When you walk through an art museum, depending on which one you choose, you will come across many different works of art that display different periods of history and culture. You may also notice the different themes that emerge from the artwork as you are wandering through. Some pieces may connect to things you have previously seen or read, and others may impact you in ways that make you feel connected to the art. John Berger who is the author of a book called Ways of Seeing dedicates a chapter in his book that discusses women in artwork and how they are viewed. He talks about the unequal relationship between men and women and how they are seen differently based on the cultural norms that exist in our culture. He also discusses thoroughly the differences between nakedness and nudity, which support his discussion of how women are viewed differently than men. I recently went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see what evidence I could find that connected to his ideas in that chapter.
One of the first ideas John Berger discusses is how women are viewed or surveyed in art. There are two roles: the surveyor and surveyed, and the women take on both roles. As Berger says, “She has to survey everything she is and everything she does because how she appears to others, and ultimately how she appears to men, is of crucial importance for what is normally thought of as the success of her life” (46). So, women are not just surveyed by the men who are considered the surveyors, but they are also taught to be both the surveyor and the surveyed of themselves. Men are typically thought to be the surveyors and the women the surveyed, which is why women develop a conscious sense that they are always being viewed. This concept is depicted in many forms through art.
In the painting, Nude by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1888) displays a woman who is in the act of putting on an article of clothing. She is the surveyed, while the spectator is the surveyor who is viewing her in the act of doing something. It could also be said that she is the surveyor of herself because she is surveying what she is doing to make sure that she appears a certain way to others, especially the man. She takes on the two roles that Berger discusses.
One of the first ideas John Berger discusses is how women are viewed or surveyed in art. There are two roles: the surveyor and surveyed, and the women take on both roles. As Berger says, “She has to survey everything she is and everything she does because how she appears to others, and ultimately how she appears to men, is of crucial importance for what is normally thought of as the success of her life” (46). So, women are not just surveyed by the men who are considered the surveyors, but they are also taught to be both the surveyor and the surveyed of themselves. Men are typically thought to be the surveyors and the women the surveyed, which is why women develop a conscious sense that they are always being viewed. This concept is depicted in many forms through art.
In the painting, Nude by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1888) displays a woman who is in the act of putting on an article of clothing. She is the surveyed, while the spectator is the surveyor who is viewing her in the act of doing something. It could also be said that she is the surveyor of herself because she is surveying what she is doing to make sure that she appears a certain way to others, especially the man. She takes on the two roles that Berger discusses.
When I was looking at the photos of women in the art museum I noticed how a lot of them were either looking out towards the person who is supposedly viewing the art or she is not looking outwards at all. If there is a picture with another man, the women is still looking out towards the viewer. Berger discusses how women do not place attention toward the men in the picture because “she looks away from him or she looks out of the picture towards the one who considers himself her true lover-the spectator-owner (56). The woman is looking outwards towards the person who is supposedly her spectator and surveyor.
As you can see in this painting, The Birth of Venus by Nicolas Poussin (1635 or 1636), the woman in the middle who is said to be depicting Venus is not looking at any of the men surrounding her. Instead she appears to be looking out towards the spectator. A woman seems to look out towards the spectator because she is “responding with calculated charm to the man who she imagines looking at her-although she doesn’t know him (Berger, 55). As a woman looks out towards the spectator she is “offering up her femininity as the surveyed” (Berger, 55). The act of the woman allowing herself to be surveyed by the surveyor is what turns her being into an object (Berger, 47).
As you can see in this painting, The Birth of Venus by Nicolas Poussin (1635 or 1636), the woman in the middle who is said to be depicting Venus is not looking at any of the men surrounding her. Instead she appears to be looking out towards the spectator. A woman seems to look out towards the spectator because she is “responding with calculated charm to the man who she imagines looking at her-although she doesn’t know him (Berger, 55). As a woman looks out towards the spectator she is “offering up her femininity as the surveyed” (Berger, 55). The act of the woman allowing herself to be surveyed by the surveyor is what turns her being into an object (Berger, 47).
The women in the painting called The Large Bathers by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1884-87) are in what look to be unnatural poses. Since, these women are in seemingly unnatural poses that they would not normally be in, then the painting is displaying them as nudes. Their bodies are on display for the spectator viewing them.
In another painting called Nude Reclining by the Sea by Gustave Courbet (1868) the woman is clearly in an unnatural pose, which again reinforces the idea that she is nude and her body is on display. She is also placed in a serene and beautiful place near the water just like the women in The Large Bathers. This notion of placing women in a serene setting with nature or near water seemed to emerge as a sub-theme from the paintings of the women that I saw in the museum.
It is clear that women are portrayed differently in pictures than men. The poses they are portrayed in and the ways they look out towards the spectator define this unequal relationship. Women are portrayed in unnatural poses, which puts them on displays as art. They are constantly being surveyed by the surveyor, which puts different pressures on women in society because these ideas are embedded in the consciousness of a lot of women (Berger 63). It is because women feel they are always being put on display and being surveyed by someone that treat themselves in certain ways or “do to themselves what men do to them. They survey, like men, their own femininity” (Berger, 63). These pressures are what create an unequal balance between men and women. They also portray the underlying societal pressures that exist between each gender and how they are each treated differently in society, which is a concept that has existed for centuries.
Works Cited
Berger, John. (1977). Ways of Seeing. New York: Penguin Books.
Courbet, Gustave. Nude Reclining by the Sea. 1868. Oil on Canvas. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia.
Poussin, Nicolas. The Birth of Venus. 1635 or 1636. Oil on Canvas. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia.
Renoir, Pierre-Auguste. Nude. 1888. Oil on Canvas. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia.
Renoir, Pierre-Auguste. The Large Bathers. 1884-87. Oil on Canvas.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia.
Works Cited
Berger, John. (1977). Ways of Seeing. New York: Penguin Books.
Courbet, Gustave. Nude Reclining by the Sea. 1868. Oil on Canvas. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia.
Poussin, Nicolas. The Birth of Venus. 1635 or 1636. Oil on Canvas. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia.
Renoir, Pierre-Auguste. Nude. 1888. Oil on Canvas. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia.
Renoir, Pierre-Auguste. The Large Bathers. 1884-87. Oil on Canvas.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia.