Not Your Average Female Portrait
Ways in which you wouldn't normally view a woman
Curated by Lily Johnston

Gustave Courbet, Young Women on the Bank of the Seine, 1857

What a relaxing day in the park. The river, nice dresses, a picnic, sunlight, flowers. One would say this is the perfect place for a man to join in right? Wrong. I am pretty sure the company of a man is not what they are looking for, if you catch my drift...

Most settings for portraits of women are with large groups of nude females, like Turkish Bath by Ingres, or in settings of despair by the death of a man, The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons by David. Rarely are paintings provocative towards the Sunday afternoon in Sunday's best with a female partner. That is not a scene typically painted by painters. Because it is not typically something the public agrees upon or finds morally acceptable, especially for the 1800s.

If you don't see my point yet, lets take this another step further, shall we? The woman in the back wearing orange holds her bouquet of flowers close to her body in a gentle motion with a relaxed smirk on her face. The other woman on the other hand looks completely worn out and knocked out from what may have been an eventful afternoon (wink). Her legs slightly ajar and her dress lifted slightly up. The boat in the distance suggests there well planned out afternoon hidden among the trees. Both of their faces seem quite pleased.

By now the painting might not look so innocent as a nice day in the park. But if we agree that men look to sell innocence or sex, they have definitely hit the mark, however a little off.

For the sole purpose of enjoyment, listen to this song while looking at this painting. Caution: It may produce a giggle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhFbBXXxLTg