Blog

13 Feb Scandals and Secrets of Art Museums

Posted at 20:31h in art history, courtesans, Metropolitan Museum, museum of fine arts, philadelphia museum of art, Women's History by Professor Andrew Lear

The world's museums are full of scandals and secrets. John Singer Sargent's portrait of Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, known simply as Madame X, is a great example. When it

Scandals and Secrets, example Sargent's Madame X Sargent's Madame X, the original, with the fallen shoulder strap

was unveiled at the 1884 Paris Salon, it caused such a scandal that Sargent's career was almost destroyed. Who after all would want to hire a portrait-painter who caused scandals at the Salon? It was also damaging, of course, for Gautreau's reputation as a society beauty. Her family begged Sargent to withdraw the painting from the Salon, but he refused. After the Salon, however, he repainted the detail that had caused the biggest scandal.

Hatshepsut, the Nasty Woman of ancient Egypt

21 Jan Nasty Women of History and Art

Posted at 13:46h in art history, Metropolitan Museum, nasty women, Women's History by Professor Andrew Lear

It seems unbelievably dated, but people are still calling ambitious, intelligent women "nasty women." As if that could hurt anyone's feelings in 2020! In fact, like many other outdated insults, it has the opposite effect. Many women today are are taking the term on (as lesbians took on the term 'dyke') and calling themselves "nasty women" in sarcastic protest.

10 Jun The Courtesans And The Art Of Male Maintenance

Posted at 23:21h in courtesans, Shady Ladies, Women's History by jenni

Lady Cavendish of the Devonshire clan pronounced one of their kind to be “a woman of notorious, shameless character.” The memoir of another was said to be a “list of dirty laundry.” In sixteenth century Venice, Sumptuary Laws forbade them from flaunting in public the gold, silver, silks, and gemstones that were the spoils of their sorcery. Nor were they allowed to “stand, kneel, or sit on the benches that in the church are occupied by noblewomen … taking care not to give offence to other decent persons.”

05 Jun The Queen of Courtesans, Imperia Cognati

Posted at 22:32h in art history, courtesans, Metropolitan Museum by jenni

Imperia Cognati (also called Imperia La Divina, meaning Imperia The Divine, or The Queen of Courtesans, 3 August 1486 - 15 August 1512), was a Roman courtesan. She has been considered the first celebrity of the class of courtesans, which was created in Rome in the late 15th century.

21 May The Size of Certain Body Parts in Art

Posted at 00:10h in art history, beauty standards, Metropolitan Museum by Professor Andrew Lear

One of the fun things to look at in the Metropolitan museum is the way artists portray women's breasts—because while you might imagine that the modern obsession with large breasts is universal, in fact ideal breasts vary from cultural moment to cultural moment. In particular, it is pretty clear that the Renaissance favored small breasts. The corsets in fashion at that time created an upper body shape similar to the shape of a man's chest in armor. It seems the women's corsets squashed their breasts out sideways to create this effect. And Renaissance nudes' breasts are influenced by the way women looked when clothed: their breasts are not large, sit low on the chest, and are quite far apart. In the 18th and 19th centuries, by contrast, women's breasts reflect a different kind of corset: they are larger, higher, and closer together. But what about *male* body parts?

27 Apr The Scandalous Life of Duchess of Berry

Posted at 03:24h in art history, Metropolitan Museum, Shady Ladies, Women's History by jenni

The scandalous Duchess of Berry was born as Marie Louise Élisabeth d’Orleans on 20 August 1695 at the Palace of Versailles to Philippe II, Duke of Orléans and Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, who was a legitimized daughter of Louis XIV of France. She was near death several...

23 Apr Watch: Virginia Hall America’s Most Successful Female Spy

Posted at 01:58h in nasty women, Shady Ladies, Women's History by jenni

Virginia Hall, a one-legged socialite from Baltimore whom the CIA Museum would later hail as the office’s most successful American female spy of the Second World War. She was the most highly decorated female civilian during World War II. Watch and learn more about this...

23 Apr Watch: The Tragic Story of Audrey Munson

Posted at 01:48h in art history, beauty standards, fashion, fashion history, Metropolitan Museum, Shady Ladies, Women's History by jenni

Not many people know Audrey Munson by name—but if you’ve spent any time in New York City, you’ve seen her face. Munson’s likeness tops some of the city’s grandest buildings. Even when she is remembered, it’s often for the more scandalous and tragic events in...

21 Apr Portrait of Pianist Misia Sert

Posted at 02:08h in art history, fashion history, Metropolitan Museum, Women's History by jenni

Misia Sert was an accomplished pianist--a student of Fauré's, who helped her support herself by referring students to her, she also famously accompanied Caruso at parties when he sang Neapolitan songs. But she was most famous as a salonnière, one of the women who ran...

20 Apr Tapestry of Diane de Poitiers

Posted at 02:14h in art history, courtesans, nasty women, Shady Ladies, Women's History by jenni

Diane de Poitiers, represented on this wall hanging as the goddess Diana, was so powerful in France when she was the mistress of King Henri II that they often signed his correspondence with one word: HENRIDIANE. Find out more about powerful women in history on...