Post 3 from Curtis

Women, girls, ladies, females, the fairer sex, have suffered much throughout history. Objectified as nothing more than sex receptacles and baby factories, females have fought hard to gain equality in society. This oppression is no more obvious than in the Victorian Era, and it was during this era that many women or feminist artists began to rebel against female oppression through painting. In November 2012, the Newark Museum offered an exhibition of feminism in 19^th century American Art entitled “Angels and Tomboys”. 

Upon visiting this exhibit myself I chose to discuss a 1887 piece from Abbott Handerson Thayer entitled “The Angel”. For comparison I chose a 1932 work from Pablo Picasso entitled Girl before a Mirror.

Thayer’s “The Angel” spoke of the times. The Industrial Age was seen as a corrupting force to the innocence of female children to Thayer and his contemporaries and as such he decided upon portraying this angelic scene to remind the viewer of the innocence, grace and loveliness of a female child. Initianally Thayer used his wife as a model, however she tragically grew ill and died and Thayer utilized his young daughter to finish the piece which helped to capture the youth and innocence he was trying to portray.

Picasso’s “Girl before a Mirror”, depicts a young woman, in front of an oval mirror which reflects a dark image. The girl’s reflection is dark and opposite to herself, a possible comment on the deceptive nature of humanity. As a cubist piece the girl’s body consists of geometric planes her face can be simultaneously seen in both profile and full face.

Picasso’s painting is similar to Thayer’s Angel, in that both depict positive and negative qualities within one image. The girl in Picasso’s painting reflects a sinister image; while in Thayer’s “The Angel” the whiteness may reflect purity and hope or may reflect his wife’s pale skin and fragile condition due to her sickness.

here's a link to the exhibit