ceremonial portraits were popular. Despite the limited subject matter of the paintings, the works of the academicians were distinguished by high technical skill.
Bouguereau "Pleiades"
Bouguereau "Mood"
Cabanel "Birth of Venus"
IMPRESSIONISM
Representatives of the style sought to capture the most natural and unbiased real world in its mobility and variability, to convey your fleeting impressions. French impressionism didn't pick it up philosophical problems. Instead, impressionism focuses on superficiality, the fluidity of a moment, mood, lighting, or angle of view. Their paintings presented only the positive aspects of life, did not disturb social problems, and avoided problems such as hunger, disease, and death. Biblical, literary, mythological, and historical subjects inherent in official academicism were discarded. Subjects of flirting, dancing, being in a cafe and theater, boat trips, on beaches and in gardens were taken. Judging by the paintings of the Impressionists, life is a series of small holidays, parties, pleasant pastimes outside the city or in a friendly environment.
Boldini "Moulin Rouge"
Renoir "Portrait of Jeanne Samary"
Manet "Breakfast on the Grass"
Mayo "RosaBrava"
Lautrec "Woman with an Umbrella"
SYMBOLISM
The Symbolists radically changed not only various types art, but also the attitude towards it itself. Their experimental character, desire for innovation, cosmopolitanism became a model for the majority modern trends art. They used symbols, understatement, allusions, mystery, enigma. The main mood was often pessimism, reaching the point of despair. Unlike other movements in art, symbolism believes in the expression of “unattainable”, sometimes mystical ideas, images of Eternity and Beauty.
Redon "Ophelia"
Franz von Stuck "Salome"
Watts "Hope"
Rosseti "Persephone"
MODERN
Modernism sought to combine the artistic and utilitarian functions of the created works, to involve all spheres of human activity in the sphere of beauty. As a result, interest in applied arts: interior design, ceramics, book graphics. Art Nouveau artists drew inspiration from art Ancient Egypt and ancient civilizations. The most noticeable feature of Art Nouveau was the abandonment of right angles and lines in favor of smoother, curved lines. Art Nouveau artists often took ornaments from the plant world as the basis for their drawings.
Klimt "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I"
Klimt "Danae"
Klimt "The Three Ages of Woman"
Fly "Fruit"
EXPRESSIONISM
Expressionism is one of the most influential artistic movements of the 20th century. Expressionism arose as a reaction to acute crisis first quarter of the 20th century, First world war and subsequent revolutionary movements, the ugliness of bourgeois civilization, which resulted in a desire for irrationality. Motifs of pain and scream were used, the principle of expression began to prevail over the image.
Modigliani. Using the bodies and faces of women, he tries to penetrate the souls of his characters. “I am interested in the human being. The face is nature's greatest creation. I use it tirelessly,” he repeated.
Modigliani "Sleeping Nude"
Schiele "Woman in Black Stockings"
CUBISM
Cubism - modernist movement in the fine arts (mainly painting) of the 1st quarter of the 20th century, which brought to the fore the formal task of constructing a three-dimensional form on a plane, minimizing the visual and cognitive functions of art. The emergence of cubism is traditionally dated to 1906-1907 and is associated with the work of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. In general, cubism was a break with the tradition of realistic art that had developed during the Renaissance, including the creation visual illusion world on a plane. The work of the Cubists was a challenge to the standard beauty of salon art, the vague allegories of symbolism, and the instability of impressionist painting. Entering the circle of rebellious, anarchistic, individualistic movements, Cubism stood out among them by its attraction to asceticism of color, to simple, weighty, tangible forms and elementary motifs.
Picasso "The Weeping Woman"
Picasso "Playing the Mandolin"
Picasso "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon"
SURREALISM
The basic concept of surrealism, surreality- combination of dream and reality. To achieve this, the surrealists proposed an absurd, contradictory combination of naturalistic images through collage and moving an object from a non-artistic space to an artistic one, due to which the object is revealed from an unexpected side, properties that were not noticed outside the artistic context appear in it. The surrealists were inspired by radical leftist ideology, but they proposed starting the revolution with their own consciousness. They thought of art as the main instrument of liberation. This direction developed under the great influence of Freud's theory of psychoanalysis. Surrealism was rooted in symbolism and was initially influenced by symbolist artists such as Gustave Moreau and Odilon Redon. Many of popular artists were surrealists, including Rene Magritte, Max Ernst, Salvador Dali, Alberto Giacometti.
The beauty of the female body has been and remains a desired object for depiction by artists of all times and peoples.
Of course, the Renaissance gave us the most picturesque nudity, when the magnificence of naked bodies was vigorously glorified according to ancient canons. However, the masters of later times are in no way inferior in skillful presentation female image. The techniques and places against which the maidens were depicted changed, and the muses themselves began to acquire different features over time. But the depiction of female nature is still a special topic that excites the consciousness of all fans of natural beauty.
Sandro Botticelli
"Birth of Venus" 1482-1486
Peter Paul Rubens
Rubens was an excellent portrait painter, painted landscapes and paintings on religious themes, founded the Baroque style, but the general public knows Rubens best from his images of naked women and men, to put it mildly, of not asthenic physique.
"Union of land and water", 1618
"The Three Graces", 1639
Francisco Goya
"Maja Nude", circa 1800
Not everyone knows that Maha is not a name at all, but a name for Spanish common townswomen of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Maha, whose image developed in Andalusia, over time began to be perceived as the quintessence of the Spanish woman. Because of romanticism, picturesqueness, a strong national accent and violent passion.
Eugene Delacroix
"Liberty Leading the People", 1830
Delacroix created the painting based on the July Revolution of 1830, which put an end to the Restoration regime of the Bourbon monarchy. In a letter to his brother on October 12, 1830, Delacroix writes: “If I did not fight for my Motherland, then at least I will write for it.”
There are naked breasts in the picture for a reason. It symbolizes selflessness French people of that time, who went bare-chested towards the enemy.
Jules Joseph Lefebvre
Lefebvre was a French salon artist who specialized in depicting beautiful girls. Thanks to the image female beauty he took a very prominent place as an elegant, although somewhat mannered, draftsman.
"Mary Magdalene in the Grotto", 1836
The painting “Mary Magdalene in the Grotto” has its own special story. After the exhibition in 1876, it was bought by Alexandre Dumas the son. After his death, it was sent to St. Petersburg for an exhibition in 1896. Nicholas II acquired it for Winter Palace and now “Mary Magdalene” can be seen among the treasures of the Hermitage.
Edouard Manet
At the Paris Salon of 1865, the painting became the cause of one of the biggest scandals in the history of art. Contemporaries could not see the volume of the depicted figure and considered the composition of the picture to be rough and flat. Manet was accused of immorality and vulgarity. The painting attracted hundreds of people who came to the exhibition only to curse the painting and spit on it. As a result, the painting was moved to the farthest hall of the Salon at such a height that it was almost invisible. How nervous people were in those days.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Renoir is known primarily as a master of secular portraiture, not devoid of sentimentality; he was the first of the impressionists to gain success among wealthy Parisians. The nude was one of Renoir's favorite genres.
"Nude in sunlight", 1876
First shown at the Second Impressionist Exhibition in 1876, where it received very harsh reviews from critics: “Instill in Mr. Renoir that the female body is not a pile of decaying flesh with green and purple spots, which indicate that the corpse is already rotting in full swing!”
"Big Bathers", 1887
And this picture marked Renoir’s transition from pure impressionism towards classicism and engrism. “Large Bathers” is made with clearer lines, cooler colors, and when painting this painting, Renoir used sketches and sketches for the first time.
Vladislav Podkovinsky
"Female Orgasm", 1894
From the title it is clear that the Polish artist Vladislav Podkovinsky depicted in his work... The exhibition of the painting began with a huge scandal and lasted for 36 days. Unable to withstand the pressure, on the 37th day Podkovinsky came with a knife and cut up the entire canvas. The artist died of tuberculosis at the age of 29. After his death, it was decided to restore the painting.
Adolphe-William Bouguereau
John Collier
The range of themes in the paintings of the English painter Collier is very wide. However, it gained the greatest popularity due to its use in true romantic tradition images beautiful women from legends, myths, literature and history as the main theme for his paintings.
Lady Godiva was based on the legend. The naked beauty depicted in the painting (Lady Godiva) begged her powerful and domineering husband (Count Leofric) to reduce taxes on the poor in his domain. To which he offered an almost losing bet. He promised to reduce taxes if his lady rode through the village of Coventry naked on a horse, which his wife did.
Herbert James Draper
"Odysseus and the Sirens", 1909
David Shterenberg
"Nude", 1908
Gustav Klimt
All details related to the mythological plot are removed from the picture, leaving only the scene of fertilization by the golden shower into which Zeus turned. The choice of pose and distorted perspective give Danae's body an unusual sexuality.
In no other work has the artist brought female sexuality to such hypertrophy - this is self-absorbed lust.
Herbert James Draper
Herbert James Draper was an artist famous for his works on historical and mythological themes. Although Draper received acclaim during his lifetime, his work is now unfairly forgotten and rarely seen at auction.
"Mountain of Mists", 1912
"Mountain of Mists" is one of the most powerful, sensual and enchanting of all the artist's images. The naked girls presented are as beautiful as Waterhouse's nymphs, although unlike his femme fatales they lure men to their doom.
Boris Kustodiev
Picturesque plasticity, emphasis on the artistry of the model and bright characteristics of appearance - these are the main features of Boris Kustodiev’s work.
"Russian Venus" 1925-1926
“Russian Venus” depicts a plump woman in a bathhouse, but unlike the goddess, the naked girl is surrounded not by sea foam, but by clouds of steam from a Russian bathhouse. Rainbow bubbles on a wooden bench confirm that this is Venus. The goddess was born from the foam of the Mediterranean Sea! And here in Russia - from bath foam...
Amedeo Modigliani
Modigliani is rightfully considered the singer of the beauty of the naked female body. He was one of the first to depict nudes in a more realistic emotional way. It was this circumstance that at one time led to the lightning closure of his first personal exhibition in Paris. Modigliani's nude paintings are considered the pearl of his creative heritage.
"Seated Nude", 1916
Egon Schiele
Egon Schiele's paintings and graphics are nervous, sophisticated, dramatic and very sexy. Heavily influenced by the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud, Schiele gave free rein to his own complexes and doubts in his work, and many of his works were overtly sexual in nature. This even led to the artist’s imprisonment for “creating immoral drawings.”
"Nude on her knees", 1917
"Reclining Woman", 1917
Anders Zorn
A Swedish painter and graphic artist who paid special attention to the individuality of the nude model, the originality of her facial expressions, gestures, and facial expressions, which are sharply captured in his works.
"In Werner's rowing boat", 1917
"Reflections", 1889
Zinaida Serebryakova
Zinaida Evgenievna Serebryakova is one of the first Russian women to go down in the history of painting. Using pictorial means, the artist presented the image of a pure female body. Her models did not have an athletic build; there was no rigidity or sharpness in them, but only a smooth harmony with the environment.
In “Bath”, Serebryakova depicted naked women without embellishment; features of idealization appeared in her work later.
“Reclining Nude”, portrait of Nevedomskaya, 1935
IN late creativity Serebryakova became increasingly interested in the theme of works depicting nude models, and Serebryakova remained faithful to the “nude” genre. In “Reclining Nude” she feels that she succeeds in this theme and addresses it constantly.
"Sleeping model", 1941
Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar
Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar is one of the most famous artists in the history of Russian culture of the 20th century. One of his most famous works is the portrait of Flora.
Alexander Mikhailovich Gerasimov
Another famous Russian artist who, unlike the previous one, dealt with the depiction of rough and simplified erotica.
"Village bathhouse", 1938
The artist wrote many sketches “for himself” on the theme of “Village Bath” over many years. The painting contains several naked female bodies connected by a complex structural composition. Each figure is an image, an individual character.
Arkady Alexandrovich Plastov
Arkady Plastov - “singer of the Soviet peasantry.” Special attention in his works he paid attention to the patriotic work of women during the Great Patriotic War. Colorful image and the artist captured simplicity in the painting “Tractor Drivers”
"Tractor Drivers", 1943
World history fine arts remembers many amazing incidents related to the creation and subsequent adventures famous paintings. This is because for real artists, life and creativity are too closely connected.
"The Scream" by Edvard Munch
Year of creation: 1893
Materials: cardboard, oil, tempera, pastel
Where is it: National Gallery,
Famous painting“The Scream” by Norwegian expressionist artist Edvard Munch is a favorite subject of discussion among mystics around the world. Some people think that the painting predicted the terrible events of the 20th century with its wars, environmental disasters and the Holocaust. Others are sure that the picture brings misfortune and illness to its offenders.
Munch’s own life can hardly be called prosperous: he lost many relatives, was repeatedly treated in a psychiatric clinic, and was never married.
By the way, the artist reproduced the painting “The Scream” four times.
It is believed that she is the result of manic-depressive psychosis from which Munch suffered. One way or another, the sight of a desperate man with a large head, an open mouth and hands on his face still shocks everyone who looks at the canvas today.
"The Great Masturbator" by Salvador Dali
Year of creation: 1929
Materials: oil, canvas
Where is it located: Reina Sofia Arts Center,
The general public saw the painting “The Great Masturbator” only after the death of the master of outrageousness and the most famous surrealist Salvador Dali. The artist kept it in his own collection at the Dalí Theater-Museum in Figueres. It is believed that an unusual painting can tell a lot about the author’s personality, in particular about his painful attitude towards sex. However, we can only guess what motives are actually hidden in the picture.
This is akin to solving a rebus: in the center of the picture there is an angular profile looking down, resembling either Dali himself or a rock on the coast of a Catalan city, and in the lower part of the head a naked woman rises female figure- a copy of the artist’s mistress Gala. The painting also contains locusts, which caused inexplicable fear in Dali, and ants - a symbol of decomposition.
"Family" by Egon Schiele
Year of creation: 1918
Materials: oil, canvas
Where is it located: Belvedere Gallery,
At one time, the beautiful painting of the Austrian artist Egon Schiele was called pornography, and the artist was sent to prison for allegedly seducing a minor.
At this price he was given the love of his teacher’s model. Schiele's paintings are one of the best examples of expressionism, while they are naturalistic and full of frightening despair.
Schiele's models were often teenagers and prostitutes. In addition, the artist was fascinated by himself - his legacy includes many different self-portraits. Schiele painted the canvas “Family” three days before his own death, depicting his pregnant wife who died of the flu and their unborn child. Perhaps this is far from the strangest, but definitely the most tragic work of the painter.
“Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer” by Gustav Klimt
Year of creation: 1907
Materials: oil, canvas
Where is it: New Gallery,
History of creation famous painting Austrian artist Gustav Klimt's “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer” can rightfully be called shocking. The wife of the Austrian sugar magnate Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer became the artist's muse and lover. Wanting to take revenge on both of them, the wounded husband decided to resort to an original method: he ordered a portrait of his wife from Klimt and tormented him with endless nagging, forcing him to make hundreds of sketches. Ultimately, this led to Klimt losing his former interest in his model.
Work on the painting continued for several years, and Adele watched as her lover’s feelings faded away. Ferdinand's insidious plan was never revealed. Today, the "Austrian Mona Lisa" is considered a national treasure of Austria.
“Black Supermatic Square” by Kazimir Malevich
Year of creation: 1915
Materials: oil, canvas
Location: State Tretyakov Gallery,
Almost a hundred years have passed since the Russian avant-garde artist Kazimir Malevich created his famous creation, and debates and discussions still do not stop. Appearing in 1915 at the futuristic exhibition “0.10” in the “red corner” of the hall intended for the icon, the painting shocked the public and forever glorified the artist. True, today few people know that supermatic paintings are non-objective paintings in which color rules the roost, and “Black Square” is actually not black and not square at all.
By the way, one of the versions of the history of the creation of the canvas says: the artist did not have time to finish work on the painting, so he was forced to cover the work with black paint, at that moment his friend came into the workshop and exclaimed: “Brilliant!”
"The Origin of the World" by Gustave Courbet
Year of creation: 1866
Materials: oil, canvas
Where is it located: Orsay Museum,
The painting by the French realist artist Gustave Courbet was considered extremely provocative for a very long time and was not known to the general public for more than 120 years. A naked woman lying on a bed with her legs outstretched still evokes mixed reactions from viewers today. For this reason, at the Orsay Museum, the painting is guarded by one of the employees.
In 2013, a French collector announced that he had come across the part of the painting in one of the antique Parisian shops in which the sitter’s head was visible. Experts confirmed the assumption that Joanna Hiffernan (Joe) posed for the artist. While working on the painting, she was in a love affair with Courbet's student, the artist James Whistler. The picture provoked their separation.
"Man and Woman in Front of a Pile of Excrement" by Joan Miró
Year of creation: 1935
Materials: oil, copper
Where is it located: Joan Miró Foundation,
A rare viewer, when looking at a painting by the Spanish artist and sculptor Joan Miró, would have an association with horror civil war. But it was precisely the period of pre-war anxiety in 1935 in Spain that served as the theme of the film with the promising title “Man and Woman in Front of a Heap of Excrement.” This is a premonition picture.
She depicts an absurd “cave” couple who are drawn to each other, but cannot budge. Enlarged genitals, poisonous colors, scattered figures against a dark background - all this, according to the artist, predicted approaching tragic events.
Most of Joan Miró's paintings are abstract and surreal works, and the mood they convey is joyful.
"Water Lilies" by Claude Monet
Year of creation: 1906
Materials: oil, canvas
Where is it located: private collections
Cult painting French impressionist Claude Monet's “Water Lilies” has a bad reputation - it is no coincidence that it is called “fire hazardous”. This series of suspicious coincidences continues to surprise many skeptics. The first incident happened right in the artist’s studio: Monet and his friends were celebrating the completion of a painting when suddenly a small fire broke out.
The painting was saved, and soon it was bought by the owners of a cabaret in Montmartre, but less than a month later, the establishment also suffered from a severe fire. The next “victim” of the canvas was the Parisian philanthropist Oscar Schmitz, whose office caught fire a year after “Water Lilies” were hung there. Once again, the painting managed to survive. This year, a private collector purchased “Water Lilies” for $54 million.
"Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" by Pablo Picasso
Year of creation: 1907
Materials: oil, canvas
Where is the museum contemporary art,
“It feels like you wanted to feed us tow or give us gasoline to drink,” said Picasso’s friend, the artist Georges Braque, about the painting “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.” The canvas really became scandalous: the public adored the artist’s previous, tender and sad works, and the abrupt transition to cubism caused alienation.
The female figures with rough male faces and angular arms and legs were too far from the graceful “Girl on the Ball”.
Friends turned their backs on Picasso; Matisse was extremely dissatisfied with the painting. However, it was “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” that determined not just the direction of development of Picasso’s work, but the future of fine art as a whole. Original title paintings ‒ “Philosophical Brothel”.
"Portrait of the Artist's Son" by Mikhail Vrubel
Year of creation: 1902
Materials: watercolor, gouache, graphite pencil, paper
Where is it located: State Russian Museum,
The brilliant Russian artist of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Mikhail Vrubel, succeeded in almost all types of fine art. His first-born Savva was born with a “cleft lip,” which deeply upset the artist. Vrubel depicted the boy in one of his canvases frankly, without trying to hide his congenital deformity.
The gentle tones of the portrait do not make it serene - shock can be read in it. The baby himself is depicted with an amazingly wise, childlike look. Soon after completing the painting, the child died. From that moment in the life of the artist, who was grieving the tragedy, a “black” period of illness and madness began.
Photo: thinkstockphotos.com, flickr.com
