I was reading over my dissertation today and I thought about the correlation between my critical exploration and my practical exploration. It is evident that critically I was interested in societies perception of beauty however I am now interested in societies understanding of emotions:
This chapter seeks to underpin the way that art can controversially challenge the depiction of beauty within the female form. Lucian Freud’s nude paintings will help provide a basis of analysis when exploring the development of women’s representation in the art world. Freud’s detachment from the women in his paintings produces an uncomfortable suggestion that he views them from a superior perspective. Freud paints his subject with a distinct lack of emotion, focusing only on the study of composition, colour and line. It is therefore interesting to view how the female form is portrayed from a male point of view and how this deviates from societies norm. The depiction of the female form as a subject, has dominated societies perception of what is beautiful and what is not. In today’s media saturated environment we are surrounded by images of what is deemed ‘beautiful’, thus making it easy for a superficial ideology to be established. The establishment of this ideology has resulted in a lack of acceptance towards anything that deviates from this norm. When this idea is put into the context of the art world it can be expected that any artwork produced that deviates from the ideology of what is beautiful, may also be controversial in its being.
The feminine beauty ideal is dependant on the development of the media, and as the significance of the media has expanded, such has the importance of female appearance. The socially constructed notion of physical attractiveness, being a fundamental aspect to women’s lives has resulted in significant damage to their self-esteem. The beauty ideal for many is near on impossible to achieve and can be a cause for a multitude of both mental and physical health problems.
In one study, adolescent girls described the ideal girl as 5 ft. 7 in. (1.70m), 100 lb. (45.35kg), US dress size 5 (UK size 8), with long blond hair and blue eyes. (Nichter & Nichter, 1991, cited in (Wykes and Gunter, 2005)
Due to the vast amount of exposure of the feminine beauty ideal, when society is presented with an image that does not comply with this it can be deemed as disgusting and grotesque. If we look at the depiction of women in early Renaissance paintings such as Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli, (1486) (see ill.1) we see today’s societies ideal beauty envisaged over 500 years ago. Venus is shown central to the composition with her long blonde hair covering her modesty and her skin portrayed as flawless. Frances Borzello concludes: “Freud is famous for casting a non-idealizing eye upon the naked body” (Borzello, 2012. Pg.93). Lucian Freud’s paintings do not conform to these ideals in any way. The artist paints his models in awkward posing, exposing unflatteringly naked skin. The female ideal is depicted as having smooth, clear skin however; Freud certainly does not paint his models with the same airbrushed effect that dominates the media.
