Dating back to the time in which men were hunters and women were gatherers, the line dividing gender roles were inscribed deep into the beliefs that society still carries with them to this day. In this paper, I will focus on how The Abduction of the Sabine Women by Nicolas Poussin and the Oath of the Horatii by Jacques-Louis David both illustrate that despite being painted a century apart, the way in which society views gender roles of what a man and women should do/be, has not changed. Through the use of iconography and feminism it is easier to see how the figures in the foreground, the lighting and the symbolism within both paintings help further depict this perpetual way in which society defines gender roles.
Iconography is the use of images …show more content…
In The abduction of the Sabine women, one of the first things a viewers attention would direct to is to Romulus due to his red cloak. According to Honors at the Met “Romulus’s red cloak, representing his authority and responsibility for the violence and suffering currently on display.” Therefore making him look more important as he gives orders while standing on a platform above everyone else. The women in the painting although are in bright blue and have lighter skin when compared to the men have a more delicate and soft feeling to them in the painting to further insinuate that they are …show more content…
In The abduction of the Sabine women, the women painted were important due to the fact that they were clearly not equal to men as they were taken like property against their will and sexually objectified because they were desired to mother their offspring without their consent. Meanwhile in the Oath of the Horatii, this was not the case. Jacques although still not equally giving the women he painted in his painting enough credit for the grand sacrifice of letting the person they most cared about for Rome, he used the women to show how women are emotional. Whether this was done for a negative or positive purpose the positive way to view this is that women therefore are more open with what they
Iconography is the use of images …show more content…
In The abduction of the Sabine women, one of the first things a viewers attention would direct to is to Romulus due to his red cloak. According to Honors at the Met “Romulus’s red cloak, representing his authority and responsibility for the violence and suffering currently on display.” Therefore making him look more important as he gives orders while standing on a platform above everyone else. The women in the painting although are in bright blue and have lighter skin when compared to the men have a more delicate and soft feeling to them in the painting to further insinuate that they are …show more content…
In The abduction of the Sabine women, the women painted were important due to the fact that they were clearly not equal to men as they were taken like property against their will and sexually objectified because they were desired to mother their offspring without their consent. Meanwhile in the Oath of the Horatii, this was not the case. Jacques although still not equally giving the women he painted in his painting enough credit for the grand sacrifice of letting the person they most cared about for Rome, he used the women to show how women are emotional. Whether this was done for a negative or positive purpose the positive way to view this is that women therefore are more open with what they