Different Adaptions to the Female Figure

Essay

Titian was an artist whose artworks reflected and reinforced the Renaissance
artist values such as pure beauty, grace, balance & harmony, which was
especially evident in his depiction of the female figure. His artwork entitled
''Venus of Urbino'' is one of his most well-known works and also his most
provocative, as it displays the female figure in a very reclined, quite sexual
manner which shows her as being in quite a submissive state. Titian has chosen
to create this female nude in a certain way, through use of soft colours,
shadowing around bodily areas, setting of the female nude, and much more, he
has been able to create his own personal adaption of the female nude. The lush
naked figure, in her reclining position, can be seen almost gazing back lustfully
at the viewer. Her soft skin tone looks almost inviting as she lies peacefully on
her bed. The background and foreground displays a rich lifestyle, with a solitary
worker attending to her quarters. The worker doesnt seem particularly surprised
at her naked boss although her gaze is looking straight down at the ground as if
she is trying to avert her eyes away from the subject. Her seductiveness is made
even more evident through her left hand which is almost gesturing the viewer to
come closer to her, as she gazes towards them. Her hand positioning around her
genital area may symbolize not only the sexual theme but also the implication of
the opposite of modesty. Lighting also plays an imperative role in this display of
the female nude as the vibrant lighting falls upon her pale body, to indicate the
importance of her as a subject in this piece. Her white skin against the black
background is also used to once again solidify her body as the main focus of the
artwork. The woman used to model for this painting is quite different to our
societys idea of an ''ideal female figure'' as her wide hips and almost plump
body. This really puts in to perspective the amount of change throughout history
as social standards and values morphed rapidly over time.

Over the 19th century, many artists began to paint ''everyday life'' scenes,
which would involve painting people of lower classes, instead of prestigious
people of society such as religious, famous or political figures. Manet was a
painter who was definitely of a higher classed community, although he continued
to paint everyday people, which in itself created a lot of controversy as it went
against the values of people of his social status. He captured the REAL people of
Paris. His original painting ''Olympia'' shocked many, as his perception of the
female nude did not abide by the ''regulations'' of the art society at this time.
This was due to the fact that the chosen female subject, who is shown
completely naked and gazing into the eyes of the viewer, was just an unknown
model and was not perceived to be a goddess or a nymph, which were both able

to be painted naked as long as they were in the correct artistic context. This
woman was in fact a prostitute, which also outraged many as no one in society
liked to have such an intense subject thrown in their faces, especially when this
prostitute is almost staring into the eyes of the viewer with her piercing gaze.
The black servant behind her can be seen offering this woman something, which
could be interpreted as a present. Also the black cat on the corner of the bed
peers out mysteriously towards the audience, maybe in an effort to make them
more uneasy as black cats were known as an omen at this time. Both of these
subjects confused the public as they did not understand them in reference to the
main subject which was a prostitute. He based the composition of this painting
on the Venus of Urbino by Titian, as he liked the way that it exposed the female
body and how it went against the societal values of the time, as women were
only meant to be modelled in a historical or mythical way. Her gaze is also
significant, as it has quite a different tone to that of Titian's subject in the Venus
of Urbino. She almost looks bored to be receiving the gift from the black servant,
as if to say that she is tired of these types of offerings. Her gaze reaches out to
the viewer, still making contact with the audience, although it has lost the sexual
appeal which Titian has created, as she stares at you with almost a disinterest.
This approach is quite different to Titian's controversial adaption of the female
nude, and even though he draws inspiration from some aspects of the Venus of
Urbino, Manet was definitely able to display his own personal take on the female
figure.

Morimura is a modern artist who deals with the quite contemporary issues of
today's society including sexual appropriation and the female body in art in quite
an odd way. Her adaption of the female body in a piece entitled ''Portrait
(Futago) is definitely the most unique, as she has replaced the head of the
prostitute which can be seen as the subject of Manet's artwork, with her own. It
features Morimura relaxing in a reclined position while a black servant/follower
seems to be offering her flowers or gifts of some description. This is the same as
Manet's work although she has replaced the prostitute with herself to give a
sense of irony to this piece of art. She has also chosen to use colour photography
in order to capture more ''real life'' elements throughout the work. Her gaze was
apparently not just to mimic that of Manet's young prostitute subject, but also to
make a similar but personal connection with her idea of a ''perfect'' viewer.
Whether it be the conservative male figure that she wants to shock or the more
open minded people that she wanted to be able to deeply connect with,
Morimura has adapted the prostitutes gaze for herself and recontextualized it
into a modern setting/theme. She has also chosen to add more modern aspects
into the mix of this adaptive artwork. Her shoes are sparkling red high heels,
something which would have definitely not have been worn around the time of
Manet's art making career, also instead of having the black cat placed on the
edge of the couch/bed, she has replaced it with a waving ''Good Luck'' cat which
are very popular throughout Asian countries as they are thought to bring good
fortune and luck to those that possess them in their households/businesses. This

cat may have been meant as a gift from one of her clients/worshippers, and is
yet another example of the way that Morimura has cleverly depicted the female
figure in a modern sense.

Overall, the female nude has been depicted in three very different and
controversial ways by these 3 artists. Through a clever blend of insightfully
chosen subject matter, themes, & artistic techniques, all three artists have
achieved quite a wide range of reactions and messages that have come from the
artistic/general society of their times. These three artists were definitely able to
read the societal values of the world around them in order to create ways of
questioning those values while also being able to shock/inspire other individuals
that were exposed to their art. These certain artistic qualities are the reason why
these 3 adaptions of the female nude have been so controversial throughout
history.

BY NICK GRIFFITHS YEAR 10