RESEARCH PAPER

Gender Issues in Art of the Nineteenth Century Students Name Course Instructor Date The views of people on gender representation changes in the 19th century when different artists challenged the traditional view. The artists at the time used their work to convey a deep meaning of gender. Some of the artists who did so include Édouard Manet's on his painting "Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe" which he finalized the drawing in 1963. This artwork features a naked woman alongside two men who are clothed. The work led to outcry as it went against the norm and expectation of the society on femininity and female form. Through the gender-related aspects shown in the work, we can have the chance to gain a deeper comprehension of the diverse and often-troubled gender concepts propagated within the art world of the 19th century. The Controversy Surrounding "Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe" After the curtains were lifted on Édouard Manet's "Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe," which took place in 1863, it sent shock waves through the French art world as well as other circles all around. The painting, which revealed a nude female figure sitting next to two dressed men, caused widespread disgust and criticism from the patrons and the public, which led to its condemnation by the critics and the public. The fact that Manet broke the traditional rules and rather boldly decided how to display female nudes was the basis for criticism and controversy. Rather than adhering to the traditional idealized and sexualized depictions of the female form, Manet's model confronted the viewer with a direct, unflinching gaze. It put the idea of women depicted in art through a curious lens where the accepted set of norms and conventions for the representation of women was challenged. Those who opposed the art were disturbed by to unpleasant images in the art. The painting was named "illogical and inappropriate" with the nude discovered woman whom they describe as the most vulgar depicted in art history. The opponents of the arts were irritated by the casual, almost nonchalant manner in which the woman was presented, as her lack of shame or embarrassment was seen as a direct insult to the accepted societal standards of female modesty and propriety. The painting's composition further exacerbated the controversy, as the two fully clothed male figures appeared disengaged and disconnected from the nude woman, subverting the traditional power dynamics between the sexes. This destabilization of the expected roles and power structures was perceived as deeply transgressive and unsettling. Manet's bold and unconventional approach to the representation of the female nude was seen as a direct challenge to the artistic and social conventions of the timeThe painting's stylistic liberation from the then-set standards of art and the general fair of showing women's nakedness was met by powerful criticism and greatly influenced the general public. "Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe" became a focal point for the unease and pathos of gender roles associated with the representation of the female body in nineteenth-century France.[Ian Chapman, “Luncheon on the Grass with Manet and Bow Wow Wow: Still Disturbing after All These Years,” Music in Art 35, no. 1/2 (2010): 95–104, https://www.jstor.org/stable/41818609.] [P H Tucker, Manet’s Le Dejeuner Sur L’herbe. (Cambridge University Press, 1998).] Subverting Traditional Gender Roles While Edouard Manet's portrayal of a female figure in "Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe" breaks the clichés of women's representation in 19th-century art, it also stands out as the art movement of his time. Rather than portraying the female nude as a passive, idealized object of male desire, Manet's model challenges these conventions through her direct and unflinching gaze. Whereas traditional nude female figures were often depicted in classical, mythological settings or as demure, coy subjects, Manet's model sits unabashedly ...