Book Review: Women in the Picture
Honestly, I’m not sure I enjoyed this as much as I was hoping to. Don’t get me wrong, I love a bit of feminist rhetoric, particularly about women in art, women's portrayal in art and women artists. I love the debate and the conversations around it. But this book is rather short, so there is a word count to really delve into the complexities of women’s inclusion in the art world. Im not sure there even is a ‘word count’ for this sort of conversation.
Let's start with one of the chapters, ‘Venus’ being the one I was most interested in getting into -why? Probably because Venus is one of the most titanic figureheads of femininity and of beauty, but also because she has been represented in so many different ways by so many different artists through the ages. Not to mention one of my favourite artworks is the ‘Rokeby Venus’ by Diego Velázquez, which currently hangs in the National Gallery in London. I find art personal; it is to your own taste, no one has the right to say what is ‘good art’ or what is ‘bad art’. Yet there is art that appeals to the popular masses, and there is art that only appeals to a select few. Can you really win with your opinion on art? But I feel like that is a discussion for another time. I personally do not have the word count in a simple book review. But like art, beauty is personal. Beauty changes and evolves with the times, as it changes and is, therefore, in a constant state of flux. We like to personify beauty because it is so intangible, and therefore, the women in these paintings are always doomed to fail at representing the idea of ‘beauty’. A lot of burdens are put on women, with beauty being only the tip of the iceberg.
I would say that this book makes some very easy connections, some made me think. Others made me roll my eyes - do we really have no better connections to make than The Handmaid’s Tale? Really? But okay - maybe I’m being too harsh on this. I can tell this is a book for the layman art historian rather than those who currently live and breathe the art world. I guess when you’re trying to write a book that appeals to the masses, you’ve got to give them something they’ll easily recognise and can relate to. I mean, sure, it felt a little obvious to reference The Handmaid’s Tale, but it is a critically acclaimed book and a TV show that gets everyone talking more about women's rights… soooo, I guess not too bad of a choice for the average Joe.
I guess I was disappointed, as mentioned, I liked the conversation it incited, but I didn't agree with all of it. But that is the point - maybe I was expecting something more academic? In which case, this book was not for me, but if you’re looking for a conversational piece of feminist literature and discourse on art history. Then this would work perfectly for you.