# data[].attributes.body
According to author Anita Nair, “Literature has always been ambivalent in its representation of women. Good women as in ones who accepted societal norms were rewarded with happily ever after. Even feisty heroines eventually go onto find contentment and life's purpose in a good man's arms, be it Elizabeth Bennett (Pride and Prejudice) or Jane Eyre (Jane Eyre). Alternatively, they are left to rue their lot with a contrived courage as with Scarlett O Hara (Gone with the Wind) or have to take their lives like Anna Karenina or Karuthamma (Chemmeen) or Emma Bovary (Madame Bovary).”

# data[].attributes.body
"When I am among women I have evil thoughts, malice, spleen - I cannot speak or be silent - I am full of suspicions and therefore listen to no thing - I am in a hurry to be gone...I must absolutely get over this - but how?'

- Letter from John Keats to Benjamin Bailey 1818

The knight could be John Keats himself, who found only frustration in his love life. He is a loveless man who has been emotionally deceived by a woman he believed loved him.

This further adds to the criminalization of women, even if they had done no wrong. The strange lady had been a victim of romance just as the knight had, yet just like in Gentileschi's case, the woman is found guilty, and the man is victimized.

# data[].attributes.body
What could a feminist approach tell us about the representation of women in literature?

According to a poster made by the Guerilla Girls during the 1980s, 76% of nudes portrayed in art are female, yet less than 4% of artists in the Modern Art sections are women. This highlights just how women were regarded in society. They weren't educated, logical creatures, or respected and given the privacy and decency that men were given. They were the homemakers, they were there to raise the children. Art, literature, math, science, and anything else taught at a school were only for men to understand and make use of. Men were the breadmakers of a home, and women were to stay obedient within that home.

Patriarchy is the main cause of gender inequality – women are presented as submissive because men have more power. This is even portrayed in Gentileschi's work, where two women were needed to overpower a single man physically. The facts were that women were outnumbered, therefore overpowered. Their only choice was to submit.

In the novel "When a Girl is Born" by Pamela Grant, we see the stereotype that women were only married off to bear sons for their husbands. Female children were seen as a burden. Women before the 1900s were represented as secondary characters in a world occupied by male heroes. This is also evident in the story of Adam and Eve, where Eve had been created just for Adam, a helpmate suited for him. She is also weaker than Adam, so Satan focuses his powers of temptation on her. He succeeds in getting her to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree despite God’s command. The only time where Eve deviates from her submissive role ends in disaster.

The poet Milton also puts Eve on a par with Satan in her refusal to accept hierarchy and because of her ability to move the plot of Paradise Lost forward. This further emphasizes the way men were biased in their representation of women; they only showed what they wanted to believe, and in most cases, women were either virtuous and submissive objects of satisfaction for men, or satanic and vulgar villains, hated by all. Rape, violence and pornography are methods through which men have secured and maintained their power over women, as s portrayed within the 'heroic rape' in mythology and art.

Art and Literature have undermined the oppression of women in society for centuries, men were the only ones able to receive education, therefore the representation of women was heavily biased; the woman was seen as weak. All of Western civilization is deeply rooted in patriarchal ideology, for example, in the Biblical portrayal of Eve as the origin of sin and death in the world. Gender issues play a part in every aspect of human production and experience, including the production and experience of literature, whether we are consciously aware of these issues or not.

# data[].attributes.body
Literature has witnessed the roles of women evolving through ages, but until recent times, most of the published writers were men and the portrayal of women in literature was without doubt biased. A lot of it has to be blamed on the fact that in the ancient world, literacy was strictly limited, and the majority of those who could write were male.

# data[].attributes.body
In the works of art depicting the mysterious lady, she is seen riding atop a horse, with the knight in awe beneath her, which could portray how she was' in control' of the knight, further displaying her as the villain within the story.

# data[].attributes.body
This poem further describes how women previously were seen as an object of sexual satisfaction of men. However, in this poem the mysterious lady finds that her freedom meant more to her than a man that she so obviously loves. She left him to die a slow spiritual death, further adding to the stereotype that women were seen “as either virtuous and chaste or seductive and deceptive.”

# data[].attributes.body
La Belle Dame sans Merci is a ballad by John Keats, one of the most studied and highly regarded English Romantic poets. The Lady’s perfect beauty captures a knight’s attention. By describing her as the child of a magical creature, he emphasizes that her ability to charm him is a supernatural force. The poem ends in the knight dying a slow death. Putting himself completely under her control, the knight undergoes a spiritual death when she disappears

# data[].attributes.body
Like in the Japanese Edo period, women within Harems were portrayed as capable women who were highly educated, providing the sultan with entertainment and enjoyable conversation. However, they were not perceived as celebrities as much as possessions of the Sultan, slaves were found within harems just as commonly as the wives and concubines of the sultan.

The harem, however, was also a place of learning for young girls. The female education in the Ottoman Empire was a product of the Harem system. The education programs initiated by the Ottoman state had their roots in the Harem.

# data[].attributes.body
The depiction of Boulanger's harem makes it look definitely eden-like and mischievous, with misbehaving children playing in the background. The placid waters of the fountain and the detailed carpets remind us that these spots were a place of recreation and upbringing.

# data[].attributes.body
While being on a diplomatic mission with her husband in Constantinople, Brown had the opportunity to enter a Harem and realized that its reality was far different to the luscious scenes male painters had created before her.

Instead of creating an exotic, tranquil place, the scene she portrays looks rather chaotic, with little cliques of women having  discussions rather than tranquil, scenic settings.

# data[].attributes.body
The harem was the ultimate symbol of the Sultan's power. His ownership of women, mostly slaves, was a sign of wealth, power, and sexual prowess.

The institution was introduced in the Turkish society with adoption of Islam, under the influence of the Arab Caliphate, which the Ottomans emulated.

# data[].attributes.body
The veil is intended to protect women’s bodies from becoming the sexualized object of the male gaze, but it also protects women from being seen at all.

In Neshat’s images of Rebellious Silence (1994), women return the gaze of the viewer shamelessly, breaking free from centuries of the submissiveness to male desire.

# data[].attributes.body
Women are represented with care. They are often hugged from the back as if they are being treated with respect. The major theme of Shammout's work is the Palestinian crisis, whilst blending other themes within the subject such as family, love, and the longing for peace.

# data[].attributes.body
Women in the Arab world were rarely and poorly portrayed within art and literature, just as they had been within Western art. However artists such as  Shammout brought women to the front literally and figuratively.

# data[].attributes.headline
How Westernization Changed Japan's Art and Culture

# data[].attributes.subject
How Westernization Changed Japan's Art and Culture

# data[].attributes.body
A desire to modernize and connect with the wider world, plus the Allied occupation after World War II, saw Japan undergo an intense period of Westernization.

Part of this process was needing to be seen by Western societies as a civilized and respectable culture. This process of adapting to another culture’s values brought an end to one of Japan’s feminine ideals – that of the courtesan – because of how Western culture historically links sexual indulgence with vulgarity.

# data[].attributes.body
In many Western cultures sexual indulgence has been historically labeled as something unclean or immoral. This would have made it impossible to be considered a respected and sophisticated member of society while openly identifying as a prostitute.

# data[].attributes.body
Japan’s acceptance of sexual pleasure as an enjoyable fact of life meant many artists were also producing erotic prints. These images were incredibly detailed and would have been scandalous if displayed in Europe at the same time.

In Japanese art we can see an equal representation of women and men, but female genitalia have rarely appeared in Western art history, whereas the Japanese painted unashamedly large genitalia.

# data[].attributes.body
I - THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF WOMEN
II - PRIVACY AND THE 18TH-20TH CENTURY WOMAN
III - FEMALE RAGE IN ART
IV - WHEN WERE WOMEN FINALLY HEARD?
V - HEROIC RAPE IN ART
VI - JAPANESE VS WESTERN ART
VII - WOMEN IN ARABIC ART
VIII - WOMEN IN LITERATURE
IX - CONCLUSION

# data[].attributes.headline
II - PRIVACY AND THE IMAGE OF WOMEN DURING THE 18TH-20TH CENTURY

# data[].attributes.subject
II - PRIVACY AND THE IMAGE OF WOMEN DURING THE 18TH-20TH CENTURY

# data[].attributes.body
In Hokusai’s print we can see the woman’s eyes are closed. This is perhaps one of the most significant elements of the image.

The woman is not here for us and has not even acknowledged our presence. We are watching her in a moment of selfish pleasure which gives her far more power than the majority of women depicted in Western art.

# data[].attributes.body
During the Edo period, Japan isolated itself from the rest of the world. Its culture and beliefs developed in ways that can be considered uniquely Japanese.

Many of the women featured in ukiyo-e were courtesans from the pleasure quarters, but they meant more to society than sex.

These were capable women who were highly educated and provided clients with skilled entertainment and sophisticated conversation. The courtesans were able to experience a celebrity status within society and wealthy women even chose to follow their fashions.

# data[].attributes.body
The blurring of seduction and rape was not confined to the cultural domain, but spilled over into the legal arena.

Images have power. They don't simply reflect reality, but can influence attitudes and this way affect actual events.

# data[].attributes.headline
2. Has the presentation of women in art (including literature) changed over time?

# data[].attributes.subject
2. Has the presentation of women in art (including literature) changed over time?

# data[].attributes.body
Women have always struggled to maintain their voice within art for centuries on end. Men were (and still are) considered the masters of the arts, therefore they have had the strongest voice on how women were portrayed. Oftentimes in Western art, women were seen as an object to satisfy the sexual wants of men. She would be staring back at the onlooker, whilst laying seductively.

Women mostly found their voice during the 1900's, when war had forced most of the men into fighting. This required women to take over what would have been seen as more 'masculine' work. That is not to say women have not fought for their rights before the time of war. Female artists such as Gentileschi and Neshat have displayed the grotesque portrayal of women as objects within their work, as well as payback for all the years of torment that women have faced under the power of men. These female artists gave voice to the deep hatred of objectification that they, along with many (if not all) women faced.

Women were seen as fertile, sensitive creatures, serving only to provide sexual pleasure for men, to procreate, and to keep the home clean. This much was portrayed within literature and art alike. In stories such as Wuthering Heights, the only escape that Catherine and Isabella had from the clutches of the men within their lives was death. Catherine knew the only way to inflict harm upon Heathcliff and Edgar was for her to die. And for Gentileschi, she also found death to be a powerful ally and weapon within her art.

The modernization of art also meant women were portrayed as equal to men in skill and power. In Neshat's work, the woman stares unashamedly back at the viewer. The artist portrays the evolving of the veiled woman, and therefore stating that modesty does not only hide the woman like it was believed previously, but especially in modern times, it also gives her a sense of dignity.

# data[].attributes.headline
1. What does the representation of women in art tell us about the position of women in society?

# data[].attributes.subject
1. What does the representation of women in art tell us about the position of women in society?

# data[].attributes.body
Women were presented merely as an object; privacy did not exist for her. They were seen as property, serving only to provide their husbands with children and a clean house, or if she wasn't married, to serve as a sexual object for men.

Even in their first appearance within art, women were sculpted with exaggerated reproductive organs, yet also faceless and most times even without feet. Then when art was developed, women were portrayed within myths where the men were usually portrayed as heroes, leading to the production of 'heroic rape' within art.

However, this was all mostly the Western view on women. More secluded periods of society such as that of the Edo period of Japan shows that women were respected- and even famed- for their education and beauty. This only changed as Japanese society was Westernized later on.

# data[].attributes.body
Pipilotti Rist produces multi-projector video installations that fuse the corporeal and the spiritual in what have been called near-psychedelic experiences.

In Ever is Over All,  a woman proudly struts down a city sidewalk. She carries a tall flower, which depicts a field of the large tropical blooms. The two videos are slowed to a hypnotic pace, creating a sense of calm that is disrupted when, in a burst of violence, the woman forcefully swings the flower at the window of a parked car, which shatters dramatically.

In a poetic use of magical realism, the flower is a weapon strong enough to break glass. Meanwhile, an approaching female police officer smiles and salutes her in approval.

# data[].attributes.body
"Mainly, we wanted the focus to be on the issues, not on our personalities or our own work."

# data[].attributes.body
Guerrilla Girls is an anonymous group of feminist, female artists devoted to fighting sexism and racism within the art world. They first formed in 1985 in New York, employing culture jamming in the form of posters, books, billboards, and public appearances to expose discrimination and corruption. The group wore gorilla masks in order to remain anonymous.

# data[].attributes.body
Women may not have fought on the front lines in World War I, but as more and more men joined up, they were needed in the defense industries and military support jobs. In this 1918 print, a female worker is presented as poised and calm, holding a miniature war plane and bomb-shell, one in each hand.  The classical beauty of the figure helped to reassure women that their femininity would not be compromised by such work, which contrasted with the message the poster was initially sending- the need to "Care for Her Through the YWCA".

# data[].attributes.body
Her paintings of Judith and Holofernes in which his head is grotesquely severed by two determined women, have often been read as revenge in oil paint. It’s even claimed Holofernes resembles Tassi. Gentileschi communicated a powerful image to other women, which was not very often done. It is a rare example of a woman in the pre-modern era taking a stance against her everyday oppression. The trauma of Gentileschi's rape did not hold her back, instead, it produced paintings with such a visceral power, making her one of the most popular artists in Europe.

# data[].attributes.headline
"It's true, It's true, It's true!" - Raped and Found Innocent

# data[].attributes.subject
"It's true, It's true, It's true!" - Raped and Found Innocent

# data[].attributes.body
The artist had been raped by a close friend of her father's- Tassi -at a very young age. The case only reached court because Tassi refused to marry her, despite long promising to do so. At the time, rape wasn't a recognisable offense, the issue was that, in 'deflowering' her, Tassi had dishonored the family and made her unmarriable.

Tassi was in fact deemed guilty but, being a favoured painter of the Pope, never actually ended up serving a sentence. It was shockingly Gentileschi who received punishment.

Gentileschi was tortured in a Rome courtroom in 1612. Ropes were wrapped around her fingers and pulled tight. The judge had advised moderate use of the sibille, as this torture was called, for she was only 18.

Tassi sat across the room. Evidently, no one thought of torturing him.

“This is the ring you gave me and these are your promises!” yelled Gentileschi. The only rings Gentileschi got to wear were those of a sibille.

# data[].attributes.body
Artemisia Gentileschi was considered one of the most accomplished painters of the 17th century, She turned the horrors of her own life into brutal paintings that were also a war cry for oppressed women. Two paintings of the assassination of Holofernes exist, highlighting the tragedy endlessly replaying in the assassin - Judith's - head.

# data[].attributes.body
Princes and noblemen throughout Europe asserted their political authority through work portraying heroic rape. . These were viewed as "high" art and commissioned by aristocratic patrons. Contemporary sources make clear that "heroic" rape imagery aroused not only sexual desire but also feelings of dominance.

"rape is a significant and often even a grand act in myth and literature [although] it is generally a very sordid and terrible one in life." - Helen Hazen

# data[].attributes.body
Men saw women as either Madonnas or whores. As the authors of Saylor Academy explained, figures of the Renaissance represented women as they were in seen in their times, “as either virtuous and chaste or seductive and deceptive.”

# data[].attributes.body
While male artists tended to focus on the portrayal of the pure, innocent female within their work, female artists of the 18th and 19th century depicted their rage at society within their works of art.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Pipilotti Rist produces multi-projector video installations that fuse the corporeal and the spiritual in what have been called near-psychedelic experiences. Her rich vocabulary of sensual experience contrasts the familiar with the strange, teasing out our secret desires. Rist attempts to break down the barriers between public and private space, creating fantastic, pleasure-palace domestic interiors that include video, music, light effects, and furniture. "The idea," she explains, "is that now we've explored the whole geographical world, pictures or films are the new, unexplored spaces into which we can escape." In 2009 she created Pour Your Body Out, a 25-foot video installation projected in the atrium of the Museum of Modern Art. Visitors were encouraged to take off their shoes and lounge on big comfortable cushions while they experienced the colorful video projected overhead.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Pipilotti Rist | Ever is Over All (still) (1997) | Artsy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Pipilotti Rist produces multi-projector video installations that fuse the corporeal and the spiritual in what have been called near-psychedelic experiences. Her rich vocabulary of sensual experience contrasts the familiar with the strange, teasing out our secret desires. Rist attempts to break down the barriers between public and private space, creating fantastic, pleasure-palace domestic interiors that include video, music, light effects, and furniture.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-female-figure-a-more-popular-subject-matter-in-art-than-the-male

# data[].attributes.body
Women were often portrayed as beautiful creatures of vanity, often wearing delicate to no clothing at all. During the 1800s, women were painted as mothers, more specifically madonnas, which highlighted the impossible standards women were held to. Women were considered pure creatures, meant to provide children and care for their own vanity above all else.

Women were also most often depicted lounging in the nude, or if they're particularly higher class, presented in their finest clothing and jewellery. Rich men of the period would have donned the most expensive jewellery upon their women, then in order to preserve them for posterity, they would have their portrait painted.

Women didn’t have a voice in their communities regarding economics or politics. Their most important job was to be a mother and wife, before being a woman.

# data[].attributes.body
Women undressing themselves was often depicted during the 18th century. A woman undressing to take a bath is at her most vulnerable, unclothed, alone, and unprepared for lurking eyes.

For centuries, women experienced the act of washing themselves in less than complete solitude, especially women of a certain class. Even when attending to their most intimate parts, women rarely went unaccompanied. They were, in many ways, seen as communal property.

# data[].attributes.body
Aphrodite of Knidos was the first nude female statue to be created. The artist who had designed it was famed for breaking the conventions of gender stereotypes of that time, which is notably why the client in the Greek town of Kos declined to have it. The nakedness alone isn't what shocked the people. It's the way the hands are placed upon her. Is she portraying a sort of modesty, or leading the eyes to what it wants the viewer to see?

# data[].attributes.body
There are several uncomfortable lessons within the story of Aphrodite and the only blemish found within this statue ( a little mark in the marble at the top of the statue’s thigh, on the inside near her buttocks), most notably that the statue acted as an alibi for rape. Aphrodite never consented in the first place.

# data[].attributes.headline
I - The first Appearance of Women in Art

# data[].attributes.subject
I - The first Appearance of Women in Art

# data[].attributes.body
more specifically, sculptures of women. The first sculpture of a woman was the Palaeolithic sculpture of Venus, which was found during 1864 in the Vezere valley in France. Most statues of Venus found within that time frame exaggerated the reproductive organs of a woman. Often, the head and feet are absent from the model, leading the figure to be abstract in simplicity.