2. Dibutades
■ Dibutades Tracing the Portrait of a
Shepherd
■ 1785
■ Shows what is thought to be creating the
first drawing ever, being a silhouette of
her love.
■ This is a Roman myth by Pliny the Elder
told in the 1st century C.E.
REGNAULT, Jean-Baptiste
3. Underrepresentation
■ It is said that for centuries women weren’t included in art
history. This is for several reasons.
1. Textiles weren’t always considered art, so the ones created by women
were excluded and considered crafts
2. They weren’t allowed to get art training. They weren’t even allowed
much general education
3. Women were seen as inferior artists by the male dominated art world.
4. Portrayal
■ Venus of Willendorf
■ 28,000-25,000 BCE
■ Lack of realism in face and hair
■ Exaggerated features
■ There are several different
“Venus” sculptures
5. Egyptian Art
■ Panel with Painted Image of Isis
■ 100-200 CE
■ Tempera on wood
■ Less realism, but a large amount of progress since art
such as Venus of Willendorf
■ Egyptians worshiped Isis because it promised a grand
afterlife
6. Hatshepsut
■ 1479-1458 BCE
■ First female pharaoh
■ Chose to be portrayed as a
male in sculpture
■ Seated Statue of Hatshepsut
■ New Kingdom
7. Bust a nut of Nefertiti
• Amarna period
• Limestone and Stucco
• Wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten
•
8. Greek Progression- Archaic
■ In the three different eras of Greek art, women
were portrayed vastly different
■ In Archaic art, women are shown completely
covered and lacking shape
■ Peplos Kore is a great example of this.
■ “Peplos”- a simple long woolen garment
■ Peplos Kore is depicted with a stiff and relatively
shapeless figure
9. Classical
■ The Classical Period showed people a the peak of
perfection. This ultimately meant men 18- early 20s.
■ Generally the faces were emotionless and for men their
bodies were naked.
■ For women, when they were portrayed they were still
generally, stiff and emotionless
■ Charioteer of Delphi
■ Ca. 470 BCE, Delphi, Greece
■ Bronze
10. Athena Parthenos- Classical Period
Athena was a very respected goddess in Greek
mythology.
A statue was created of her and placed in the
Parthenon
• Ca 438 BCE
• Gold and ivory
• 38ft tall
• Fully armed, shield, spear and helmet
• She is also holding Nike
• Both of the Goddesses are in very stiff positions and
very clothed much like the others before them
• In this case specifically, the Goddesses are very
respected in the community, so it’s possible that the
coverage is due to respect
11. Hellenistic
■ This period was a huge shift for how women were portrayed in
Greek art.
■ Now movement, realism, and even nudity are factors when
creating art.
■ Aphrodite, Eros, and Pan is a great example of this
■ Ca 100BCE
■ This specific statue doesn’t have as much emotion as the other
male statues, but very religious
■ Shows contrapposto, and extreme detail within the bodies
12. Roman Empire
■ The Roman Empire was very concerned with architecture, but also had very
impressive realism in art as they were trying to replicate the Greeks.
■ An impressive show of realism is in a portrait bust of a Flavian Woman
■ Rome, Italy ca 90CE
■ Marble
■ Extreme detail in the hair and face
■ Point of the bust is to show beauty
■ Show current fashion rather than idolization of
Goddesses.
13. Women in Religious art
When Christianity’s influence on the
world began to expand, Madonna or
Mother Mary started to be portrayed
extensively.
As an icon, it was a step towards women
being more respected in art
Represented motherhood
• Madonna and Child
• Duccio di Buoninsegna
• Ca 1290-1300
• Tempera and gold on wood
14. Byzantine Art
■ Virgin of Compassion icon (Vladimir Virgin)
■ 11th-12th century.
■ Tempera on wood
■ Rejection of iconoclasm by painting icons
■ Many portraits of the virgin started to immerge
■ This specific portrait is a historical symbol in
the Byzantium religious world.
15. Holy Roman Empire
■ Morgan Madonna
■ France
■ Late 12th century
■ Painted wood
■ Christ is seated on his mother who is a metaphor for wisdom
■ Rigid, stiff, upright
16. France
■ Virgin and Chlld and Angels
■ Notre Dame de la Belle Verriere
■ Ca 1170
■ Stained glass
■ Shows the importance of the virgin in
Christianity by placing this window in
the south aisle of the 13th century
Choir
17. Late Medieval Italy
■ Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints
■ Ita;y
■ 1308-1311
■ While Christ is being worshipped , so is Mary
■ Continuously through Christianity the virgin is being more
and more idolized
18. Works Cited
Khan Academy. www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history-basics/tools-understanding-art/a/a-brief-
history-of-women-in-art.
Kleiner, Fred S. The Western Perspective. 15th ed., Boston, MA, Engage Learning, 2017.
"Madonna and Child." The MET, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/438754.
Mark, Joshua J. "Hatshepsyt." Ancient History Encyclopedia, 19 Oct. 2016, www.ancient.eu/hatshepsut/.
Marx, Daniel, and Emil Kren. "The Origin of Painting: Dibutades Tracing the Portrait of a Shepherd." Web
Gallery of Art, www.wga.hu/html_m/r/regnault/1dibutad.html.
"Panel with Painted Image of Isis." The J Paul Getty Museum,
www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/7146/unknown-maker-panel-with-painted-image-of-isis-romano-
egyptian-100-200-ad/.
"Seated Statue of Hatshepsut." The MET, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/544450.
