SOCIETY’S INFLUENCE ON THE CONCEPT OF BEAUTY: THE REPRESENTATION OF THE HUMAN FIGURE IN WESTERN ART
Beauty is defined as “the quality or aggregated of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit” (“Beauty”). Granted most people would say that beauty is subjective, the concept of beauty is most definitely strongly influenced by societal views. From the ancient times to modern times, society’s view has often set the norm on what is perceived as beautiful. Society’s perception and influence on beauty also has tremendous impact on many works of art, and is demonstrated through the representation of the human figure in western art. Although women were the main focus in both Ingres’ Grand Odalisque and de Kooning’s Woman I, the two paintings however, presented completely different depiction of the human figure and shared meaningful insights on the influence society had on art and beauty at the time.
Jean Auguste Dominque Ingres’ Grande Odalisque was done in the early 1814 for Napolean’s sister, Queen Caroline Murat of Naples. The early 1800s served as a time where society’s view on beauty was based on the western arts and culture of Neoclassicism. Traditional Neoclassical pieces portrayed figures to proportion and works were considered to be ideal, rational, and objective. The subject matter of Neoclassical pieces were often that of heroic, patriotic, and moralizing, very “classic” and appropriate to the culture of that time. Ingres’ Grand Odalisque was a blend of classic Neoclassicism and exotic Romanticism style. Grand Odalisque displayed classic feminine beauty, elegance and sensuality which defined the standard of beauty during that time. It also had Romantic art characteristics such as his focus on emotion, the erotic subject matter, and expressive use of color. Seeing as this was a piece commissioned by the queen, Ingres made an attempt to stay within the boundaries of Neoclassicism as much as...