Observation

Works above by Edgar Degas

Above works by Egon Schiele

Artists like Degas have been criticized for objectifying women in their work. He and Egon Schiele tended to portray women outside of their environment, focusing more on the shape and movement of the woman anatomy -- viewing them much more of an object for the practice of observation. 

I do not agree with the objectification of women whatsoever, but I cannot help but appreciate the beauty of their work. They point out subtle parts of their body (like knotted hair, back dimples, loose hair at the nape of the neck) and actions (contraposto holding the back of her dress, stretching, leaning towards the ground in exhaustion) that make them certainly real women. 

Something about not giving eye contact to the viewer also intrigues me. It makes me feel like I have walked in on the subject doing what they do naturally and when they are most vulnerable, when no one is watching. Schiele does it interestingly because he takes these women who are posing in very natural and vulnerable manners, but they are taken outside of context with a plain, untouched back ground -- asking us to create their surroundings ourselves.

There is a reason why artists love to draw human beings, especially in the nude. The human body is made of a variety of curves, lines and despite of it being called symmetrical the human body is flawed enough that it is not actually symmetrical... a challenge to the observing artist. I am not excusing the sexism and objectification of women that has existed in art. Rather, I am just appreciating the talent of the artists themselves. 

Being a fashion dork, I especially love this last illustration by Schiele. He uses great saturated colors and the dress has a great cut. 

Enough dorking out. Peace.