The Arts and Ideology 1: Only Study Guide Forarh2601

THE ARTS AND IDEOLOGY 1
ONLY STUDY GUIDE FORARH2601
AUTHOR
L van der Merwe
DEPARTMENT OF ART AND MUSIC

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
PRETORIA
© 2019 University of South Africa
All rights reserved
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University of South Africa
Muckleneuk, Pretoria
ARH2601/1/2020
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CONTENTS
Page
Learning unit 1: Ideology 1

1.1 Learning outcomes 1
1.2 What is ideology and why do we need to study it? 1
1.3 Ideology and power 2
1.4 How do ideologies spread? 2
1.5 A Žižekian model of ideology 5
1.6 Hegemony 6
1.7 Ideology and images 7
1.8 Marxism, modernism and ideology 10
1.9 The end of ideology? 12
Learning unit 2: Humanity and perfection: classicism 14
2.1 Introduction and learning outcomes 14
2.2 Ancient Greek culture 15
2.3 The place of classicism in art history 15
2.4 Classicism in Greek and Roman art and architecture 16
2.4.1 Winckelmann’s classification of Greek and Roman art 16
2.4.2 The “universal” principles of classicism 21
2.4.3 Roman Imperial sculpture and architecture
(27 BC – 476 AD) 22
2.5 Classicism, violence and desire 28
2.6 Classicism and humanism 30
2.6.1 Introduction 30
2.6.2 Humanism, classicism and Renaissance art 31
2.7 Classicism and neoclassicism 34
2.8 Classicism in 18th-century American architecture 36
2.9 Classicism and romanticism 40
2.10 Classicism and humanism in conversation with modern
and postmodern art 42
Learning unit 3: Feminism 47
3.1 Introduction and learning outcomes 47
3.2 Feminism as an ideology 47
3.3 Is feminism a movement or an approach? 47
3.4 Key terms 48
3.4.1 Patriarchy 48
3.4.2 Sexism 48
3.4.3 The male gaze 49
3.4.4 Scopophilia 49
3.4.5 Sex and gender 49
3.5 Feminism: A historical perspective 50
3.6 Women and art in early modern Europe (1000–1600) 50
3.6.1 Introduction 50
3.6.2 Sexism in the work of Alberti (1404–1472) 52
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3.6.3 Rape and the representation of women in art of the
early modern period
1
55
3.6.4 Women and witchcraft 57
3.7 Dada: Feminism and modernism 59
3.8 Radical feminism of the 1960 – 1980s 62
3.9 Feminism in South Africa 70
3.9.1 Introduction70
3.9.2 Intersectional and African feminisms 71
3.9.3 Examples of contemporary feminist South African art 73
(iv)
4 LEARNING UNIT 1
1 Ideology
1.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES

The first section of this study guide aims to give you a general understanding of
what we mean by ‘ideology’ and, more importantly, its uses within the fields of art
history and visual culture.
After reading this section and engaging with the activities, you should be able to:
•• Give a working definition of the term ‘ideology’

•• Give examples of different ideologies
•• Understand and be able to explain how ideology operates in society
•• Identify and be able to explain how ideology operates in images of art and visual
culture
•• Describe how social conditions influence ideology, and give examples from history.
1.2 WHAT IS IDEOLOGY AND WHY DO WE NEED TO STUDY IT?

Ideology, in very simple terms, could be used to describe ‘ways of thinking’. Ideology
is defined differently, depending on the sources you consult. Eagleton (1991:2) points
out that some of the definitions of ideology which are circulating in intellectual
circles are not even compatible with one another. Ideologies can be identified by
the adjunct “-ism”, for example, Marxism, capitalism and feminism. All ideologies or
“-isms” are bound up with intricate sets of social, political and historical beliefs,
behaviours and interests which often change over time. Ideologies are therefore not
static concepts and are sometimes contested. Feminism, for example, is an ideology
which contains many different strands of thinking, such as egalitarian feminism,
third-wave feminism, corporeal feminism and post-feminism. Scholars of feminism
also do not necessarily all agree on what “feminism” should entail in terms of ideas,
theories and application. This will be discussed in more detail in Unit 3. Ideologies
are therefore fluid and multiple, and should be understood as such.
Ideology sometimes reveals itself in ways which are not visible to the unsuspecting
observer. Many people would deny that they are influenced by ideological thinking,
thus claiming some sort of objective view on certain matters. In truth, we are all
influenced by ideological thinking, which informs every decision we make and every
action we take. Humans are social creatures and therefore ideological beings. To claim
that you are not influenced by ideology, is a fallacy. Take capitalism, for example:
who can claim that they are not influenced by advertising, mass consumption and
fashion? We make countless decisions every day based on making money, buying
things and consuming entertainment.
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ACTIVITY 1.1 – IDEOLOGY AND EVERYDAY LIFE

Make a list of five possible ideologies, thought patterns or belief systems that you
can think of, that currently have an influence on your life.
1.3 IDEOLOGY AND POWER

Ideology is never innocent, but is intensely bound up with power. Some ideologies
bear greater forms of power than others in specific historical settings. Dominant
groups which support certain ideologies can legitimate their supposed superiority
through ideological apparatuses (these will be discussed in more detail under 1.5).
Terry Eagleton (1991:5) writes that a dominant group may strive to further its
agenda by positioning its belief systems as natural and universal, thereby pushing
all alternative beliefs and values to the periphery of society. This does not, however,
mean that all ideologies are lies or that they obscure the true social reality. It also
does not mean that all ideological groupings are socially or politically dominant or
deviant in some way. Some ideologies provide oppositional thinking to dominant
discourse. Oppositional discourse is often referred to as the political left, although
even this description, in today’s political context, is contentious because the balance
of power in the world is constantly shifting. Before World War I (WWI), nationalism
was a dominant, powerful discourse. This changed after World War II (WWII), when
nationalist ideologies started to be seen as somewhat problematic, as they gave birth
to oppressive and violent movements such as Nazism, fascism and apartheid (all of
which are modern, nationalist movements, generally referred to as the political right).
Today, the world is seeing a renewed surge in nationalist ideology which is, in a sense,
oppositional to the ideologies of multiculturalism, globalism and late capitalism. The
same could be said about ideologies such as communism, humanism and empiricism,
which have all been dominant and oppositional at some stage in history.
1.4 HOW DO IDEOLOGIES SPREAD?

Ideologies are typically spread in mediated ways, through forms of mass
media communication such as television, radio and newspapers. Political or religious
ideologies can also be spread through direct means, by preaching in places of worship
or addressing the crowds at political rallies – instances where religious and political
leaders impart their ideologies to audiences in a very direct, unmediated way.
Eagleton (1991:34) notes, however, that ideologies are often spread in much more
covert ways, which are not even necessarily deliberate. Consider television, for example.
Eagleton (1991:35) argues that, even though ideological messages are frequently the
content of certain television programming, the act of ‘watching television’ itself can
be ideological.
The next quote, by Jean Baudrillard (2002:186), explains this very well:
Television has been in the news a lot lately. It is supposed to exist to speak to
us about the world. And, like any self-respecting medium, it is also supposed to
put events first and its own concerns second. But for some time now, it seems
to have lost this respect for itself or [to] have come to regard itself as the event.
2
4LEARNING UNIT 1: Ideology
Television is thus an apparatus or tool of capitalism and free-market neoliberalism.

Television not only shows us what is fashionable and what we can buy (through
advertisements), but also creates a generation of passive consumers. Often we
watch television without really thinking about the content at all. It becomes an
aimless search across channels to find interesting content, which never leaves the
viewer feeling satisfied. The same can be said about social media: mediums such
as Facebook can take away hours from your day, without really adding anything of
value at all. Eagleton (1991:35) notes that this depressive passivity can be a form of
social control, whereby people become disconnected from reality and society, and
unable to be active political agents and socially engaged citizens.
The prevalence of ‘fake news’ on social media platforms in recent years has, of
course, compounded the problem of an over-reliance on the passive consumption of
information. Various ideologies perpetuated by the ruling classes (or those in power)
can easily be spread through social media. In this regard Eagleton (1991:37) states
that the ideology of capitalism has become so pervasive and “natural” that coercive
strategies of “control” are no longer necessary, since capitalism controls societies
through the very structure that it has put in place. Eagleton (1991:38) prompts the
reader to consider how capitalist structures “capture” people by making them over-
reliant on wage-earning, credit and consumption, thus providing no way out of the
system and very few opportunities to resist it. Even those who claim to oppose
capitalism are, in one way or another, implicated by buying, consuming and relying
on the system for their livelihood, through wages or profit.
ACTIVITY 1.2 – IDEOLOGY AND MASS MEDIA

Think about your own television viewing and social media habits. Write down what
you think is the real cost of submerging yourself in media for hours a day. Write
down what else you could be doing, instead of consuming media. Now try to find
three instances on social media and television, where you are being subjected to
subliminal messaging in terms of ideologies such as consumerism, subtle political
messages or images that promote certain stereotypes based on race and gender.
Write a paragraph on each of these images, where you identify the following:
•• Which ideology is being promoted by this image?

•• What kinds of images/messages achieve this?
•• Who controls the media you are consuming, and what possible reasons could
they have for making you want to buy into their ideologies?
According to Eagleton’s (1991) view of ideology, education is also under scrutiny.

In this schema, education is not self-reflective or empowering to the individual,
but becomes a way in which the ruling class ensures that citizens are able to fit into
the structure which it has created through an organised cycle of employment and
consumption. The education system thus serves to create a society of compliant
citizens who can perform necessary tasks and are reliant on earning wages and/or
salaries for their livelihoods. The system is thus self-perpetuating, and makes the
need for physical control obsolete.
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ACTIVITY 1.3 – IDEOLOGY AND MASS MEDIA

Example: The Rainbow Nation in advertising
The term “Rainbow Nation” was coined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, after the
1994 democratic elections in South Africa, and later also championed by Nelson
Mandela and Thabo Mbeki. The term was meant as a metaphor for the com-
ing together of different races (the colours of the rainbow) in harmony to create
something beautiful and hopeful which all South Africans could aspire to, after
the devastation of Apartheid. Early on, Adam Habib (1997:17) cautioned against
an approach which focuses on race, antagonism and reconciliation, but neglects
class as a defining factor for the success of a new democracy. He also noted the
effective use of “rainbowism” by the political elite, to obfuscate the shortcomings
of South Africa’s new democracy and big business’s use of the rainbow nation to
market its products and services (Habib 1997:16).
Consider the following illustration:
FIGURE 1
Liebenberg, L, Moseau, T & Aukema, S for FCB Johannesburg, Coca-Cola: A rainbow
for the Rainbow Nation Advertising Campaign, 2013.
(MacLeod 2014)
In 2013, Coca-Cola launched this campaign to market its range of fizzy drinks in
South Africa. A real rainbow was created in downtown Johannesburg, by spraying
recycled water into the air above a large building on which a Coca-Cola billboard
could be seen. McLeod (2014) wrote the following for a design industry website,
The Inspiration Room:
The term ‘Rainbow Nation’ was coined by Desmond Tutu as a representation of

the multiple races and cultures of people that were coming together at the end of
Apartheid to make one nation. Twenty years on, FCB and Coca-Cola got together
with Fred Stern from the USA, known as The Rainbow Maker, to create rainbows
in the sky around [the] Johannesburg CBD by capturing the sun at specific angles
through a mist of water. The act celebrates the 20th anniversary of South Africa’s
democracy, which falls on Freedom Day, the 27th of April this year. In this video
4
South Africans of all colours of the rainbow can be seen coming together to enjoy
the spectacle.
Can you see how the ideology of “rainbowism” operates in this advertising cam-
paign? In this instance, the advertiser uses the feel-good factor of rainbowism to
create a positive response to its product and hopefully sell more cold drinks. The
ideology of rainbowism is used to create a sense of pseudo-egalitarianism, and
in this way to obscure the social reality of inequality found amongst the residents
of Johannesburg. In this advertisement, people from all races, languages and
walks of life are shown living together in peace, harmony and freedom, without
any contradictions, in a setting which is recognisable as urban but also truly South
African, thus pointing towards South Africa’s modernity, and a prosperous and
happy future. Can you see how ideology works in the above example?
Search the internet for other examples of the Rainbow Nation ideology in popular
culture, especially in advertising.
Now write a paragraph in which you deliberate on the following:
•• How do politicians use the Rainbow Nation ideology for their own ends?
•• Why do you think that this ideology is so useful to advertisers?
•• What do you think about the Rainbow Nation ideology? Is it a good or a bad
thing? Or maybe both?
•• Which other ideologies are prevalent in South African society? Write down at
least two.
1.5 A ŽIŽEKIAN MODEL OF IDEOLOGY

Slajov Žižek (1949– ) has written several important works dealing with ideology,
which specifically explain the implications of the way we look at ideology in art and
popular culture. Žižek (in Raybone 2015:2) understands ideology to be a series of
representations that construct individual and collective reality. Žižek (in Raybone
2015:3) notes that people, despite seeming cynical of certain ideologies, nevertheless
lead their lives in ways which contradict their cynicism or disillusionment with those
systems. Consider, for example, consumerism: even though we know that advertising
aims to create wants for things we do not need, we end up buying those products
all the same. Žižek’s aim is to explain and theorise this phenomenon, in order to
provide a clearer understanding of our belief systems and the effects these have on
our daily lives and on our interpretation of events and visual expressions, such as
those found in art and the mass media.
Following Lacan,1 Žižek (in Raybone 2015:4) argues that human beings have an innate
desire to feel enjoyment when participating in society, as well as a sense of belonging.
Žižek believes this drive to be mostly unconscious, in that it sustains the individual’s
continued place in society. This would explain why people sometimes continue to
live in oppressive regimes, without actively offering any resistance to them. Social
cohesion and personal enjoyment, which are unconsciously regulated (according to
the Žižekian model) therefore enjoy precedence over rational judgements of injustice.
1 Jacques Lacan (1901–1981) was a French psychoanalyst who, using Sigmund Freud’s theories as a
starting point, wrote about human development, emotions and desire. His work had a major influence
on post-structuralist theories and postmodern thought, especially during the 1960s and 70s. Several
contemporary theorists and thinkers still apply his work in their own writings.
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In addition, Eagleton (1991:58) writes that some ideologies are so successful that
they seem “natural” or self-evident to people in a specific time and place, and so
the need to question them seems irrelevant.
ACTIVITY 1.4 – IDEOLOGY IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Think about the things you believe to be common sense. These could include
morals, cultural beliefs and certain codes of behaviour. Write down some of these
codes/morals or behaviours that are important in your culture.
Comment on the following example in a paragraph:
Many people believe that it is important to hold the door for a lady. Why is this?
Is it morally wrong to enter a room before a woman does? Which cultural codes
prescribe that men should act in this way, and why is it perceived that it is impor-
tant that men act in this way?
Ideologies are inscribed in our everyday behaviours and interactions in more ways
than we would like to admit. Sometimes we do not question the way we do things,
because we have been taught not only through instruction, but also through the very
structure of society, which ideas and actions are acceptable, and which are not.
1.6 HEGEMONY
Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937) used the term “hegemony” to describe the way in which
the ruling classes manage to coerce or gain the consent of the masses, to partake in
their ideological project (Eagleton 1991:112). It is important to understand, though,
that ideology and hegemony are not interchangeable terms. Ideology is but one of the
elements of a hegemonic system. For Gramsci (in Eagleton 1991:112), hegemony is
created through the workings of various ideologies, state apparatuses (e.g., churches,
governments and education systems) and systems (e.g., tax systems, laws, etc.). All
these apparatuses and systems have ideological biases on which they are based, but
they are not ideologies as such. Remember: an ideology is not something that is
material, as it is contained within the symbolic realm, at the level of our inner belief
systems. Ideologies do, however, find a material basis in the systems and apparatuses
that they inform and create. They also find a material base in cultural products such
as art and architecture (more on this in Unit 2).
Consider the church, for example. It operates on a specific set of religious and cultural
beliefs, and controls its members through its structure, rules and activities. It can,
however, not be said that the church does so coercively, as every person has a choice
whether or not to attend services. The church is thus an example of a hegemonic
apparatus spreading its ideology (normally the ideologies of the ruling class) through
the consent of its members.
Louis Althusser (1918–1990) agreed with Gramsci (in Eagleton 1991:115) that ideology
is located in state and civil society institutions, but he also acknowledged the role
of the unconscious, as did Žižek. The ruling classes therefore have the upper hand
not only materially (through ownership of the economy and state institutions), but
also culturally (by controlling aspects such as education, religion and civil society).
6
Hegemony also extends into the symbolic realm, into our very “ways of thinking”
and feeling, by controlling people’s sense of belonging and desire.
Hegemony is defined very eloquently by Eagleton (1991:115–116) as
a whole range of practical strategies by which a dominant power elicits consent

to its rule from those it subjugates. To win hegemony … is to establish moral,
political and intellectual leadership in social life by diffusing one’s own ‘world
view’ throughout the fabric of society as a whole, thus equating one’s own
interests with the interests of society at large.
In other words, hegemony means that everyone more or less thinks and acts in the
same way, which makes social control easier. It also means that people “buy into”
what is generally believed to be “the best for everyone”, and thus also consciously
or subconsciously support the dominant power structures.
1.7 IDEOLOGY AND IMAGES

If ideology is a way of thinking, it also implies a certain “way of doing” and a “way of
looking”. Our belief systems influence how we interpret images in popular culture and
art. At this point it is important to note that hegemony and ideology function most
effectively when they are seemingly invisible and “natural” to the casual onlooker.
The role of the art historian is to be more critical of images than the casual onlooker
would be, and to uncover that which is hidden.
Our belief systems also have an influence on how we create images. When considering
ideology in the context of art and media, we should therefore always consider the
historical background of images, as ideologies change over time. Through a revisionist
approach to art history, we can re-examine history and thereby uncover the meaning
of artworks, by applying certain ideological viewpoints.
John Berger (1972:3) notes that art gives us a glimpse into the way people viewed
things, (other) people and events in historical times. Berger (1972:4) further notes that
our assumptions regarding aspects such as beauty and truth change over time, and
that this can potentially obscure the original intended meanings or interpretations
of historical works of art. According to the Žižekian understanding of ideology,
we can uncover the topicality of an artwork through an analysis which is not only
historically situated, but also explains that work as a transitional object,2 which clarifies
the socio-psychic and political functioning of its creators and consumers (Raybone
2015:5). Remember: Žižek argued that people always unconsciously seek enjoyment
and a sense of belonging in society. Therefore, if we look at art, we should keep in
mind how individuals functioned in their day-to-day existence when creating works
of art, and when looking at those works.
2 A transitional object in art theory is something which helps us understand a certain phenomenon, or
is something that aids understanding. This could include our understanding of other times or cultures
– in other words, the art object acts as a link between the known and the unknown.
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ACTIVITY 1.5 – I DEOLOGY AND THE SOCIAL WORLD OF

IMAGES
Example: Pierneef and Afrikaner nationalism
Consider the following examples from the Station Panels series (1934) by JH
Pierneef (1886–1957).3
FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3
JH Pierneef, Waterval Boven (1934). Oil JH Pierneef, Bosveld, Transvaal (1934).
on canvas, Oil on canvas,
140 x 127 cm. 140 x 148,5 cm.
FIGURE 4 FIGURE 5
JH Pierneef, Rand Gold Mine (1934). JH Pierneef, Klipriviersberg, Alberton
Oil on canvas, (1934). Oil on canvas, 140,5 x 126,5
141 x 126,5 cm. cm.
3 All images from Coetzee (1991).
8
These works (figures 2–5) are examples of the “Station Panels” (1934) series
which Pierneef completed for the Johannesburg Station, on commission of the
South African Railways and Harbours department. A considerable budget was
allocated for the works. There were 32 panels altogether, depicting various places
of national, commercial and naturalistic importance in South Africa. Remember: in
1931, when this commission was awarded, South Africa was still part of the Brit-
ish Empire. Pierneef was a well-known African modernist of Dutch descent, who
is known for his monumental landscapes, inspired by the cubist and art nouveau
styles (Werth 1980).
Consider this quote in the catalogue for the travelling Pierneef/Van Wouw exhibi-
tion that took place between 1980 and 1981:
He was one of the first artists who depicted the landscape around him in a
unique way … Pierneef followed his own ideas and was led mainly by his feel-
ings for and reactions to the South African landscape … Pierneef gave form to
the intimate and beloved aspects of our beloved country (Werth 1980).
Nic Coetzee (1991:3) makes a case for the reconsideration of Pierneef’s work in
relation to this artist’s connection with Afrikaner nationalist views, and his own
cultural beliefs and ideals, which were closely aligned with those of the emerging
Afrikaner elite of the 1940s. Coetzee (1991:2) notes that, in the 1920s and 30s,
Pierneef had substantial connections with English officials, which helped him se-
cure various commissions such as the station panels and work for South Africa
House in London, all completed in 1934. Coetzee (1991:5) adds that Pierneef was
a “respected member of the political and cultural community of Pretoria” and had
“a broad sympathy for Afrikaner nationalism”.
Consider the following passage from Coetzee’s book on Pierneef’s work:
Besides having a merely technical artistic motivation, the clear compositional

schemas also indicate a desire to impose order – they represent a desire to
structure the landscape, to render nature into culture, physicality into spiritual-
ity, the wilderness into inwardness. Landscape at its most fundamental level
deals inescapably with man’s relationship to the world and it deals with man
in the world. It is expressive of a world-view largely determined by culture and
ideology. (Coetzee 1991:15)
Now write an essay of about one page in length, in which you address the fol-
lowing points:
•• Consider the time when the “Station Panels” series was created (1934) and
the site (Johannesburg Station) where they were to be placed. Who were the
people who viewed these works?
•• How do you think people would have reacted to seeing these works? Think
about the white middle class, the political elite, as well as the black workers
who used Johannesburg Station during their daily commute.
•• Considering Pierneef’s background, what do you think his aims were in creating
these works?
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Now read the following article:
Peffer, J. 2005. Censorship and iconoclasm: Unsettling monuments. RES: Anthro-

pology and Aesthetics 48:45–60.
You can find this article by searching the Journals database under the “Electronic
resources” tab on the Unisa library website.
After reading the Peffer article, add the following points to your essay:
•• How has your understanding of Pierneef’s work changed after reading this
article?
•• Do you think that contemporary criticism against Pierneef’s work is warranted?
•• What “hidden” ideologies are present in Pierneef’s work?
•• How do you think we should view Pierneef’s work today, considering what you
know now?
Can you see that, in uncovering some of the “hidden” ideological forces present in
Pierneef’s work, we can come to new understandings of his unconscious function-
ing within a specific society? Remember: Pierneef was an important figure within
the white Afrikaner nationalist project, and his position in society would certainly
have influenced his artmaking in profound ways. Through a closer examination of
not only the works themselves, but also the biography of the artist as well as the
social, political, cultural and historical setting in which these works were created,
we can come to new understandings of the artworks. This is how ideology oper-
ates in art and visual culture, and how the art historian uncovers meaning and
significance – by taking various ideological forces into consideration.
1.8 MARXISM, MODERNISM AND IDEOLOGY

Since the 1930s, several theorists have thought it important, within the context of
modernism, to debate the difference (if such a difference exists) between art and mass
culture, and between “high” art and “consumer” art (Ridless 1950:xi). Theorists such
as Jay and Martin (in Ridless 1950:xi) attribute ideological control to mass culture,
where “high” art, according to the modernist tradition, is seen to be autonomous
and somehow having the unique ability to pose political or ethical questions, which
“low” art or mass culture cannot. The question at the heart of this debate is simply:
“Can art be political?” (Ridless 1950:vii).
Remember: the early 20th century saw the rise of many oppressive nationalist
ideologies such as Nazism and fascism, which used propaganda through various
mass media channels to spread their ideologies, besides also employing physical,
often violent, controls. The avant-garde modernists, however, believed that art stood
outside of the political realm, as autonomous objects which also somehow slipped
between the cracks of commercialism. Many (especially French) artists who were
based in Paris before WWII were also pacifists who opposed the war, and fled to
America to pursue their artistic careers there. These modernists believed their art
stood outside of the political concerns of the day, as objects that pointed to a higher
consciousness or spiritual awareness.
Theodore Adorno (1903–1969) believed mass culture to be the cause of “high” art’s
continued isolation from everyday life. He also stated that art is increasingly perceived
10
as elite, since mass culture “steals” those audiences which, in the past, supported
the arts, because it is so easily accessible through platforms such as television, the
internet and social media (Ridless 1950:94). “High” or “fine” art, by contrast, is often
only available in galleries and museums, and thus not so accessible to especially the
working classes and the poor. Adorno’s (in Ridless 1950:94) position was that art
should “raise people’s consciousness” and “should be faithful to its inner demands
despite the demands of the market”. In other words, he deemed “high” art to be
superior to mass culture. Such sentiments are typically modernist. Adorno showed
an acute disdain for mass culture and tried to categorise art according to invisible,
ethical concerns, by creating various hierarchical categories. That idea, which has
persisted to this day, had its origins in Classical thought (see Unit 2). Art that is
separate from the social and the political is (according to Adorno) superior and
labelled “autonomous” art.
The idea of “autonomous” art is contested by the work of Karl Marx (1818–1883),
who was one of the first philosophers to advocate that art should be considered in
terms of the society in which it was created. His writings – especially Introduction to
the critique of political economy4 – are to this day influential sources for art historians and
cultural theorists alike. Marx’s notion that all cultural production, including art, is
unequivocally linked to the society in which it is created, is problematic from the
modernist’s perspective of “art for art’s sake” or art with a higher purpose. Marx
(in Adams 2010:67) focuses on the production of art in terms of the relationship
between the ruling classes (who commission and buy art) and the masses (who
consume or are influenced by art). Marx also wrote that artworks are often made by
workers, but bought by the powerful “bourgeois superstructure” or upper middle
class. The workers or the artists thus cater for the tastes and beliefs of the bourgeois,
and become out of touch with their own creations.
Ernst Fischer (1899–1972) (in Adams 2010:69) agrees with Marx that work or labour
forms the basis of a person’s understanding of all forms of production – including
artistic production. This immediately implies a power relationship between creator/
maker and consumer, because the working classes will always be dependent on buying
certain products from big companies, who then have a certain power over them. It
is therefore evident that authors such as Althusser, Gramsci and Žižek all built on
Marxist theory when interrogating ideology, albeit in different ways. When we look at
art from an ideological viewpoint, we are in fact applying Marxist theory, to a certain
extent. This is because a Marxist methodology of art-historical enquiry deals with
the social context of art, by looking at economic and political circumstances as well
as power relationships at specific historical points. This, of course, implies taking
into consideration specific ways of thinking, doing and seeing, which are relevant to
the period being studied. Marx’s theories deal explicitly with consciousness as being
socially constituted (Eagleton 1991:72) and assumes that human consciousness is fluid
and dynamic (Eagleton 1991:77). The implication of this is that social structures can
alter a person’s thinking, but also that a specific “way of thinking” can alter “ways
of doing” and subsequently the political, social and economic structures of a society.
The symbolic and material aspects of any society are thus intertwined in complex
ways and cannot be separated from each other. Marx’s assessment of the situation
is socially deterministic, which means that a person’s “social being determines their
consciousness”, in other words your conception of who you are is constructed through
4 First published in 1859, this book by Karl Marx was primarily a critique of capitalism, touching on
aspects of production, consumption and the meaning of money in the process of value exchange.
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an awareness of your place in society. Marxist art-historical enquiry is sometimes

also referred to as “the social history of art” (Foster et al 2011:22).
Marx, through his insistence on the socially embedded nature of art, also contested the
modernist claim that art can be viewed separately from society and be non-political.
The distinction between art and mass culture in this instance becomes blurred, as
art is shown to be political and topical on matters of ideological bias. When we view
artworks with an awareness of ideology, we can uncover and critique the meanings
attributed to specific works and bodies of work, by historically situating the works
within a specific society, with its unique belief systems. This method will help us not
only to understand artworks better, but also the societies in which they were created.
Marxist feminism also relies on a critique of the social world of women and the
power structures embedded therein, but this will be explored in more detail in unit 3.
1.9 THE END OF IDEOLOGY?

Much criticism has been levelled against an ideological approach to art in recent
years. Bosteels (2014:95) notes that a historically situated ideological approach often
fails to take into consideration the specific peculiarities of an individual artist or
viewer, in respect of race, gender and class, as well as individualised life experiences.
In addition, Bosteels (2014:94) argues that some ideologies (such as the ideology of
capital [or capitalism]) have become so self-evident and engrained in the structure
of society, that the need to question or analyse them almost becomes obsolete.
Ideology presupposes a “universal” set of beliefs which are engrained in a specific
socio-political and historical place in time, where practitioners and viewers alike
either participate in, or resist, hegemony. Despite this, there are always “gaps, silences,
or blind spots” (Bosteels 2014:96) which one cannot explain by the application of
a universal ideology. This is because people do not always act in ways which are
necessarily consistent with how we expect them to.
Foster et al (2011:29) believe Althusser’s view on ideology to be the most productive

in taking a social approach to the history of art. Althusser combined Marx’s view
– that art is embedded in society and intensely political – with Adorno’s theory on
the relative autonomy of art and its relative distance from mass culture and (more
importantly) state apparatuses. Althusser (in Foster et al 2011:29) accommodates
some of these “blind spots”, as revealed by Bosteels (2014:96), by suggesting that
art can slip through the cracks where ideological apparatuses and structures operate
less effectively. Althusser thereby allowed space for the individual artist to behave
and create in ways which do not conform to hegemony, and therefore provide
oppositional thinking to mainstream ideologies and challenge the status quo. This
became especially evident in art post-1900, but can also be observed in earlier art,
as will be discussed later in this study guide.
Stuart Hall (1932– ) (in Foster et al 2011:30) also critiques the Eurocentric base of an
ideological approach, noting that a “fixation on hegemony” has the effect of reducing
the analyses of works from the periphery (Africa, Oceania, the East) in a relationship
to “white, male bourgeois culture”. In other words, ideology might (or might not)
account for postcolonial discourses and positions, and is built on Western ideas. This
is because, despite the many changes in international power relationships since the
world wars, the power of the historical centre (Britain, Europe, the United States)
still holds when it comes to cultural production, theorisation and critique. This is
especially evident in the hegemony of the English language (Ashcroft, Griffiths &
Tiffin 2002:7) and the neo-imperialism of late capitalism. It is from this phenomenon
12
that postcolonialism emerged as a method of art-historical enquiry and theory in

the 20th century. Postcolonialism and its application to the arts will be discussed in
more detail in the third year of study.
REFERENCES
Adams, LS. 2010. The methodologies of art. An introduction. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Ashcroft, B, Griffiths, G & Tiffin, H. 2002. The Empire writes back. New York:
Routledge.
Baudrillard, J. 2002. Screened out. Translated by Chris Turner. London: Verso.
Berger, J. 1972. Ways of seeing. London: Penguin and the BBC.
Bosteels, B. 2014. In praise of discrepancy? Art and ideology revisited. The Retreat
50:94–103.
Coetzee, NJ. 1991. Pierneef, land and landscape: The Johannesburg Station Panels in context.
Johannesburg: CBM Publishing and the Johannesburg Art Gallery.
Eagleton, T. 1991. Ideolog y: An introduction. London: Verso.
Foster, H, Krauss, R, Bois, Y, Buchloch, BHD & Joselit, D. 2011. Art since 1900:
Modernism, antimodernism, postmodernism. London: Thames & Hudson.
Habib, A. 1997. South Africa – The Rainbow Nation and prospects for consoli-
dating democracy. African Journal of Political Science/Revue Africaine de Science
Politique 2(2):15–37. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2349357
(Accessed 15 August 2018).
MacLeod, D. 2014. Coca-Cola celebrates Rainbow Nation. Retrieved from http://theinspi-
rationroom.com/daily/2014/coca-cola-celebrates-rainbow-nation/ (Accessed
30 May 2017).
Peffer, J. 2005. Censorship and iconoclasm: Unsettling monuments. RES: Anthropol-
og y and Aesthetics 48:45–60.
Raybone, S. 2015. Notes towards practising Žižekian ideology critique as an art-
historical methodology. International Journal of Žižek Studies 9(2):1–19.
Ridless, R. 1950. Ideolog y and art: Theories of mass culture, from Walter Benjamin to Umberto
Eco. New York: Peter Lang.
Werth, AJ. 1980. Pierneef/Van Wouw. Johannesburg: The Rembrandt van Rijn Art
Foundation.
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2 LEARNING UNIT 2
2 Humanity and perfection: classicism
2.1 INTRODUCTION AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

This study unit will give a broad overview of classicism as a distinct ideology through
various periods of art history. We will look at its origins in Greek and Roman thought,
and its development over time. Various theorists and art historians have contributed
to ongoing theories and debates on classicism. We will study a selection of those
theorists. Humanism – as an accompanying philosophical movement to Classicism
– will also be discussed in this study unit. To understand how both classicism and
humanism shaped society and visual expression through the ages, we will look at
examples of how art historians use a revisionist approach in deciphering artworks, by
scrutinising aspects of classicism and humanism in artworks from various periods.
This unit will focus on the development of classicism in Europe, and highlight
some of its historical and interpretive implications for art history. At this point, it
is important to note that classicism as well as humanism (see also 2.6) are distinctly
Western-European ideologies and were specifically influenced by local conditions
in Europe from the 15th century onwards. The last part of this learning unit will
briefly contextualise these ideologies in terms of contemporary discourse, specifically
postmodern and postcolonial critique.
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
•• Explain how classicism emerged

•• Name the stylistic and philosophical qualities of classicism, and identify these in
Roman and Greek works
•• Identify how the stylistic and philosophical qualities of classicism influenced
subsequent art-historical movements
•• Explain how and when humanism emerged, and how its development was
influenced by Classicism
•• Explain what humanism entails as a philosophy
•• Explain and identify humanist thought, as depicted in various art-historical
movements.
In art history, we normally refer to art as “classical” if its basic tenets can be traced
back to an interest in, or a following of, the example of the Greek or Roman art forms
found in antiquity. In more colloquial terms, however, “classic” is often used as an
adjective for something which is typical of a specific period or style, for instance,
classic art nouveau-style architecture or a classic 1960s black dress. Some refer to a
film as a “classic”, to denote that it is important for film history. It is not wrong to
use the term in that way, but in art history, “classic” refers to a very specific set of
ideas or ideologies. In this section, we will focus on the term “classicism”, which
is understood as “the activity of generations succeeding the Greeks and Romans,
who admired and sometimes imitated or reused antique works” (Greenhalgh 2016),
ideas or texts in their own artmaking. Classicism, understood in this way, points to
a very specific set of stylistic or aesthetic qualities, but also to particular cultural or
14
LEARNING UNIT 2: Humanity and perfection: classicism
philosophical ideas which were revisited throughout several periods in art history.
These will be discussed in detail in this study unit.
Zerner (1988:36) argues that something which is deemed “classic” is often understood
to be the “highest point” or the universal standard. Furthermore, once we have
established what the “classic” is, this ideal (and everything it represents) has certain
implications for how we understand power. In this chapter, you will see how the idea
of Greek art as a “high point” in civilisation influenced modern Western development
and culture, and continues to do so even in the present.
Humanism is a philosophical idea that is related to classicism in many ways, both

historical and ideological. Humanism, which also had its birth in classic Greek and
Roman thought, builds on many of the “classical ideals”, and thus has a profound
influence on styles, even though humanism is not an artistic style per se (for more
on this, see 2.6).
2.2 ANCIENT GREEK CULTURE

Not much is known about early Greek culture before 800 BC. What we know
today of the period that followed, is patched together through researching a limited
collection of ancient texts and artefacts. One of the most important ancient sites is
the Sanctuary of Apollo (346–320 BC) at Delphi. Inscribed on a rock at this ancient
site are the words “Know Thyself”, attributed to Socrates (Adams 2007:136), which
emphasises the Greeks’ commitment to the individual and his/her inner intellectual
world. The Greeks held rational thinking in very high regard. They argued that no
social stability or even real happiness can exist without knowledge. The Humanists,
who were inspired by these aspects of Greek culture, attached great significance to
individual freedom and accomplishments, as well as knowledge, art and literature.
The Greeks are also believed to have been the first civilisation that signed their
artworks and competed in organised competitive sport. They held the first Olympic
Games in 776 BC and repeated this every four years (Adams 2007:138). The Greek
calendar was based on four-year cycles, which was a novel idea at the time, since
prior to that, civilisations had measured time according to the reign of kings, not as
cyclical units disconnected from their rulers. For these and many other reasons, since
the Renaissance, Greek civilisation has enjoyed a high regard amongst intellectuals
and art practitioners. A commitment to the ideals of truth and beauty can be found
in many ancient Greek texts, in addition to the idea that “[m]an is the measure of
all things” (Adams 2007:141).
2.3 THE PLACE OF CLASSICISM IN ART HISTORY

Art History as a distinct discipline only really took shape in the form that we know
it today, in 19th century Germany. Before that, art was judged not as it is today by
looking at individual artists, styles and historical significance, but rather by whether
certain artworks or bodies of work subscribed to “universal aesthetic norms” or,
in other words, if they attained “the representation of ideal beauty” (Hatt & Klonk
2006:3). These ideas about art and beauty did not come from nowhere, but had
their own history in Europe, starting with the art-historical writings of Italian
artist, Giorgio Vasari (1511–1574). Vasari believed that the art of the ancient Greeks
was the high point in known art history, and that the Middle Ages represented a
decline in artistic production, before the Renaissance heralded a pinnacle in artistic
development (Adams 2007:484). According to Vasari, art history is therefore cyclical,
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as it is a repetition of a pattern involving development, high points and subsequent

declines. Vasari believed, however, that art would never again gain the heights that it
did during the time of the Greek civilisation, and that even Renaissance art did not
fully attain the ideals of perfect beauty that he saw in the art of the ancient Greeks.
Vasari’s view of art only takes into account aesthetic considerations, and does not
consider the specific historical and social conditions that precipitated changes in
the styles and themes of artistic expression. Looking at Vasari’s ideas today from
an ideological point of view we can see that this is problematic, but grasping his
theories is important for an understanding of both classicism and humanism, which
emerged during the same time as Vasari’s writings.
2.4 CLASSICISM IN GREEK AND ROMAN ART AND

ARCHITECTURE
2.4.1 Winckelmann’s classification of Greek and Roman art

According to Potts (1982), in 1764, Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768)
published a revolutionary book on Greek and Roman sculpture, entitled History of
the art of antiquity. Winckelmann’s publication was inventive in many ways: he used
ancient texts, such as those by Pliny the Elder (AD23–AD79) to construct not only
an approximate timeline of artistic works, but also historical details about ancient
Roman times (Potts 1982:378). He was the first art historian to chronologically arrange
Greek and Roman sculptures according to distinct style periods. Pliny’s writings
on sculpture were very sparse and limited to a few important works – mostly those
with unusual themes, such as the Laocoön (figure 6). He mainly wrote on Greek and
Roman paintings, of which very few survived.
FIGURE 6
Laocoön and his two sons. Marble, 2,13 m high. Vatican Museum, Rome. 1st century
AD Roman copy of a Hellenistic sculpture. The boy on the right is a Roman addition to
the composition. (Adams 2007:186).
16
Winckelmann, through his reading of ancient texts and his examination of ancient
Greek and Roman sculptures, concluded that these objects were made in a culture
that placed a high value on individuality, beauty and naturalistic depictions of the
human body. According to Flavell (1979:80), Winckelmann found Greek culture
inspirational for its focus on life as “a harmonious integration of body and soul, man
and society” and hoped that this assessment of Greek life would be so inspirational
to 18th-century Germans, it would encourage them to take renewed nationalistic and
cultural pride in their origins. Winckelmann disagreed with the Christian idea that
man is a fallen creature, and his aim was to provide a heroic, mythical past which
could be held up as a universal standard to guard against cultural decline.
Winckelmann’s assessment of Greek culture has been criticised by many scholars

of ancient art, history and philosophy, as it is widely believed to be historically
inaccurate. It is, however, important to note that Winckelmann’s view of ancient
art was profoundly ideological, and that a need for historical accuracy probably
played a lesser role in his thinking than what is often assumed. Flavell (1979:81)
asserts that Winckelmann believed that all forms of historical knowledge should
be useful for the present. Winckelmann established the widely held myth that the
Greeks, despite many external influences and contact with other cultures, retained
and bettered their own culture, hoping that this view of his would inspire Germans
to aim for comparable greatness in the present.
Even though the historical accuracy of Winckelmann’s classification of Greek art

into distinct periods is debatable, art historians still use this schema today, when
looking at ancient works.
Let us look at the periods which Winckelmann (Adams 2007:145) delineated.
•• Archaic style (600–480 BC)

Also known as the “old style”, this period is well known for its vases and other
vessels (which featured ornamentation and patterning), as well as elaborate mosaics.
A gradual shift is evident during this period: from treating figures schematically
and in a stylised way, as in ancient Egyptian times, to more naturalistic depictions.
Sculptures from this period still bear a striking resemblance to ancient Egyptian
works, being composed in keeping with strict schemas and methods, and lacking
any convincing movement or emotion.
The New York Kouros (figure 7) is an example of the archaic style. The work is called
the New York Kouros, denoting its current location, as there is considerable uncertainty
about where it originally came from. Kouros refers to a standing male figure.
ARH2601/1 17

FIGURE 7 FIGURE 8
New York Kouros from Attica (ca Menkaure and Queen Khamerernebty
590–580 BC). Marble, 1,84 m high. (2490–2472 BC). Greywacke stone,
(Adams 2007:151). 1,39 m high. (Adams 2007:151).
The Kouros shows stylisation in its design, as was seen in ancient Egyptian sculptures
(figure 8 is an example). An Egyptian-style grid was used to create this rigid figure
and was most probably the foundation of the Greeks’ interest in proportion and
symmetry (Steward in Kemp 2000:15). The frontal position with outstretched arms
resting next to the sides of the figure, is typical of this period. Both the Egyptian
and Greek figures are life-sized, although the height of the Kouros was probably
exaggerated. The artist of the Kouros has, however, made some adjustments to the
anatomy of the figure, to make it more realistic than the Egyptian example, showing
a gradual development towards a more naturalistic depiction of the human figure.
The Kouros, even though it was carved from a single piece of marble, shows a gap
between the legs, and between the arms and body, while in the Egyptian work, the
marble between the legs and arms, and between the two figures, remains (Adams
2007:152).
Most importantly, the Greek Kouros is depicted naked, which shows the Greeks’
interest in the human form. During the archaic period, by contrast, female sculptures
were mostly clothed, which tells us something about their ideas surrounding decency
and morals, but also possibly the patriarchal nature of Greek society. Besides the
anatomical detail, the figure shows very little decoration: the only textured surface
is the hair, which is stylised.
These stylistic qualities arose from the specific sensibilities of Greek culture at the
time, and its tenets can be traced through a few surviving scriptures from notable
Greek intellectuals such as Pythagoras (born ca 560 BC), Myron (of Athens, working
between 480 and 440 BC) and the sculptor Polykleitos, who wrote about the value of
symmetry, rhythm, accuracy and the concept of “truth”, which were all attributed
to the human body as the ultimate perfection of nature. Here, “truth” refers to the
naturalistic treatment of the body in sculpture (Smith in Kemp 2000:61).
18
• Classical style (450–400 BC)
Winckelmann (in Potts 1982:382) termed this the “high” or “sublime” style. This
period, in his view, represented the high point of certain formal and stylistic qualities
pertaining to form and shape, restraint and naturalism. Some publications further split
this period into “early” and “high” sub-categories, but this categorisation is generally
assumed to be without scientific or historical base (Childs 1988:11). To Winckelmann
(in Potts 1982:389), the treatment of anatomical details was an important aspect –
more so than an expression of emotion. During the Classical period, man and the
gods were treated with equal emotional restraint and grace.
Between 480 and 450 BC, Greek sculpture showed many developments towards
increased naturalism in the treatment of the human figure. The main advance was
the addition of a more relaxed, natural facial expression. The body was also arranged
in a more comfortable position, and the Greeks experimented with a wider variety
of stances as well as graceful movement. During this time, the Greeks perfected the
bronze-casting of large-scale sculptures, using clay and wax moulds.
The Spear Bearer or Doryphoros was originally cast in bronze by the famous sculptor,
Polykleitos. The marble copy, which is pictured in figure 9, is a Roman one. Unlike
the Kouros, who had a frontal, static position, the Doryphoros stands with one hip
slightly dipped. The relaxed S-curve created in this manner is called contrapposto, and
is accompanied by a slight inclination of the head (Adams 2007:158). The figure gazes
calmly to his right, his relaxed hand resting at his side. Although this figure is in a
restful pose, the sculpture is dynamic in the movement it creates, albeit in a restrained
manner. The artist has managed to create a work that shows balance, naturalism and
artistic skill, while emphasising the beauty of the male human form. This sculpture
epitomises the Greek ideals Winckelmann wrote about in the 18th century.
FIGURE 9
Polykleitos, Doryphoros (Spear Bearer) (ca 440 BC). Marble copy of bronze original,
2,12 m high. National Museum of Archaeology, Naples. (Wikipedia 2017).
ARH2601/1 19

•• Hellenistic style (323–32 BC)

This period is also known as the “beautiful or graceful” period (Potts 1982:382). For
Vasari, the era marks the beginning of the decline of art. Winckelmann’s schema,
however, contrasts with this judgement, since for him, Hellenistic sculpture in
many ways shows a refinement of style or a culmination of some of the ideals of
Greek thought and culture. He does, however, concede that this phase represented
the beginning of a general decline in artistic production, which would attain its
lowest point during the Middle Ages (Potts 1982:382), only to rise again during
the Renaissance. Remember that, in contrast to Vasari’s model of artistic decline,
Winckelmann believed that art moves through various cycles of rise and decline. His
assessment of the Hellenistic style is therefore less negative than Vasari’s.
During this period, a variety of themes were added to the Greek artistic oeuvre,
including portraits, and images of children and even the aged. An important addition
to the Greek style during this period was the depiction of, and experimentation
with, emotion. During the high Classical period, figures showed a certain restraint
or an emotional coolness, but during the Hellenistic period, artists started to show
a variety of human expressions, which depicted the full range of human experiences
and emotions. In works from this period, there was a departure from a “strict”
classical ideal, towards the depiction of more descriptive human realities. The Laocoön
(figure 6) is a good example of emotional content. In this sculpture, the restraint
and symmetry of previous generations have been abandoned in favour of emotional
melodrama (Adams 2007:186). This addition of emotional content shows the Greeks’
interest in exploring the fullness of humanity in art, literature and politics.
FIGURE 10
Boxer at Rest (left) and Fig 11. Detail (right), Greek, Hellenistic period (late 400–200
BC). Bronze with copper inlays. The National Roman Museum, Massimo Palace
(The Metropolitan Museum).
20
The Boxer (figures 10 & 11) represents an unusual subject for Greek sculpture, namely
a sportsman. Although his body is idealised in terms of the muscular and naturalistic
depiction, he is not depicted with the former high Classical restraint of emotion
or perfect beauty. The boxer looks tired from fighting, and his face is bruised and
battered. This work explores the human element of its subject and seeks to portray
a “real” person, not just an archetype or an immortal god.
During the Hellenistic period, artists sought to find “something more” beyond mere
naturalistic or truthful representation, by searching for a “higher ideal” of human
awareness (Smith in Kemp 2000:61). Naturalistic depiction was, however, seen as the
minimum requirement for a worthy work of art. Aristotle (384–322 BC), a follower
of Platonian philosophy, presented several principles of Greek tragedy that can also
be applied to narrative artistic works, such as the Laocoön. They are the exploration
of character (ethos), the depiction of emotional suffering ( pathos) and the fondness for
bringing down a hero who has made a mistake which leads to a calamity or change.
This was done to draw the audience to the work through pity (eleos) or fear ( phobos)
(Stewart 2006:132). With Hellenistic sculpture, the reaction of the viewer became
important, and artists chose to make this a priority when creating works of art.
2.4.2 The “universal” principles of classicism

Winckelmann was influenced by the ancient philosopher Plato’s writings on “beauty”
which, according to Plato (in Porter 2006:41), can primarily be found in the human
body. Plato also believed that the ideal beauty is universal and unchanging, and
only proves stronger with the passing of time (D’Angour 2006:105). From this
perspective, you can understand why art historians such as Winckelmann would find
it a worthwhile pursuit to study and protect certain works for future generations,
and judge the value of subsequent art movements and styles according to classical
principles. From Vasari and Winckelmann’s assessment of Greek and Roman art,
a set of “universal” principles of classic art emerged. These are: order, proportion,
balance, harmony, ‘good taste’ or connoisseurship and the avoidance of excess (Harloe
2013:70). In addition, staying true to the naturalistic is a prerequisite for true classical
art. The principles of order, proportion, balance and harmony are easy to identify
in the examples given in this unit.
“Good taste”, by contrast, is a more problematic term, which we should briefly

scrutinise. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the study of ancient art and
art-historical enquiry was a burgeoning field. Many scholars travelled to Rome to
study the “ancients” – be it artefacts, sculptures or texts – and drew conclusions
from (mostly) their visual analyses and interpretations of the limited set of texts
available at the time. Winckelmann was one of these scholars: fashioning himself as
the superstar of the study of antiquity, he criticised his fellow researchers vehemently,
citing their lack of knowledge and specifically their inability to distinguish historical
works from modern copies (Harloe 2013:68). Furthermore, Winckelmann believed
that the connoisseur should, through careful observation, be able to distinguish
both the historical and stylistic period of artworks as well as the artist, in addition
to being able to distinguish good” examples of antiquity from “bad” ones or copies.
Winckelmann was not the only enlightenment thinker who held these ideas about art-
historical enquiry: he was greatly influenced by theorists such as Jonathan Richardson
the Elder (1665–1745), who produced the first known set of “guidelines” on how
to appreciate art. It is also important to note that during the time of Richardson’s
writings, a growing art market was being established in the larger metropoles of
ARH2601/1 21

Europe (London, Paris and Rome), which necessitated the professionalisation of

the art connoisseur. From Richardson’s writings, Winckelmann concluded that one
should look at three things when judging a work of art: imitation (of nature), beauty
(formal elements such as balance and shape) and execution (technique and skill)
(Harloe 2013:73). These “universal” principles for distinguishing “good” art from
“bad” would continue to be used for many years to evaluate art and inspire artistic
movements, and is influenced by classical ideals.
2.4.3 Roman Imperial sculpture and architecture (27 BC – 476 AD)

Roman sculpture, for Winckelmann, lacked the creativity and purity of its Greek
counterparts and was a mere repetition of Greek (mostly Hellenistic) styles and
ideas. He based this assumption on the writings of Pliny, who recalled “a period
of stagnation” between 296 and 153 BC. Based on this information, and through
the application of his scheme of stylistic periods, Winckelmann concluded that the
Romans mostly imitated and did not add anything new to the Classical canon (Potts
1982:387). The Romans indeed made several copies of celebrated Greek works, such
as the Laocoön (figure 6) which, in part, was the reason for art historians, such as
Winckelmann, to question the superiority of Roman art. The Romans did, however,
make several advancements, specifically in architecture, during the Empire (27 BC –
395 AD). Hannestad (198618) points out that many of the artistic and architectural
works widely recognised as quintessentially Roman, date to a period at the very end
of the Roman Empire.
The Roman political system was unique in many ways. Political parties existed,
consisting of a combination of individuals of noble decent and some elected officials,
but instead of organising around variable sets of policies and principles, they created
popular cults around powerful and wealthy individuals. Politicians would employ
any methods to establish and cement their popularity and power. It is therefore
understandable that Roman art and architecture would be used ideologically for
this purpose. Roman leaders saw the potential in creating an aesthetic based on the
first powerful Western civilisation of the Greeks, underscored by principles such as
truth, beauty and order. They understood the power of ideology, and how the visual
could be employed to establish hegemony (Hannestad 1986:15–19).
ACTIVITY 2.1 – I DEOLOGY IN THE SCULPTURE OF THE

ROMAN EMPIRE
Example: The Prima Porta
Look at the example of the Prima Porta sculpture below (figure 12):
22
FIGURE 12
Augustus of Prima Porta (1st century AD). Marble. Vatican Museum. (Wikimedia
Commons 2018).
Do independent research on the Roman emperor, Augustus. At this stage, a

simple Google search will suffice. You are not required to do extensive research
on his life and accomplishments, but merely to find out who he was and why he
is important for Roman history.
Now consider everything that you have learned so far about ideology, Greek clas-
sicism and the Roman Empire, and write a paragraph in which you identify the
classical elements that you can see in the sculpture in figure 12.
Also comment on the following in your paragraph:
•• Why do you think Augustus is depicted in this manner?
•• Note the right arm, which is raised. This arm is depicted as larger than what
would be anatomically correct – even grotesquely so. How does this differ from
the classical (Greek) standard, and why was this done?
•• This statue was erected after Augustus’s death, by his wife, Livia. Augustus
died at the age of 51. Why is he depicted here as a young warrior, and what
ideological ends does this serve?
Although the Greeks succeeded in establishing a unique and seemingly “pure”

cultural identity (Swain 1996:44), their political hegemony only lasted for about
50 years, while the Roman Empire lasted for about 500 years. Roman culture was
different from Greek culture, in that the former looked positively upon attempts to
incorporate different cultural ideas into their vocabulary in art, literature and social
life (Adams 2007:209). This is another reason why Winckelmann believed them
ARH2601/1 23

to be an inferior civilisation when compared to the Greeks. The Romans carried

out vast architectural projects, which included building temples, public buildings,
markets and amphitheatres, to show their power and prosperity. The most famous
example of a Roman amphitheatre, which can still be seen today, is the Colosseum in
Rome, Italy (Figure 13).
FIGURE 13
Colosseum, Rome (ca 72–80AD). Concrete, travertine, tufa, brick and marble, approx.
187,45 x 155.45 m. (Adams 2007:223).
The Colosseum consists of four layers, with columns in different styles: Tuscan (on the
ground level), Ionic (on the second) and Corinthian (on the third). The fourth level
consists of engaged Corinthian columns with small rectangular windows (Adams
2007:224). The arrangement of the column types is both structural and aesthetic,
with the heavier Tuscan columns at the bottom and the lighter Corinthian pilasters
at the top. The visual effect is one of grandeur and strength, but it also creates
the impression that the structure is reaching towards heaven; towards the gods.
The different orders of columns used in the structure date back to Greek classical
architecture, as used hundreds of years ago. The Tuscan columns are a Roman
enhancement on the Doric order, which had already been established together with
the Ionic order around 600 BC. The Corinthian order, developed somewhat later,
was mainly used by the Greeks for interiors, and was associated with the feminine
(Adams 2007:162).
The building of the Colosseum was started around 70 AD by Emperor Titus Flavius
Vespasianus, and inaugurated with games that lasted for 100 days in 80 AD (Bruschini
2006:14). The games that were hosted in the Colosseum catered for the popular tastes
of ordinary citizens and the nobility, and were meant to entertain the masses in
order to keep them content with the status quo. The purpose of the Colosseum was
thus ideological in the sense that it created hegemony by entertaining the people,
while reminding them of the strength, grandeur and riches of the Empire. Elaborate
games and shows also provided the ruling classes with the ideal opportunity to
spread propaganda.
24
ACTIVITY 2.2– I DEOLOGY AND CONTEMPORARY

ARCHITECTURE
Example: FNB Stadium/ Soccer City
Think about the entertainment you enjoy: watching television, attending concerts,
watching films or going to the theatre. What about sports and/or competitive games?
Now consider the following example of a sports arena:
FIGURE 14
FNB Stadium/Soccer City (2009). Architects: Boogertman & Partners, Capacity: 94 736
persons. (Wikimedia).
FNB Stadium, which was built for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup, is popular for
sports matches and music concerts. You can search the internet for more photo-
graphs of this venue. The FNB Stadium/Soccer City is also used for political rallies,
and in 2013 it hosted a memorial service for the late Nelson Mandela (1918–2013).
Now find more images of this stadium on Google images and write a short essay
of about one page on the following:
•• Look at the visual devices used in the architectural design – the shape, colours
and materials. Why do you think the architects made these decisions and what
do these visual signifiers communicate?
•• What emotions does this stadium stir up in people who visit it?
•• Think about its creation for a sporting event and the meanings attached to South
Africa’s hosting of the Soccer World Cup in 2010, then compare these to the
functions held at the venue nowadays. How do these functions and meanings
differ, and how are they similar?
•• After considering the above aspects, do you think this structure and the use
thereof can be described as ideological? How is hegemony established by
both this venue and its associated activities?
The Romans admired Greek architecture for its simple and balanced yet majestic
style, and copied many of the architectural elements, such as the various orders
of columns and the pediment5 system. Roman architects often worked with their
Greek counterparts on building projects, to ensure the authenticity of the Greek
elements in the buildings. The Romans, however, made many advances in the field
of architecture, as can be seen in the Pantheon (figure 15) in Rome.
5 A pediment is the triangular frontal piece used in both Greek and Roman architecture. It was often
decorated with mythical (in Greek times) or political (in Romans times) content, to communicate the
purpose or meaning of a building (see also figure 13).
ARH2601/1 25

FIGURE 15
Pantheon, Rome (117–125AD). Marble, brick and concrete. (Adams 2007:228).
An important change that occurred in Roman architecture, which distinguishes

it from Greek architecture, was the addition of a raised podium which gave the
building a more imposing façade. Although the Pantheon did not have a raised façade,
an imposing entrance was created by adding an elaborate formation of columns and
a pediment to the front porch. In Greek architecture, columns were normally added
all around buildings, as well as inside. The Romans preferred to keep the columns
for the frontal aspect, to make an impact at the entrance. This can be seen in the
example of the Pantheon. The impressive frontal aspect is supposed to denote the
presiding power of the Emperor and create feelings of awe in visitors to this temple,
which was initially built to honour the gods of the planets (Jupiter, Mars, Saturn,
Mercury and Venus). The interior of the Pantheon is housed in a large circular rotunda 6
– another Roman innovation.
Besides temples and public buildings such as forums (government buildings),

amphitheatres (for entertainment) and bath houses, the Romans built commemorative
structures such as Trajan’s Column (figure 16) and the Arch of Constantine (figure 17),
both lauding military victories and celebrating Roman imperial power. These types
of commemorative structure were installed in important highly visible places such as
public squares or in view of government buildings, to remind the Roman populace
of the power, accomplishments and grandeur of their emperors, thus serving an
ideological as well as an aesthetic purpose.
6 A round room with a circular floorplan, often covered with a domed roof. The architecture and use
of materials in this construction is indicative of Roman expertise in the building of structures. The
rotunda is not a closed roof but features an opening, ten metres in diameter.
26
FIGURE 16 FIGURE 17
Trajan’s Column, Trajan’s Forum, Arch of Constantine, Rome (ca 313AD).
Rome (dedicated 113AD). Marble, Marble, 26,11 m wide. (Wikimedia).
38,10 m high. (Wikimedia).
ACTIVITY 2.3 – C
LASSICISM IN AFRIKANER NATIONALIST
SCULPTURE AND ARCHITECTURE
Example: Strijdom Square
Consider the following photograph by well-known South African artist, David

Goldblatt:
FIGURE 18
David Goldblatt, Monuments to the Republic of South Africa and to JG Strijdom, with
the headquarters of the Volkskas Bank on Strijdom Square. Pretoria, Transvaal. 25 April
1982. Silver and gelatin print on fibre-based paper. (Schmahmann 2013:145).
ARH2601/1 27

Strijdom Square was unveiled in 1972, to commemorate the life and accomplishments
of the Apartheid leader JG Strijdom (1893–1959), who was a white supremacist and
one of the so-called ‘architects of apartheid’. The bronze bust of Strijdom was sculpted
by artist Coert Steynberg and placed on a pedestal, shielded by a large, floating dome.
Next to the dome, is a sculpture of four galloping horses, entitled Freedom Symbol,
sculpted by Danie de Jager, set on a 15-meter-high plinth, within a fountain. According
to Schmahmann (2013:144) the horse sculpture was meant to celebrate South Africa’s
freedom from British colonialism and celebrate the formation of the Republic. In
the background, stands the Volkskas Building, which was upon its completion the
tallest building in Pretoria and according to Silverman (in Schmahmann 2013:144)
symbolised triumphant (Afrikaner) nationalism and economic dominance.
Look closely at the different artworks and architectural elements in this photograph.
Now write a short essay of about 1.5 pages in which you consider the following:
•• What classical ideals and/or styles can you observe in this photograph?
•• What do you think is the purpose of the white shield over the bust, both visually
and ideological? In other words, what do you think it means, or symbolizes?
•• What purpose do you think the plinths have? Think about how the Romans
used columns.
Now do some independent research on the internet on Roman Busts and write a
paragraph in which you address the following:
•• Busts were also very important as a category of sculpture in Roman times. Why
are busts are still seen as important commemorative artworks even today?
The recent history of Strijdom square is also very interesting: On the 31st of May 2001,
which happened to be the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of
South Africa, the footrests of the dome shield mysteriously gave way and the whole
structure, including the Strijdom head, fell into the basement parking below. The
subsequent moving of the Jager horses was also controversial. If you are interested
in this history, you can do further reading in:
Schmahmann, B. 2013. Picturing change. Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
2.5 CLASSICISM, VIOLENCE AND DESIRE

The naked male body epitomises the highest point of Greek perfection and beauty.
Steward (in Kemp 2000:15) notes the homoerotic charge of Greek and Roman
sculptures depicting the male body. Remember: these sculptures were predominantly
made for male viewers. This aspect of Greek sculpture was first formally noted by
Winckelmann in his description of Classical art. Steward (in Kemp 2000:16) goes
further to describe the archetype Greek nude male sculpture as “young, happy,
autonomous, beautiful and visually seductive”. Winckelmann (in Potts 1994:115)
notes that in Greek and Roman sculpture, sex and power are intricately bound. The
beautiful, according to Winckelmann, is always sexually seductive, whether it be
male or female. The works most celebrated by Winckelmann for their beauty and
seduction are, however, all male. Their seduction, according to Winckelmann (in
Potts 1994:129) lies in their expression of power, heroism and the ability to instil
fear and awe in the viewer.
28
Female sculptures, on the other hand, were initially always depicted clothed (during
the archaic period), but artists increasingly became aware of the seductive possibilities
of the nude female body. Works such as the well-known sculpture of Aphrodite, Pan
and Eros (figure 19) show a typical rendition of a female nude: she is seductive in
showing off her body to the (male) viewer, but nonetheless seems cautiously demure
by covering herself and turning away ever so slightly from the sly figure of Pan.
Female bodies were often associated with sexually provocative mythological content
or violence, especially rape.
FIGURE 19
Aphrodite, Pan & Eros (ca 100 BC). Marble, 1,32 m high. National Museum, Athens.
(Kemp 2000:21).
Although it can be argued that male and female bodies were treated unequally in
Greek and Roman sculpture, Potts (1994:144) argues that Winckelmann’s description
of gendered bodies in his studies of Greek and Roman antiquity should be of greater
concern to art historians, as those writings have had such a notable influence on
aesthetics. By describing white, male bodies as the ultimate ideal and the universal
expression of an autonomous, sovereign self, Winckelmann establishes a gendered
view of the depiction of bodies in art, but also a philosophical ideal which privileges
the male. The female nude, within Winckelmann’s schema, translates into a more
static, disinterested object in a still life onto which violence is enacted, either physically
or through the gaze.7 The male nude, by contrast, is active and proudly responds to
the eroticised gaze as a form of narcissistic appreciation of the (male) viewers’ own
virility, power and status. Winckelmann’s views held (and still hold) currency in
subsequent art-historical traditions, and can also be described as ideologically charged.
7 In Unit 3, the “gaze” and its implication for art-historical enquiry will be explored in more detail.
ARH2601/1 29

2.6 CLASSICISM AND HUMANISM
2.6.1 Introduction
Humanism should not be understood as an artistic movement, but a philosophical one.
Like classicism, humanism revisits some of the ideals and values of ancient Greece
and Rome. Mann (1996:2) attributes humanist thought to an interest in (mostly, but
not exclusively) ancient Greek literature and the study of Roman texts, which were
rediscovered and studied extensively from the 14th century onwards. The study of
these texts had a marked influence on the emergence of the humanist and (equally)
the Renaissance movements, especially in Italy.
The decline of the Roman Empire and the advancement of Christianity paved the way
for changes in art to emerge with the rule of Constantine (274–337AD), who believed
Christianity to be the only true religion, from about 300 AD (Adams 2007:270).
Remember that the Greeks as well as the Romans worshipped several ancient gods
and, therefore, the doctrine of Christianity – which claims that only one god exists
– was a revolutionary idea. After the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD,8 the early
Christian church started to play a significant role in ordering politics and society, and
became the single largest patron of the arts. Islam also made significant advances
during the seventh century, by invading a large part of Spain, also previously part
of the Roman Empire. The advance of these new cultures had a notable influence
on the arts, but further discussion does not fall within the scope of this module.
Nevertheless, it was Christianity that drove most of the artistic developments in
(specifically northern) Europe for many years until the early Renaissance, which
started in around the 14th century.
The hegemony of the church of the Middle Ages was disrupted with the advancement
of humanism. Ancient philosophical and mythological texts were now studied by
scholars alongside Christian texts from the Middle Ages. After a lengthy period of
strict rule by the church, secularism began emerging again. Greek and Latin became
popular languages for study, and humanist libraries and schools were founded, such
as the University of Florence, established in the 1390s in Florence, Italy. Florence,
which was a very powerful city at the time, was ruled by a wealthy merchant family,
the Medicis, who were supporters of the humanist philosophy. They encouraged
the study of ancient texts, especially those of Plato, and were fervent supporters
of the arts. The Medicis funded the study of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture,
and commissioned many artists to make celebrated paintings and sculptural works
(Adams 2007:480), some of which had secular and mythological content in addition
to religious, Christian themes.
The revival of the Latin language was a central concern for humanist scholars
(Baker 2015:47), and through their studies of Latin and works written in Latin, they
strove for eloquence in speech and writing, which they found in ancient texts. Baker
(2015:239) summarises the humanist project as a drive towards knowledge, beauty,
moral excellence, cultural refinement and the correct expression of the superior
human intellect. Language, in the mind of the Humanists, is what enables society
to emerge as moral and intellectual. The Humanists therefore made a connection
between the study of ancient languages and the values of ancient art, culture and
civilisation. According to Baker (2015:242), the Italians believed that “Latin would
8 The fall of the Roman Empire is a very interesting and illuminating part of history, but is not discussed
in detail in this study guide. You can do your own research in this regard.
30
restore to modern Italians the status, prestige, and cultural preeminence they enjoyed
when they were at the center of the Roman world”.
Giannozzo Manetti (1396–1459), an early Renaissance humanist, placed the focus

on the individual advancement of morality, and personal intellect and knowledge,
through the observation of the Christian doctrine and virtues. Other humanist
scholars, though, were in favour of a more secular approach, and saw the church as
restrictive to human advancement and individualism (Baker 2015:240). Nevertheless,
the powerful Medici family wanted to reconcile humanist ideals with Christianity,
and built a new future from the ashes of the Middle Ages, which they saw as a
dark and barbarous time. During the early Renaissance, the image of the dedicated
solitary scholar became popular, in contrast to the heroic warrior or politician (Baker
2015:241). Scholars and artists were supported financially by powerful families such
as the Medicis, to build the new utopian society which they had in mind.
2.6.2 Humanism, classicism and Renaissance art

During the Renaissance, humanism was primarily a literary movement, but it influenced
the visual arts in several ways. Scholars, writers and artists often had the same
patrons, which means their work was funded by the same rich and powerful persons.
Furthermore, some Renaissance artists, such as Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378–1455), Leon
Battista Alberti (1404–1472), Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) and Michaelangelo
(1475–1564) left considerable humanist writings, together with their artistic work,
which indicated their commitment to the humanist project. Renaissance artists, like
their humanist counterparts, showed a commitment toward studying antiquities and
incorporating classical elements in their work. This included mythological themes
and depictions of the beauty of the human form, as well as a renewed interest in
the naturalistic depiction of the human body, which was not seen in artworks of
the Middle Ages. Humanism and classicism sit comfortably together in Renaissance
artworks such as The Birth of Venus (figure 20).
FIGURE 20
Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus (ca 1480). Tempera on canvas, approx. 1,73 x 2,77
m. Uffizi Gallery, Florence. (Wikimedia).
ARH2601/1 31

The Birth of Venus is a mythological work, inspired by a poem by the humanist writer,
Angelo Poliziano (1454–1494). Note the classical forms in this work: beauty, graceful
movement, order and symmetry of composition. Care has been taken to offer a
naturalistic depiction of the bodies of the gods. The depiction of Venus as sexually
alluring yet demure, is also consistent with Roman treatment of the female body.
The pose of the Venus echoes that of the Medici Venus (figure 21). This Roman work
formed part of the Medici family’s collection of ancient artworks and artefacts, was
studied by several artists and used as inspiration for works such as the Botticelli
Venus (Adams 2007:497).
FIGURE 21
Medici Venus (1st century AD). Marble, 1,53 m high. Uffizi Gallery, Florence.
Botticelli would have had access to the Medici Venus (figure 21) and would have studied
it when painting The Birth of Venus, since the Medici family were his patrons. The Birth
of Venus (figure 20) also formed part of the Medici collection. From this example it is
clear how the patronage of the powerful classes – who subscribed to certain ideals
and ideologies (in this case, classicism and humanism) – influenced artistic form.
A sculptural work that illustrates the influence of classicism and humanism on

Renaissance artists, is the Tomb of Leonardo Bruni, by Bernardo Rossellino (figure
22). Bruni was the chancellor of Florence and also a well-known historian, student
of antiquity and writer. As a politician, he worked to structure society in an orderly
manner, inspired by classical Greek ideas. He argued that classically educated citizens
produced the best kind of democratic government (Adams 2007:482). Bruni was a
typical Humanist, and it is therefore apt that his tomb reflects the humanist values
he stood for.
32
FIGURE 22
Bernardo Rossellino, Tomb of Leonardo Bruni, Santa Croce, Florence (1444). Marble,
6,1 m high. (Wikimedia).
This tomb was commissioned by the Republic of Florence to reflect Bruni’s prominence
and stature, and to educate future generations about the values he embodied. Bruni is
depicted as asleep on a bed-like surface, holding a book (symbolising knowledge and
learning) to his chest. The ‘bed’ is supported by two eagles, representing the Roman
legion, thus harking back to the age of the mighty Roman Empire. Two winged
nikes (angels) hold an inscription proclaiming that “history grieves Bruni’s departure
and that the art of his eloquent speech has been silenced” (Adams 2007:482). This
inscription points to the value which humanists placed on language, learning and
articulateness. The Corinthian pilasters and Greek patterning honour both Bruni
and Florence’s revival of classical values.
In this tomb design, the individual is honoured for his unique contribution,
which is a humanist idea, but the political and cultural ideals of the ruling classes
who commissioned the work are also upheld, by referencing ancient Greek and
Roman history, culture and tradition.
ACTIVITY 2.4 – C
LASSICISM AND HUMANISM IN
RENAISSANCE ART
Example: Andrea Mantegna
Do independent research on the Renaissance artist, Andrea Mantegna (1431–1506),

and answer the following questions:
•• Why is Mantegna considered such an important Renaissance artist?
ARH2601/1 33

•• Choose one of Mantegna’s works and discuss the classical and humanist
elements in that work.
2.7 CLASSICISM AND NEOCLASSICISM

By now, you should understand that Classical Greece and the way it has been described
by art historians and literary critics alike, had a profound influence on what the term
“good art” has meant throughout art history. The Romans and Renaissance humanists
were influenced by what they perceived to be the superiority of the styles and ideals
of Greek civilisation. Antal (1966:3) notes that the art historian should know that
form as well as content make up a style. In addition, Antal (1966:2) cautions against
looking only at stylistic elements when analysing works of art from a specific period.
In art history, we always look at the societal and political issues which informed
the use of specific styles and themes. Antal (1966:2) adds that although the specific
historical conditions facing societies cannot recur or be replicated exactly elsewhere,
there are often similarities between historical events and societies. By comparing
different historical periods or geographical places, we can deduce why remnants or
reconfigurations of certain artistic styles re-emerged, redeveloped or declined during
subsequent times in history.
The Oath of the Horatii (figure 23), by Jacques Louis David (1748–1825), is often cited
as a prominent example of the revival of classicism in 18th-century France. David’s
work provides us with very good examples of what is termed “neoclassicism”. When
considering this work and others by David, it is easy to identify the classical elements
and style which the artist employed.
FIGURE 23
Jacques-Louis David, The Oath of the Horatii (1785). Oil on canvas, 3,4 x 4,25 m.
Louvre Museum, Paris. (Wikimedia).
34
Consider the following paragraph on the formal classicist aspects of this work, by
art-historian Frederick Antal (1966:4):
It is ridged, simple, sober, objective, in a word, puritanically rational. Simple

groups and straight lines … to make it clear and striking …. At the same time,
there is a great deal of objective naturalism in this painting, a naturalism that
determines its sober colouring, its accuracy of detail, its clear presentation of
simple objects.
Apart from the above aspects touched on by Antal, there are other classical references
as well, such as the Roman costumes and architecture. These visual devices support
the Roman narrative on which the work was based: three brothers take up arms to
destroy their enemy, one of the enemy being betrothed to their sister, seen weeping
and being comforted by another woman. Establishing that David made classical
references and used a classical style, however, does not account for the ideological
reasons behind this move. It also does not explain why David’s neo-classical style was
so popular amongst the rising middle classes in France during this time. Therefore,
when we consider classicism as an ideology, we should look at the societal as well as
political context in which the artwork was created. This method of considering art
is Marxist, as explained under 1.7.
Returning to the image of The Horatii (figure 23), it is beneficial at this stage to consider
the political and social climate in which this work was created. The 18th century
was a time of great turmoil in French politics and social life. Paris had become the
centre of European artistic development, and the rising middle classes had become
frustrated with the abuses and excesses of the French monarchy and ruling classes.
Republican sentiment amongst the middle classes resonated with classic Greek and
Roman thought on democratic rule and individual freedom, and the artistic style of
David soon became popular. Later, it was adopted as the official “French” artistic
style by Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), after the French Revolution which brought
him to power in 1799 (Adams 2007:705).
The image of the Horatii precedes the French Revolution and plays on the French
revolutionary emotions of the time. It was commissioned by Louis XVI (1751–1793)
to restore national pride in the French monarchy, by reminding French subjects of the
greatness of the Roman Empire. It is ironic that this painting by David was indeed
meant to have exactly the opposite effect. It can be said that the painting is a call to
arms aimed at ordinary people, to fight even against their own brothers, to defend
what is right. Adams (2007:705) notes that this painting probably appealed to both
the royalist supporters of Louis XVI and the revolutionaries, but this contradiction
was ironically not evident to the Minister of Arts, who approved the finished work.
Seven years after this painting was unveiled, Louis XVI was found guilty of high
treason by the new French Republican government, and beheaded. David subsequently
became Napoleon’s official painter.
Napoleon was a master of ideology who used visual imagery to his advantage, by
employing several artists to depict him in specific ways. Apart from David, who
painted portraits of Napoleon in battle, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780–1867)
was also tasked with painting a famous portrait of Napoleon (figure 24).
ARH2601/1 35

FIGURE 24
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Napoleon Enthroned (1806). Oil on canvas, 2,59 x
1,55 m. The Army Museum, Paris. (Wikipedia).
The iconography of this painting points towards Napoleon’s ideology of republicanism

and uses subtle visual language which reflects a classicist world view. Ingres chose
here to depict Napoleon styled as a Roman emperor, with a golden crown of laurel
leaves. The throne on which he is seated also shows references to ancient Greek
and Roman architecture and sculpture. Note the poised, static and dignified pose
Ingres chose, as well as the decorations on the carpet which are reminiscent of Greek
vase painting. Napoleon is depicted as “a ruler imbued with the power of Imperial
Rome, sanctioned by God” (Adams 2007:711). In his left hand, he holds a sceptre
with an ivory hand, giving the gesture of Christian blessing, signalling once again
his position as a divine leader, instituted by God. In his right hand, he holds a staff
with the symbol of Charlemagne.9 In this way, Napoleon aligns himself with a great
leader who ruled most of Europe during the Middle Ages. This example shows how
the styles and symbols of classical Greece and Rome were once again used to further
political aims and depict power in a specific way.
2.8 CLASSICISM IN 18TH-CENTURY AMERICAN

ARCHITECTURE
The White House in Washington, DC, was built using light-brown Aquia Creek
sandstone, which was whitewashed, giving the (in)famous building its name.
9 Charlemagne or Charles the Great was king of the Franks from 768, king of the Lombards from 774
and emperor of the Romans from 800. He united large parts of Europe during the early Middle Ages.
36
According to Eyres (2017:32), the White House is an example of neo-classical

American architecture. For Winckelmann, whiteness is always associated with “noble
simplicity and grandeur” (Eyres 2017:32).
The cornerstone of the White House was laid on 13 October 1792, by the architect
James Hoban, who won a competition to design “the president’s house”. Its completion,
however, was only achieved many years later. It was first occupied in 1800 by President
John Adams, but had to be rebuild in part after the British burned it down in 1814.
The South Portico (figure 25) was added in 1823 and the North Portico in 1829
(Congress of the United States of America 1927:354).
FIGURE 25
James Hoban (architect), the north (above) and south (below) façades of the White
House (1792–1798). Washington, DC. (Wikimedia).
The White House has typical stylistic elements which can be traced back to classic
Greek and Roman architecture, such as the raised north portico with a pediment,
and a circular pediment which resembles a Roman rotunda on the south side of the
building. A variety of Roman-inspired columns decorate the north and south façades.
In America, the neo-classical style was propagated by Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826),
who also served on the committee responsible for deciding on a suitable design
for the White House. In 1789, a prominent French sculptor, Jean-Antoine Houdon
(1741–1828), made a bust of Jefferson (figure 26), which reflects both Houdon and
Jefferson’s taste for the neo-classical style.
ARH2601/1 37

FIGURE 26
Jean-Antione Houdon, Bust of Thomas Jefferson (1789). White marble, 56,6 cm high.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (Wikimedia).
Jefferson, who studied Classical and Palladian architecture, was a fervent promotor
of the neo-classical style (Adams 2007:715). He was also a humanist and a republican
who is one of the “founding fathers” of the United States of America.10 Jefferson
travelled to France, where he studied neo-classical buildings such as the elegant Paris
hôtels first-hand. He also visited the Maison Carrée, a well preserved ancient Roman
temple in Nîmes, France. His design of the State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, was
largely based on his research at this ancient site. Jefferson served as the third president
of the United States of America, and was the second president to occupy the White
House, although he did not live there full time due to extensive renovations at the
time of his presidency.
The turn of the 18th century was an especially turbulent and important time in American
history. In 1776, the colonies of America declared themselves independent from Great
Britain, thereby marking the beginning of the American War of Independence, which
lasted until 1783. The Constitution of the United States of America was signed in
1787, and two years later George Washington was inaugurated as the first president
of the United States of America. The American War of Independence preceded the
French Revolution by only a few years, but had more or less the same aims, namely
liberation from the monarchy and the establishment of a republic, governed by the
people (Adams 2007:714). The new American republic embraced not only Classical
Roman architecture as an official style, but also the Roman political ideals of freedom
and democratic government.
The choice of this style for the construction of the White House was therefore
evidently an articulation of the power and grandeur of the newly formed American
federal states, and was meant to communicate the authority of their new government
and president. The neo-classic style in America is also known as the federal style.
10 Jefferson was principally responsible for drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776 (Adams 2007:714).
38
ACTIVITY 2.5 – I DEOLOGY AND THE VISUAL LANGUAGE OF

POWER
Example: American presidents and the White House
Look at the following two official portraits of President Barack Obama (figure 27)
and President Donald J Trump (figure 28) respectively:
FIGURE 27 FIGURE 28
Official Portrait of President Barack Official Portrait of President Donald
Obama, 44th president of the United J Trump, 45th president of the United
States of America (2016). States of America (2017).
(Whitehouse.gov). (Whitehouse.gov).
Now consider the following excerpts from their biographies, which appear on the
official White House web page (Whitehouse.gov 2017):
Donald J. Trump is the very definition of the American success story. Throughout
his life, he has continually set the standards of business and entrepreneurial
excellence, especially with his interests in real estate, sports, and entertainment.
Likewise, his entry into politics and public service resulted in the Presidential
victory in, miraculously, his first ever run for office.
and
Barack Obama served as the 44th President of the United States. His story is
the American story – values from the heartland, a middle-class upbringing in
a strong family, hard work and education as the means of getting ahead, and
the conviction that a life so blessed should be lived in service to others.
Now answer the following questions in an essay of about 1.5 pages in length:
•• Think about the visual choices made in depicting these two successive
presidents. Why do you think Obama chose to be depicted inside the Oval
Office, while Trump is depicted with the White House behind him?
•• What does the White House symbolise, and why would Trump want to be
associated with the physical structure of the White House, rather than the
interior?
ARH2601/1 39

•• In Obama’s official portrait (figure 27), two flags can be seen. One is the
American flag, the other the presidential flag. Do online research on the
presidential flag. What symbols does it contain and what do these represent?
The eagle is especially significant. Think about the connection of these symbols
to ancient Roman traditions, and write down your thoughts.
•• Why do you think Obama is represented with an open window behind him?
•• Briefly look at Unit 1 again. Now, conclude your essay with a short paragraph
in which you deliberate on the classicist themes and visual devices used in
each of these images, and how they uphold certain American ideologies.
2.9 CLASSICISM AND ROMANTICISM

During Napoleon’s reign (1804–1814), the middle class in France expanded
exponentially and thereafter became a permanent feature of French social life (Antal
1966:25). Although Napoleon initiated a number of political reforms that granted
more power to the French people, the middle classes largely remained politically
inactive. They were, however, disillusioned by the perceived ineffectiveness of the
changes Napoleon made to their material lives, as his was a very authoritarian rule,
not unlike his royal predecessor. The restoration of the monarchy in 1814, under
Louis XVIII, signalled the start of a new political consciousness in France. The
petite bourgeoisie, although expanded, did not yet feel that they had a steady foothold
in French society, and realised that they were in danger of losing newly acquired
estates that had once belonged to aristocrats. They feared the return of an even
more conservative, oppressive rule. Antal (1966:26) cites this as the main reason for
emergent liberalism and continued revolutionary sentiment amongst the middle classes
at the time, although he admits there were many overlapping concerns which should
be considered, both politically and economically, to understand the changes that
occurred in French society, culture and art during the early part of the 19th century.
Consider the following work by Theodore Gericault (1791–1824):
FIGURE 29
Theodore Gericault, The Raft of Medusa (1819). Oil on canvas, 4,88 x 7,16 m, Louvre
Museum, Paris. (Wikipedia).
Focusing solely on style, Gericault’s work, pictured here, seems to be in direct contrast
to the classicist values of order, restraint and precision. The artist has used thick,
40
lively brushstrokes in his depiction of an energetic group, in which movement and

emotion are brought to the fore. These stylistic changes are typical of romanticism,
an important artistic movement of the 19th century, which spread to most of Europe,
Britain and America. In romanticism, artists experimented with a much wider variety
of themes, styles and techniques than was the case in neoclassicism. Antal (1966:33)
notes that Gericault – despite the obvious changes in painting style – still treated
his figures as monumental and sculptural, with a definitive naturalism which is
indicative of a classicist approach.
In the Raft of Medusa (figure 29), Gericault sets a dramatic scene. In 1816, a government
ship, bound for Africa, was wrecked and a float carrying 150 men drifted for many
days before being rescued. Only 15 men survived. Liberals saw this tragedy as having
been caused by an unqualified captain being appointed because of his political
connections, and it was held up as an example of typical government nepotism.
Gericault, being an artist with humanitarian sentiments, was known to take on the
position of the underdog. In other words, he often grappled with themes associated
with those in society whom he saw as the victims of oppressive power systems.
In this, he also exposed his humanist sentiments. In fact, the individualised

experiences of the survivors were so important to Gericault, that he sought them
out and interviewed them, including their unique facial features and emotions in
his work (Antal 1966:35).
Furthermore, Gericault studied corpses and the bodies of the sick in hospitals, to be
able to render a believable, naturalistic account of the sick and dying on the raft, of
which he had a model built to accurately depict the doomed vessel (Antal 1966:35).
This strict adherence to naturalistic depiction and the emphasis on accuracy in respect
of the human body are reminiscent of classicism. This, together with restrained and
balanced compositions (even if they contain some dynamic movement), is organised
very carefully, to show a contemporary adaptation of the Classical style and methods.
Consider this later work by Gericault:
FIGURE 30
Theodore Gericault, Epsom Derby (1821). Oil on canvas, 91 × 122 cm. Louvre Museum,
Paris. (Wikimedia).
ARH2601/1 41

Antal (1966:40) notes that the painting in figure 30, which is not necessarily considered
an important work of Gericault’s, exposes his classicist roots in its simple lines and
clear, uncluttered composition. Thus, although neither the leisurely theme of this
painting nor its emphasis on dramatic movement could be considered classical, the
restraint with which Gericault approached his subject matter attests to a classicising
approach. Antal (1966:40) also notes that one can clearly see a shift from classicism
to pure naturalism in Gericault’s work, which would eventually feed into the realist
movement. Gericault’s life further attests to his humanist pursuits: he joined a
campaign against the slave trade in England and had an affinity for liberal politics.
2.10 CLASSICISM AND HUMANISM IN CONVERSATION WITH

MODERN AND POSTMODERN ART
Enlightenment humanism played a major role in establishing the current world
order, especially that of the West. Although it can be argued that humanist thought
has contributed to positive liberal political ideals such as personal freedom, reason
and respect for human rights, it must be noted that the advancement of certain
peoples and nations often came at the cost, and the disenfranchisement, of others
(Butterfield 2012:12). Edward Said (in Butterfield 2102:12) points out that humanism
co-existed comfortably with imperialism and colonialism. Likewise, humanist notions
of what constitutes ‘worthy’ humanity created societal hierarchies based on aspects
such as race, class and gender.
Elizabeth Butterfield (2012:12) writes:
The enlightenment ideal of the rational, autonomous individual imagines

someone who is free to make his own choices, to determine his own course
in life, and to come to his own rational conclusions. This ideal individual is
also generally assumed to be free of social dependencies.
Butterfield (2012) goes on to explain that this normative definition of “humanness”

actually describes a very small subset of people, who generally occupy a higher
position in society and have more economical, intellectual and social currency than
those at the bottom or on the periphery. Autonomy is also a problematic term, as no
person – irrespective of his/her position or power within society – can claim to be
totally independent from those around them. The embeddedness of human nature
in social, political, familial and environmental life is an irreducible facet of human
life. Contemporary philosophy and art have responded to these concerns since the
start of the 20th century. Modernism sought to break ties with historical classicism
and associated art movements, through various channels of which abstraction is
perhaps the most obvious. Although modernism and postmodernism are not the
subject of this module, it is important to note that these movements were largely
influenced by a desire to break with the past, not to glorify it as the Classicists did.
42
Consider the following artwork by Michelangelo Pistoletto:
FIGURE 31
Michelangelo Pistoletto, Venus of the rags (1967, 1974). Marble statue and discarded
clothing. Installation view at Tate Modern, UK. (Wikimedia).
This work, first exhibited in 1967, initially contained a Venus statue made of concrete,
which Pistoletto bought at a garden centre. A later version in 1974 featured the
marble statute pictured here (figure 24), which was especially made by stone masons
in Naples, Italy. In another version in San Francisco, 1980, the statute was replaced
by a live model (Sanger 2009). With the different versions, Pistoletto thus plays with
ideas around mass production, authenticity and value, in interchanging the different
‘Venuses’. Pistoletto is regarded as an influential modern artist who is primarily
interested in Italian politics and a rejection of consumerism (Watson 2011:133).
The juxtapositioning of a classical statute (in its various forms) with rags (or, in one
version, second-hand clothing) (i.e., lowly, disposable materials) comments on the
establishment and the current world order, rejecting the grand historical narrative of
connoisseurship and “good taste” in art – in other words, classicism in art. Pistoletto’s
work challenges the viewer to question the assumptions of the past, especially in art
history, which keep concurrent power relations intact. Pistoletto’s Venus points to
Italy’s Classical artistic past in an ironic way (Sanger 2009): today, we see so many
copies of such faux Roman and Greek statues that they have become commonplace
and, in many instances, a copy and an original piece would be indistinguishable to
the untrained eye.
Interestingly, Pistoletto (in Gilman 2008:54) attests to the importance of “a world

inhabited by free subjects”, which points towards a humanist attitude. Pistoletto’s
humanism, however, differs from classical humanism, since it denies the universalism
on which enlightenment humanism is built, instead acknowledging that different
viewpoints and narratives can exist simultaneously. Humanism continues to influence
thought systems and philosophy in the world today, especially in the Western
world, but has evolved over the years to take into consideration multiple positions
of subjectivity. These postmodern forms of humanism are not the subject of this
module and will thus not be discussed here. Humanism today still aims to understand
ARH2601/1 43

humanity in its completeness. Many strands of humanist thought exist and are
known by different terms, including anti-humanism, posthumanism and postmodern
humanism. Some strands argue for a world free from religion and superstition, solely
organised by the guiding principles of rationality, logic and science (Pinn 2013),
while others advocate a more humane society that focuses on human experiences
and relationships (Butterfield 2012).
ACTIVITY 2.6: C
ONTEMPORARY ART AS A REACTION
AGAINST THE GRAND NARRATIVE OF
CLASSICISM AND HUMANISM
Example: Zanele Muholi
Look at the following artwork, by South African artist Zanele Muholi:
FIGURE 32
Zanele Muholi, Izidwedwe as part of Insila Yomuntu (after Pistoletto) (2010). Digital
photograph, 100 x 123 cm (photo credit Robert Hamblin). (Black Contemporary Art
2010).
Zanele Muholi is a prominent South African artist, who has extensively exhibited
abroad. She is best known for her photographic documentation of the lesbian com-
munity in this country, specifically in Cape Town. She is also a video and perfor-
mance artist and an LBGTI (lesbian, bisexual, gay, transsexual and intersex) activist.
Do independent research on Zanele Muholi. You will find a great deal of informa-
tion about her on the internet.
Now answer the following questions:
•• What does Izidwedwe mean?

•• What about Insila Yomuntu?
•• Considering Muholi’s background, why do you think she decided to make an
artwork based on Pistoletto’s iconic work?
•• What do you think this artwork means? Or, what is the artist trying to say?
44
Consider the following:
The term izidwedwe is used in a well-know izigiyo 11 entitled Izibongo of Bella

Mshibe which, translated, goes like this:
You low-classed women of D-section, what are they doing?

They wear rags (Izidwedwe)
When last did you see a white man wearing a head ring?
Hololo! Hololo! Leave me alone (Turner 1995:70).
Think of the role women play in Zulu society. Write down what the implications
are of wearing izidwedwe, in terms of gender.
AND
Which grand narratives or ideologies of South African society or culture is Muholi

trying to question through this work?
If you struggle with this activity, come back to it after you have studied Unit 3.
REFERENCES
Adams, LS. 2007. Art across time (3rd ed). New York: McGraw Hill.
Antal, F. 1966. Classicism and romanticism, with other studies in art history. London: Rout-
ledge and Kegan Paul.
Baker, P. 2015. Italian Renaissance humanism in the mirror. Cambridge: Cambridge Uni-
versity Press.
Black Contemporary Art. 2010. [O]. Retrieved from http://blackcontemporaryart.
tumblr.com/page/151 (Accessed 13 June 2018).
Bruschini, E. 2006. Rome and the Vatican. Rome: Edizioni Musei Vaticani.
Butterfield, E. 2012. Sartre and posthumanist humanism. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
Childs, WAP. 1988. The classic as realism in Greek art. Art Journal 47(1):10–14.
Congress of the United States of America. 1927. The building of the White House.
Congressional Digest (December):332, 355.
D’Angour, AD. 2006. Imitations of the Classical in early Greek Mousike, in The
classical traditions of Greece and Rome, edited by JI Porter. Princeton & Oxford:
Princeton University Press.
Eyres, H. 2017. The unbearable whiteness of DC. New Statesman 24 Feb – 2 March:32–33.
Flavell, MK. 1979. Winckelmann and the German enlightenment: On the recovery
and uses of the past. Modern Language Review 74(1):79–96.
Gilman, C. 2008. Pistoletto’s staged subjects. October Magazine 124(1):53–74.
Greenhalgh, M. 2016. Classicism. Grove Art Online. Retrieved from http://0-www.
oxfordartonline.com.oasis.unisa.ac.za/subscriber/article/grove/art/T017983?q
=classicism&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit (Accessed 22 June 2017).
11 An izigiyo is a traditional Zulu song, which is usually sung by women as a way of criticising certain
behaviours within a community. It is normally done in the presence of the guilty party, to make such
a person aware of her transgressions. Together with the singing of the song, which is a surrogate for
punishment, there might also be dancing and gesturing. These songs, which always contain an aspect
of criticism against promiscuity, with the addition of issues such as laziness and drunkenness, are
normally directed towards women (Turner 1995:56).
ARH2601/1 45

Hannestad, N. 1986. Roman art and Imperial policy. Hojbjerg: Jutland Archaeological
Society.
Harloe, K. 2013. Winckelmann and the invention of antiquity: History and aesthetics in the age
of Altertumswissenschaft. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hatt, M & Klonk, C. 2006. Art History: A critical introduction to its methods. Manchester:
Manchester University Press.
Kemp, M (ed). 2000. The Oxford history of Western art. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mann, M. 1996. The origins of humanism, in The Cambridge companion to Renaissance
humanism, edited by J Kraye. New York: Cambridge University Press:1–19.
Metropolitan Museum. The Boxer: An ancient masterpiece comes to the Met.
Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/now-at-the-met/fea-
tures/2013/the-boxer (Accessed 30 June 2017).
Pinn, AB (ed). 2013. What is humanism and why does it matter? Bristol: Acumen.
Porter, JI (ed). 2006. The classical traditions of Greece and Rome. Princeton and Oxford:
Princeton University Press.
Potts, A. 1982. Winckelmann’s construction of history. Art History 5(4):377–407.
Sanger, A. 2009. Michelangelo Pistoletto. Venus of the Rags. Retrieved from http://www.tate.
org.uk/art/artworks/pistoletto-venus-of-the-rags-t12200 (Accessed 4 January
2018).
Schmahmann, B. 2013. Picturing change. Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
Stewart, A. 2006. Baroque classics: The tragic muse and the exemplum, in The classical
traditions of Greece and Rome, edited by JI Porter. Princeton & Oxford: Princeton
University Press:127–172.
Swain, S. 1996. Hellenism and empire: Language, classicism and power in the Greek world
AD50–250. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Turner, SN. 1995. Censure and social comment in the Izihasho of urban Zulu women. Retrieved
from www.sports.ukzn.ac.za/docs/022/05%20Tur.pdf (Accessed 18 July 2013).
Watson, M. 2011. Michelangelo Pistoletto: Da Uno a Molti, 1956–1974. Art Review
50:133.
Zerner, H. 1988. Classicism as power. Art Journal 47(1):35–36.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president-trump
https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/barackobama
46
3 LEARNING UNIT 3
3 Feminism
(L van der Merwe with contributions by R Sassen.)
3.1 INTRODUCTION AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

In this unit we examine how women, since the time of the European Renaissance,
have fought for their own credibility in the face of power structures which are
irrevocably slanted in favour of male culture. We will also investigate how we, as
art historians, can – by focusing on aspects of gender – use a feminist approach to
artworks, and thereby learn more about such works from the past and the present.
After reading this learning unit and engaging with the activities outlined here, you
should be able to:
•• Explain the difference between feminism as an ideology, a social movement and

a theoretical framework to engage with visual culture and art
•• Have your own working definitions of the key terms listed under 3.4, and be able
to identify instances of these in examples of art and visual culture
•• Understand the influence of patriarchy on the development of art and art criticism
•• Understand how patriarchy continues to structure society today
•• Understand how feminist artists resist patriarchy through their work
•• Use a feminist approach to analyse a variety of examples from art and visual culture
3.2 FEMINISM AS AN IDEOLOGY

The term “feminism”, as defined by the Oxford dictionary (1987:357), is understood as
the “advocacy of women’s rights on grounds of equality of the sexes”. Immediately,
this brings to mind the 19th and 20th centuries, when women fought for their rights
in political society, specifically in the Western world. A popular image recalls the
Suffragettes or “Blue Stockings”, or those women who followed the call to burn
their bras in protest against male hegemony. This is not incorrect, but it represents
only a small part of the broader picture that reflects not only women’s struggles for
equality, but also for power over discourse and representation.
Feminism, in the context of this module, is a “way of thinking” or an ideology of

sorts. Feminism can be described as an oppositional ideology, as it “works against”
the powerful hegemony of male dominance or patriarchy. Feminism, which is
considered a leftist movement since it stands on the opposite side of conservative or
right-wing thinking about gender, has a rich and complex history, of which certain
aspects are explored in this unit. It is a multifaceted movement with various strands.
Space will not allow us to look at all of them, but a selection of those movements
will be explored here.
3.3 IS FEMINISM A MOVEMENT OR AN APPROACH?

In understanding “feminism”, it is important to distinguish between feminism as a
social movement and feminism as an art-historical approach. Feminism as a social
ARH2601/1 47

movement developed because of women’s discontent with the hegemony of male

power and the ensuing inequality of a patriarchal world. First-wave feminism refers to
the period roughly between the 1830s and 1960s, where the main issue was women’s
suffrage or “the right to vote”.
From about the 1960s, women created art that was not only directed at challenging
male hegemony, but also the patriarchal nature of the art world. Second-wave feminism
(sometimes referred to as the Women’s Movement) coincided with the civil rights
movement in America, which brought the lack of rights of non-white Americans to
the fore. The art made by feminist artists in the 1970s and 80s is often referred to
as the first feminist art movement (Foster et al 2011:614), but it should be noted that
there are women throughout history who challenged male hegemony through their
work, albeit in different ways, with some being more radical than others.
Feminism does not have a single history and its traces can be found throughout art
history. We can go back in art history and critique previous assessments of artworks
by using a feminist approach. This involves looking at historical works in a manner
which forefronts gender and exposes the male bias of the time. In this way, we can
learn more about individual works, but also about the time in which they were created.
Feminist art historians concentrate on the social context of the artist, rather than
taking a purely formalist approach when studying works of art. Therefore, feminism
is often described as a Marxist ideology or approach (Adams 2010:97). Feminist
approaches include queer theory, which looks at the social world of gay, lesbian,
transsexual and bisexual persons. Hatt and Klonk (2006:145) note that feminism
shows that history is never neutral, and that the way in which it is told carries traces
of the power structures of the society in which that history is created. In other words,
feminism not only challenges unequal societal conditions, but also the representation
of history by a Eurocentric, white male culture. Furthermore, feminism argues for
the right to self-representation and inclusion in history, of the stories of persons who
do not from part of the norm (white, male, heterosexual and able bodied).
3.4 KEY TERMS
3.4.1 Patriarchy
This term literally means “the rule of the fathers”. In a patriarchal society, men make
most of the important decisions, and most of the economic and social currency
belongs to them. It also points to the fact that, historically, most of the leadership
in terms of tradition, politics, religion and culture has been in the hands of men
(Hatt & Klonk 2006:146).
3.4.2 Sexism
Sexism entails judging someone based on the fact that they are of a certain sex. For
example, paying someone less because she is a woman, or not employing someone
because there is a perception that men (or women) are better at certain jobs (Hatt
& Klonk 2006:146).
48
LEARNING UNIT 3: Feminism
3.4.3 The male gaze

John Berger (1972:40) notes that men are seen to “act” while women merely “appear”
as a sight of male visual pleasure. This is especially evident in nude representations
of the female body, but also in contemporary advertising. In both scenarios, women
are “surveyed” while men are the “surveyors”. Berger further notes that women are
constantly aware of being looked at, and style and present themselves so as to be
acceptable to the “ways that men look” at them. This is the male gaze.
Berger (1972) adds that men look at women before deciding how to treat them, and
that women are aware of this fact, therefore they modify their appearance and act
in ways that are pleasing to the male gaze.
3.4.4 Scopophilia
Laura Mulvey (1999:834) directs her analyses regarding the representation of women
towards the cinema. She notes that cinema provides a certain view of women,
which encourages the “love of looking” from the male perspective. Female bodies,
Mulvey (1999) argues, are displayed in ways that prioritise male pleasure. The “erotic
language of the dominant male patriarchal order” is what Mulvey (1999:835) posits
as the aesthetic which positions women “as objects, subjecting them to a controlling
and curious gaze”.
Mulvey’s analysis stems from Sigmund Freud’s (1856–1939) work on psychoanalysis,

in which he describes scopophilia as a basic drive inherent in human nature from
childhood, where the child has an inborn curiosity regarding specifically the bodies
of the opposite sex.
Mulvey (1999:836) therefore argues that cinema, in the way that it displays women’s
bodies for male pleasure, provides an outlet for this primordial urge for visual sexual
gratification. Mulvey’s insights can, of course, also be related to the visual arts and
contemporary advertising, as Berger (1972) suggests.
3.4.5 Sex and gender

Sex is assigned to someone at birth and has to do with whether s/he has male or
female genitalia. While sex is a biological fact, gender is a fluid concept. It is a
“socially constructed protocol on how certain bodies should behave” (Hatt & Klonk
2006:148). According to traditional, conservative notions of gender, male bodies
should be in the public sphere (work, politics, etc.) while female bodies belong in
the private sphere (home, nurturing). Furthermore, female bodies are expected to
be demure, quiet, self-aware and non-threatening, while male bodies are encouraged
to be active, assertive and even aggressive.
The idea that your biology should determine your destiny is a deterministic approach
which feminism seeks to challenge. This does not mean that feminism disregards
biology – in fact, materialist feminists focus on the body as a crucial site of difference
that should be explored in combatting inequality between the sexes. Gender, they
argue, is multifaceted and should not be inescapably linked to sex. Material feminists,
who are interested in the body and its practises, argue that gender is a continuum
rather than a male/female opposition, which allows for many possible gender positions
(not necessarily exclusively heterosexually male or female).
ARH2601/1 49

3.5 FEMINISM: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

In this section, we will be looking at four different periods in art history. These
periods have been chosen because they represent different historical circumstances,
each of which shows a definitive aspect of the treatment of gender in art and society.
This undertaking does not, however, present a comprehensive history of feminism
as a whole, but will give you a broad overview of feminist thought and its relative
development. We will look at these four different periods through an ideological
viewpoint, thereby discerning the prevailing attitudes of the time in the context of
prevailing social conditions. We will further determine how women responded to
these societal attitudes in both art and political life.
The four periods are:
•• The so-called early modern period, i.e., from about 1000–1600 in Europe;
•• The short period embracing Dada in European modernism during the 1920s –
an era which had a tremendous impact on art, certainly into the next generation
and throughout the Western world;
•• The 1970s in America, which became known for the movement that produced
very explicit feminist work;
•• Contemporary South Africa.
After studying these four periods, you should be comfortable enough to use a feminist
approach to analyse any historical or contemporary movement or artwork.
ACTIVITY 3.1 – GENDER AND VISUAL CULTURE

Look for examples from visual culture (i.e., internet, advertisements, magazines,
television) of contemporary depictions of women. Choose two images and write
an essay of about two pages in which you identify how the following presents
itself in those images:
•• The male gaze

•• Scopophilia
Also answer the following questions:
•• How is patriarchy upheld through the images you have chosen?

•• How is gender depicted in those images?
3.6 WOMEN AND ART IN EARLY MODERN EUROPE (1000–1600)
3.6.1 Introduction
In pre-Renaissance Europe, women as group did not have any social power, even
if they were part of the bourgeoisie. They were regarded as intellectually inferior
to men; marriage and childbearing were reflected as their natural destiny. If they
remained single, however, it was anticipated that they would enter a convent. Society
during that period was extremely misogynistic. As in much of modern art history,
the activities of women were shunted aside into footnotes, or kept outside of the
domain of knowledge and its dissemination.
50
According to Chadwick (19960, in Vasari’s Lives of the artists (1550) (see also 2.3), he
writes about female as well as male artists, but in writing about women he praises
their beauty, charm and accomplishments, such as their excellent housekeeping
abilities, alongside their ability to paint. Vasari did not credit women with “genius”,
but rather with the ability to labour with “diligence”, which he found admirable …
if not quite compensation for what he deemed “divinely” bestowed natural talent
(Chadwick 1996:33–34). Similarly, the poet Boccaccio was unable to understand
that a woman could be intellectually brilliant; he described women of intelligence
as an “error of nature” for having intellect and female sexuality in one and the same
body (Kelly 1984:71).
Enter classicism and humanism ... Remember that in unit 2 we discussed that the
notion of “good art” and who could be considered worthy artists originated in the
glorification of the idealised Greek and Roman past. Humanism is conventionally
described as a move away from a world view in which God is seen as the creator,
ruler and centre of the universe, towards one that places humanity at the centre
of all consciousness. However, for the humanists “humanity” meant “men”. Joan
Kelly (1984:70–71) comments that the philosophy of humanism was even worse for
women and their self-image than Christian beliefs are:
The religious conception of women, although misogynist … did regard them

as equally capable of the highest states “man” could attain: salvation and saint-
hood. Classical republican thought, rooted in a society that confined women
to a g ynaeceum and reserved political life for men, threw in doubt this sense of
a single human destiny – or even a single human nature.
Kelly (1984:19) also comments on humanism as a world view:
To take the emancipation of women as a vantage point is to discover that

events that further the historical development of men, liberating them from
natural, social or ideological constraints, have quite different, even opposite,
effects upon women. … The state, early capitalism and the social relations
formed by them impinged on the lives of Renaissance women in different
ways according to their different positions in society. But the startling fact is
that women as a group, especially among the classes that dominated Italian
urban life, experienced a contraction of social and personal options that men
of their classes either did not, as was the case with the bourgeoisie, or did not
experience as markedly, as was the case with the nobility.
What Kelly brings to our attention here, is the fact that humanism – although at
first glance appearing to bring new freedoms and liberating thought to conservative
societies – does not aid the plight of women. Humanist thought, as Kelly (1984)
indicates, still positions “man” as the ideal being. Women are seen as inferior,
especially because they are deemed to be closer to nature, while men are the creators
and bearers of culture.
This compels us to think about the notion of artistic genius. In 1971, art-historian
Linda Nochlin wrote a paper entitled “Why are there no great women artists?”,
which called for a relook at much of art history. In it, she questions the concept
of “genius”, along with uncritical assumptions about the making of art in general,
especially what is considered to be “great art”. These assumptions (conscious or
unconscious) link together unlikely superstars such as Michelangelo and Van Gogh,
Raphael and Jackson Pollock under the rubric of “Great” … and the Great Artist
is conceived of as one who has “Genius”. Nochlin (1971) argues that studying who
ARH2601/1 51

and what were included in the canon of “great artist” and “great art”, as well as the
ideological construction of the concepts “art” and “artistic genius” will reveal a
fabrication which all but excluded anyone who was not white, male or middle class.
But what can make an artist’s career or perspective grow to such an extent that s/
he is able to embrace “genius” as a valid description? For women, factors such as
opportunity, freedom from domestic constraints, training, recognition of individuality,
patronage, and the support of historians and critics were not a given – in fact,
they were rare. Women were socialised from an early age to regard marriage and
childrearing as their natural reason for existence, or – in the absence of these basic
domestic and biological demands – to expect life in a cloister. And these were women
of privilege! The primary vocational choices for women born into poverty, in addition
to childbearing and domesticity, were prostitution and servitude. But this does not
necessarily mean there were no women artists. Whenever you read history books or
art history texts, remember that history is always written by those in power. Since
early modern history (and probably before that), Western society has been structured
to tilt toward or benefit men, and for this reason women artists were often written
out of the scholarship or downplayed, to the extent that they were understood by
generations of readers to be unimportant. This sexist attitude is evident when we
look at early modern history, starting with the Renaissance.
3.6.2 Sexism in the work of Alberti (1404–1472)

Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472) was a Florentine humanist, writer, painter and
architect. In his treatise, Della pittura (On painting), he proposes that knowledge is
derived from sensory perception, painting is based on the observation of visible
objects, and narrative is the greatest aim of painting (Tinagli 1997:3). Alberti was
not only influential for his understanding of painting – he also wrote a treatise in
the form of a dialogue about social conduct, entitled Della famiglia (On the family).
Although his notions appear to have “universal” philosophical value, they were to
the advantage of men only and served to entrench the oppression of women. In
reading this work, remember that it represents the dominant beliefs of that social
context. Whitney Chadwick (1996:63–67) comments that his treatise, together with
others on the education and behaviour of women (published between 1400 and 1600)
represents a major Renaissance statement on the bourgeois domestication of women
and is “an important indication of male anxiety in response to social change”. The
extract below by Alberti exemplifies this:
[Husbands] who take counsel with their wives … are madmen if they think
true prudence or good counsel lies in the female brain …. For this very rea-
son, I have always tried carefully not to let any secret of mine be known to a
woman. I did not doubt that my wife was most loving, and more discreet and
modest in her ways than any, but I still considered it safer to have her unable
and not merely unwilling, to harm me …. Furthermore, I made it a rule never
to speak with her of anything but household matters or questions of conduct,
or of the children …. She said she would be happy to do conscientiously what-
ever she knew how to do and had the skill to do, hoping it might please me.
To this I said, “… I shall be most pleased if you do just three things: first my
wife, see that you never want another man to share this bed but me …. The
second, I said was that she should take care of the household, preside over it
with modesty, serenity, tranquility and peace …. The third thing, I said, was
that she should see that nothing went wrong in the house ….” She said her
mother had taught her only how to spin and sew, and how to be virtuous and
52
obedient. Now she would gladly learn from me how to rule the family and
whatever I might wish to teach her …. Then she and I knelt down and prayed
to God to give us the power to make good use of those possessions which he,
in his mercy and kindness, had allowed us to enjoy. We also prayed … that
he might grant us the grace to live together in peace and harmony for many
happy years, and with many male children, and that he might grant to me
riches, friendship and honour, and to her, integrity, purity and the character
of a perfect mistress of the household. (O’Faolain & Martines 1973:188–189)
According to Alberti, women’s virtues are chastity and motherhood. Their domain
is the family’s private world. In analysing Alberti’s writings, Chadwick (1996:63–67)
writes:
Although humanist thinkers advocated a certain equality of education for the

daughters and sons of wealthy burghers and patricians, by the 15th century
the practice of sending girls to public schools had apparently been discontin-
ued. Girls received their education, which concentrated on Christian virtues
and moral teachings, primarily at home or in the convent. Boys progressed
from schooling at home to public education organised around the affairs of
the community; girls were trained for marriage or the cloister. Public education
consisted of reading, writing and arithmetic … painting became one of a grow-
ing list of activities in which women had intuitive, but not learned, knowledge
and to whose laws they remained outsiders. The humanist encouragement
of education for women did not include mathematics, rhetoric or the sciences.
Marriage, like the church, was a central social institution. The consequences of the
virtually unquestioned position of both these institutions differed greatly for men
and women. For women, marriage usually came much earlier than it did for men. As
soon as a girl reached physical maturity (puberty), she was considered marriageable
property; men usually married when they were in their late twenties, thirties or
even older. This meant that, besides all else, there was no time for girls to prepare
themselves for any career other than matrimony. Boys could enjoy adolescence and
establish themselves in the public, civic and economic spheres, before assuming the
responsibilities of married life. Early marriage also meant a shorter life expectancy
for girls, as childbirth often resulted in maternal death.
ARH2601/1 53

ACTIVITY 3.2A – F
EMINIST APPROACH TO ART HISTORY: THE
RENAISSANCE
Example: The Arnolfini wedding
FIGURE 33
Jan van Eyck, Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife (1434). Oil on oak panel of
three vertical boards, 84,5 x 62,5 cm. National Gallery, London. (Wikimedia Commons
2018).
Look at the example in Figure 33 of a famous wedding portrait, painted by Jan

van Eyck during the Renaissance period.
Now write a feminist analysis of this portrait. In your essay, consider the following
aspects:
•• The prevailing attitudes of the society in which this painting was created, as
exemplified by Vasari and Alberti’s writings (see earlier).
•• The position of women in this society.
Look at the clues the painter has given you, which “give away” his adherence to
patriarchal or sexist attitudes. Pay specific attention to what some of the imagery
in the portrait could mean in terms of the patriarchal ideology prevalent at the
time. These include the dog, the statuette of St Margaret, the apples and the small
hand broom hanging behind the couple.
Also comment on the following in your essay:
Art historians disagree on whether the bride is pregnant or whether she is merely
holding her skirt in a manner so that she appears to be. What do you think? Re-
member, it would be unusual for an important man during the Renaissance to not
marry a virgin, so it is unlikely that Arnolfini’s bride would be pregnant, even more
so for a respected painter to paint her as such. Why, then, would she be presented
appearing to be pregnant?
54
3.6.3 Rape and the representation of women in art of the early modern
period
Rape was a normal aspect of behaviour in early modern Italy. Much of classical
mythology resonated with graphic sexual violence, and it was the literature people
read. As mentioned above, women married at a far younger age than men. Thus, they
moved directly from childhood to motherhood, whereas men – especially those of
the upper classes – had the opportunity to “sow wild oats”. This was, according to
historian Guido Ruggiero, something of a mixed blessing (Turner 1993:17):
These young males – attractive as future scions of their families – were … feared
in practice, as well as often uneasily laughed about in literature for … tendencies to
deflower daughters, commit adultery with wives, and disturb the calm, disciplined
flow of business in urban society. Civic morality, with its promise of a disciplined
citizen, broke down most visibly before this male “adolescence”.
Ruggiero explains that not only was rape part of “youthful fun and games”, but that
gang rapes and group assaults were well known as measures of “discipline” against
women who were perceived to contravene community standards of sexual conduct.
This vigilante behaviour could, however, easily become “dangerous and asocial”
(Turner 1993:17). Rape could be legitimised by a legal demand being imposed on
the perpetrator, to marry the victim. In European paintings of this period, rape is
often depicted in mythological terms.
Figures 33–35 are paintings depicting rape in a mythological context. Although

these examples come from different eras in art history, they all embrace the values
which are central to this focus.
FIGURE 34
Peter Paul Rubens, The rape of the daughters of Leucippus (ca 1618). Oil on canvas,
224 x 210,5 cm. Alta Pinakothek Munich. (Wikimedia Commons 2018).
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FIGURE 35
Tiziano Vecellio (Titian), The rape of Europa (1560–562). Oil on canvas, 178 x 205 cm.
Isabella Steward Gardner Museum, Boston. (Wikimedia Commons 2018).
FIGURE 36
Antonio Correggio, Leda and the swan (1532). Oil on canvas, 191 x 152 cm.
Gemaeldegalerie, Berlin. (Wikimedia Commons 2018).
ACTIVITY 3.3 – RAPE IN EARLY MODERN ARTWORKS

Look at the above images (figures 33–35) and do independent research on the
mythological content of these works. Sexual misconduct by the gods was often
justified because of their godly status. If you search the internet, you will find many
more examples of artistic depictions of mythological rape.
Now write a paragraph in which you give your opinion on such depictions of rape.
Could these be instrumental in giving rape legitimacy in a violent society? Do you
think that such images could be harmless if they have mythological – rather than
‘real-life’ – content? How do you think these images compare with those of rape
in contemporary society, such as images in film or other artistic works?
56
3.6.4 Women and witchcraft

Earlier, we commented that, during this era, a woman was defined by her sexuality
and that marriage, the convent, the brothel or servitude in wealthy households were
the only options for young women. In a religious context, being accused or suspected
of witchcraft carried negative connotations, especially for unmarried women. The
nunnery was understood to represent an escape from the life-threatening dangers of
childbirth mortality and rape suffered by both married and marriageable women – it
was a “haven for non-conformists and female intellectuals”, according to Chadwick
(1996:45), as it enabled women to practise certain art forms, such as book illumination
and calligraphy. However, the themes of women’s art were strictly circumscribed by
dogma, and they were barred from attaining real power in the church. Women could
not become priests, bishops or popes. Germaine Greer (1979:153–154) extrapolates:
A superficial understanding of manuscript-illumination might see it as ideal

women’s work in that it is small, dainty, requiring no brute strength and much
endurance and patience…. Men sculpted, painted, carved and worked in metal
and stained glass, while nuns wove, needleworked and embroidered the square
miles of precious cloths used in the thousands of churches throughout Europe.
There was so much of this kind of work to do that they had scant opportunity
to compete with men as illuminators. The vast mass of their daily labour has
rotted away, leaving only tantalising vestiges, themselves doomed to decay.
Most conventual artistic activity would nowadays be thought drudgery. The

applications of millions of tiny stitches in huge copes, dalmatics and altar
hangings was not so much the exercise of a woman’s creativity as a religious
duty carried out in expiation of the sins of the world. Most of the women work-
ing in this way would have had no hand whatever in the design, which might
have been original but was more likely a copy of another, modified to fit the
ecclesiastical function of the … piece, its recipient or the material available.
Remember: manuscript illumination was a form of pre-printing press bookmaking,

and the transmission of knowledge involved the copying of publications by hand.
The brothel was the only option for poorer, unmarried women. Those who did not
join a nunnery were associated with witches’ covens – mythical repositories which
justified misogynistic violence in the community. In other words, it became a way
for an extremely conservative society to explain “deviance”, especially in unmarried
women.
Sexualised representations of women reflect heterosexual male desire, through

stereotyped images of beautiful young females. Alternatively, through images of
hags, crones and witches, fear, loathing or misunderstanding of female aspects such
as menstruation and menopause, childbirth, intuitive wisdom and healing powers
were articulated. Understandably there were far fewer images of hags, crones and
witches than of nymphs and maidens. But it is no coincidence that the female nude
in art flourished during the early modern period, at the same time as the European
witch-hunts did.
Both kinds of negative stereotyping served as regulatory conventions for women’s

behaviour. As Brian Levack (1995:154) comments: “The witch was viewed by
authorities as … an apostate rebel against God and a conspirator against the political,
social and moral order of man.” Malleus maleficarum (1486)(The Hammer of Witches),
a seminal misogynistic text, was written by two Dominican monks, Jacobus Sprenger
ARH2601/1 57

and Heinrich Kramer. By 1520 it had reached 13 editions. This treatise on witchcraft
brought together – in a seemingly scholastic way – different aspects of beliefs in
witches; it provided theological and legal advice on how to identify, accuse and
condemn witches; and it boldly spread the claim that denying the existence of
witches was heresy itself (Levack 1995:154). Indeed, there was a linking of disease to
witchcraft – a contradiction in terms, as it was very often women who knew the craft
of healing with natural herbs, who were branded “witches” and burned at the stake.
The images of witches in figures 36–38 come from three distinct periods in art
history, yet their depiction of the witch as an elderly, obese and ugly crone is palpable.
Note the subtle, yet undeniably erotic, nature of certain of the images, articulating
the fear of unbridled female sexuality.
FIGURE 37
Francisco de Goya Lucientes, Linda Maestra (Gentle mistress) (ca 1798). Etching from
the Caprichos series. Graphische Sammlung, Vienna. (Wikimedia Commons 2018).
FIGURE 38
Albrecht Dürer, Witch riding backwards on a goat (ca 1500–1501). Engraving, 12 x 8 cm.
British Museum. (© Trustees of the British Museum).
58
FIGURE 39
Johan Henry Fuseli, The witch and the mandrake (ca 1812). Pencil over red chalk on
paper, 42,8 x 54,5 cm. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. (© Trustees of the British Museum).
ACTIVITY 3.4 – W
OMEN IN EARLY MODERN HISTORY WHO
CHALLENGED THE STATUS QUO
Below is a list of women who challenged the status quo of their respective times
and became (relatively) well known and respected artists in their own right.
Choose at least two of these names and do independent research on the lives and
work of those women. Make specific notes on HOW each of them went against
the prescribed norms of her society and time.
•• Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179)

•• Christine de Pisan (also given as de Pizan) (ca 1363–1431)
•• Sofonisba Anguissola (ca 1532/35–1625)
•• Lavinia Fontana (1552–1614)
•• Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–ca 1652)
3.7 DADA: FEMINISM AND MODERNISM

Now we make quite a big jump in terms of linear art history to the early 20th century,
specifically the 1920s. The first World War (WWI) (1914–1918) had a devastating
effect on the economy and social landscape of Europe. The destruction caused by the
Great War led people to question the status quo on many fronts, including the social,
political and intellectual. The Dada movement was one such avenue for exploring
alternative conceptions of life. Space does not allow for a detailed exploration of this
rich and interesting movement, but its connection to the development of feminism
in specifically the art world is notable. You are welcome to do independent research
on Dada.
Adherents of Dada had a particular distrust of logic and reason (Marien & Fleming
2005:576) and challenged “polite society and the pretense of fine art”. For this reason,
Pamela Sund (2002:23) argues that Dada was essentially an anti-humanist project,
because it rejected knowledge and reason as the basis of civilisation and happiness.
Tristan Tzara’s (1918) Dada Manifesto (in Sund 2002:23) attests to this when he writes:
Dada; abolition of logic ... Dada; abolition of the future ... Dada; abolition
of memory ... Nothing is more delightful than to confuse and upset people.
ARH2601/1 59

Ruth Hemus (2011:68), while acknowledging Dada as a multidimensional movement,

draws specific attention to the development of feminist action and the inclusion of
women in the art world, which is for the first time formally acknowledged in Tzara’s
Manifesto. Tzara names a collection of important Dada artists in his work, of whom
many are women. He also uses the French term présidente, which implies that i) the
leader of Dada is not only one important person, but persons and ii) it could be a
woman. This represents a rejection of the idea of one, single (male) genius holding
all the power. The manifesto therefore essentially contains ideas which could indeed
be described as feminist.
It is important to note that, at this stage, European life was still very patriarchal and
sexist, and women’s place in society was still marginal. The first country to grant
women the right to vote was Denmark (1915), followed by Britain (1918) and America
(1920). Dada, however, was a radical movement that challenged all aspects of bourgeois
society. To suggest that a woman might be a president was, in fact, extremely radical.
One element of Dada that is not well documented is its performative spirit. Dada was
the first movement in modernism to challenge the previously established means of
making art and making meaning. It is understood by art historians such as Amelia
Jones (1998) to represent, in this respect, the most aggressive challenge to European
morality prior to that point. Jones (1998:143) argues that the artists associated
with Dada “charged the art-making and viewing processes with an eroticism that
necessarily exposed the invested and thus politicised aspects of meaning and value
production”. This mostly took place in self-performances, which were designed to
be confrontational and disruptive. Performance, as an artistic strategy, remains very
popular in contemporary feminist art not only internationally, but also in South Africa.
It is under these circumstances that we encounter Baroness Elsa von Freytag-

Loringhoven (1874–1927) (figure 39), who was associated with Dadaism in early
20th-century Europe and America. For Dadaists such as Von Freytag, the concept of
eroticising the mundane was top of the agenda. In her essay, Jones (1998:143) examines
how “sentimental femininity, feminised masculinity and queer sexuality” became
part of the unspoken Dada discourse, and how it is “the queering or feminising of
the conventionally masculinised, heterosexualised and generally veiled figure of the
artist” that is the most radical of the Dada acts. Jones justifies her position with an
interpretation of the baroness’s life and work, which were closely intertwined.
60
FIGURE 40
Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven. (Wikimedia).
Indulging in sexual ambiguity and performance gestures outside of the conventional

gallery space, the baroness almost single-handedly succeeded in turning fine art
values upside down – not only as regards the position of women in art, and also
the audience. The baroness does, however, remain something of an anachronism
in the published annals of Dada history: “Elsa … was fiercely independent of her
bourgeois German family and masculine in her lack of ‘feminine’ shame and her
writerly and performative self-confidence” (Jones 1998:154). She was married twice
and widowed rapidly and, left with not very much more than her impressive-sounding
name, made a living by posing as an artist’s model and shoplifting. She was also a
self-styled performance artist, as Jones (1998:156) elaborates:
… she performed herself in dramatically unglued personifications: she moved

through-out the city with shaved and painted scalp, wearing headdresses made
of bird cages and wastepaper baskets, celluloid curtain rings as bracelets, as-
sorted tea balls attached to her bust, spoons on her hat, a taillight for a bustle.
The Dadaist, Man Ray, described her to Tristan Tzara in a letter dated 1922 (Jones
1998:157):
The anatomical female body bared shamelessly, crotch shaved, arms defiantly
splayed for maximal viewing effect, legs strongly planted and firm. Here, she’s
… the garçonne who seems American (because of her scary independence?)
even though she’s not. The [b]aroness’s body (her performed self) signifies
Americanness/Dada/the stripping bare of the bride of capitalism.
She was known to have a plaster cast of a penis which she carried around with her,
exposing the penis as a transportable rather than a fixed, biologically determined
guarantor of phallic privilege (Jones 1998:159). Jones suggests that the baroness’s
aggressive sexual ambiguity was
the ultimate weapon against the bourgeois norms that Dada in general thought
of itself as radically antagonising … these performances surface and exagger-
ate the commodified, feminised subject rather than repress the demasculinis-
ARH2601/1 61

ing effects of modern life on the conventional, iron-clad figure of the artist.
(Jones 1998:159)
The baroness challenged gender norms and stereotypes in her performance works.
She questioned the conservative values of early 20th-century society by employing
sexual taboos in her works and by exhibiting her own body. Indeed, it is argued that
rather than representing the concepts of Dada, she lived them. In 1922, in an issue
of The Little Review, a prominent arts publisher and literary critic, Jane Heap (in Jones
1998) describes her as the embodiment of Dada. Jones (1998:156) comments that
it is perhaps grotesquely fitting that while [Francis] Picabia, Man Ray, Jean
Crotti and others went on to more or less successful careers making objects
… the [b]aroness self-destructed, dying at … 53 after returning [from New
York] to Europe in the 1920s.
Jones (1998:156) continues:
Performing herself across boundaries – as a penniless woman-for-sale …

mannish lover-of-Duchamp,12 outlandishly androgynous streetwalker, a proud
feminist dependent on male support – she became increasingly unbounded
and ultimately “disappeared”, a victim of, in her words, “my true honest love
nature – and my unfitness to deal with the world – unprotected”.
In her performance ethic, the baroness challenged the subject/object distinction in

art making. She also rejected all the contradictions and restrictions imposed on the
woman as artist/woman as object, including the conservative societal values which we
examined in the Renaissance context. We must remember that the way her physical
appearance blatantly digressed from the norm would have been very shocking to a
European or American public of the 1920s.
3.8 RADICAL FEMINISM OF THE 1960 – 1980s

A desire to make art about being a woman characterised the recognised feminine
art of the 1960s and 70s in America. In this section, we examine four artworks by
women in America during the 1970s, who are understood to be seminal for feminism.
These works created public and critical storms in the art world because they so
dramatically upset complacency with regard to the treatment of women in society.
They are Miriam Schapiro and Sherry Brody’s Womanhouse (1972), which hinges on a
much broader eponymous project undertaken by Judy Chicago and Schapiro a year
earlier; Chicago’s The Dinner Party (1974–1979); Carolee Schneemann’s performance
Inner Scroll (1975); and Mary Kelly’s Post-partum document (1974).
Roszika Parker and Griselda Pollock (1987:240) write:
In 1971, American feminist artists Judy Chicago (b. 1939) and Miriam Schapiro
(b. 1923) started a Feminist Art Programme at CalArts in Los Angeles. They
worked with a group of women art students, to raise consciousness about being
female and doing art, in order to find out how to explore the first through the
12 The baroness was not only a friend of Duchamp, but was said to have publically declared her love for
him as part of a performance. It is also rumoured that Duchamp’s famous work, The Fountain, exhib-
ited under the pseudonym, R Mutt, was made by the baroness and sent to him as a gift, which he then
exhibited as his own work (Higgs 2015).
62
second. The result was a collaborative project called Womanhouse, for which the
class took over and renovated an empty downtown house and remade each of
its rooms as a dramatic representation of women’s experiences of childhood,
home, menstruation, marriage, eroticism, nurture and fantasy.
Further to that, the following year Schapiro, in collaboration with Sherry Brody,
created a smaller-scale artwork Dollhouse (1972) (figure 34), an installation which
questions the traditional confinement of women to the home in an overtly playful
yet sinister way. Made from wooden wine boxes and decorated with found objects,
the work is premised visually on a Victorian child’s dollhouse. The first two rooms
on the ground floor consist of a kitchen and a parlour. The second floor houses
a star’s bedroom and a “seraglio” (the harem in a Muslim palace). The star is
identifiable by her glamorous robe, the satin-sheeted bed and the miniature portrait
of a Hollywood starlet on the wall. As Thalia Gouma-Peterson (1999:70) describes it:
“Softly upholstered, carpeted and windowless enclosures, these two rooms suggest
either the comforting and protective space of the womb or prison cells from which
there is no exit.” These are the only two rooms in the house without windows.
Contrasting light and dark, they perhaps inscribe women’s entrapment in a culturally
constructed sexuality which is always already available, whether she offers it willingly
for sale or is forced into offering it by captive slavery. Above the enclosed bedrooms
are two more rooms: the nursery and an artist’s attic studio. In the studio, there
is an artist’s model: an otherwise nude, cowboy-booted male with an erect penis.
The model could be interpreted as a “threat to the woman artist, even within her
own domain, but instead is appropriated by her” (Gouma-Peterson 1999:27). In the
nursery there is a child in a cradle, overshadowed by a very large grizzly bear outside
the window and threatened by a spider nearby which is anything but “incy wincy”.
FIGURE 41
Miriam Schapiro and Sherry Brody, Dollhouse (1972). Mixed media. (Americanart 1997).
ARH2601/1 63

These days, dollhouses are normally constructed as a hobby or collector’s item.

They are ostensibly innocuous and of course very small, but are always imbued
with social commentary. In their work, Schapiro and Brody highlight this aspect
of the dollhouse, using it to challenge the relegation of women’s so-called creative
production (e.g., embroidery, quilting, ceramics and so on) to “low” art or crafts.
They also comment on the social relegation of women to the so-called happy
home. The visual iconography and symbolic content of the work point to the
often sinister, dreary, claustrophobic, even dangerous reality of home life for many
women. Even the harmless kitchen shows a tiny reproduction of a print by René
Magritte through the window – a surrealist image of rows of bowler-hatted men,
which becomes menacing in this context. Phyllis Rosser (1994:61) comments that,
influenced by Betty Friedan’s groundbreaking The feminine mystique (1963), “feminist
consciousness-raising and performance art in the seventies revealed that for many
women home had become a war zone of violence and abuse”. While the toy dollhouse
is a non-threatening emblem of the sanctuary, safety and comfort of the home,
Dollhouse presents a different picture. Judith Lewis Herman (1992:28) states that it
was feminism as a social movement which exposed “the dark side of the patriarchal
family myth: alcoholism, drug abuse, battery, child abuse, incest, rape and murder”.
Dollhouse thus exposes the centrality of the debate: that feminist philosophy, a belief
in gender equality and the women’s movement are all pertinent issues.
Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party (figure 41) is a landmark in American feminist art.
The work received very direct and pertinent criticism, but is important for several
reasons, in terms of our understanding of radical feminism. Like Schapiro and Brody’s
Dollhouse, the work was a collaboration between several women – something which
downplays the notion of the artist as an individual genius (an idea that has its origins
in the Renaissance period). Four hundred people (mostly women) worked on The
Dinner Party during the five years of its production, and it became one of Chicago’s
premises to bring “craft” to the table of “high art”, which had “gone largely unnoticed
… as art” (judychicago.com).
FIGURE 42
Judy Chicago, Dinner party (installation view) (1979). Installation consisting of embroidery
and ceramic work. Elizabeth A Sackler Center for Feminist Art. Collection of the
Brooklyn Museum. (judychicago.com).
64
The installation is a mockup of a dinner party table, of which the range of the guest
list extends across time and into fantasy. There are 39 guests, all of whom are female
and comprise a mix of real historical figures, mythical women and goddesses. They
are positioned around a triangular table which is placed on a floor inscribed with
the names of other women, suggesting that “the women at the table had risen from
a foundation provided by other women’s accomplishments” (Chicago 1979:13).
Each table setting in this work is dedicated to a designated icon of women’s rights –
from the Egyptian goddess Isis to the black American woman protestor Sojourner
Truth, who is famous for her “Ain’t I a woman?” spontaneous protest speech in
1851, and women poets and writers such as Emily Dickinson and Virginia Woolf.
Each place setting was completely distinct and involved a fair amount of research
and thought. Chicago began the project with an articulated love of Chinese ceramic
plate painting, but as it developed the plates increasingly took on a three-dimensional
quality.
Using a “dinner party” motif would also be a “metaphor for women’s domesticated
and trivialised circumstances”, according to Chicago (1979:11). As the project grew, an
emblematic series of “flat butterflies” on the plates began to become clear; Chicago
explained that the butterflies were symbols of liberation. As the project became
increasingly three-dimensional, however, so the butterflies became increasingly
stylised. Finally, they metamorphosised into what is commonly known as “vaginal”
iconography (figures 42 & 43).
FIGURE 43 FIGURE 44
Judy Chicago, Dinner Party (1979). Judy Chicago, Dinner Party (1979).
Place setting for Mary Wollstonecraft Place setting for Georgia O’Keeffe
(18th C. English writer, philosopher (1887–1986, American artist).
and women’s rights advocate).
These explicit references to the folds of the labia of the vagina caused considerable
controversy – even within the feminist movement itself. Yet it was a way for feminist
artists to express themselves with “something besides the symbol of the phallus”, as
Miriam Schapiro explained in an unpublished journal entry in 1992 (Gouma-Peterson
1999:64). Schapiro referred to images of this nature as “central core”, stating: “What
does it feel like to be a woman; to be formed around a central core and to have a
secret place which can be entered and a passageway from which life emerges?”
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Later, as detailed below, this type of naïve comment was brutally criticised by feminists
as being essentialist and thus playing into a patriarchal agenda. Chicago recorded
her own stunned reaction when she found out all this “anti-essentialist stuff” was
going on: “At first, I was totally, utterly outside of this. I was in my studio struggling
to produce work …. I was flabbergasted. I remember reading that my work is anti-
female, degrading to women. I started to laugh when I first read it. I had no idea it
was coming out of feminist theory” (Thompson-Wylder 1999:21). This essentialist
type of thinking, which distinguishes “female” from “male” painting was, in many
respects, the biggest flaw in the thinking of the feminist art movement, particularly
for critics, artists and feminist philosophers of the 1980s and 90s.
At this time, feminist theory aligned with the philosophical movement of

deconstruction, to challenge the notion of a fixed gender identity, of femininity as
something that could be definitively described. It was agreed that gender was not a
stable concept, something that could be related to biology. Furthermore, “masculine”
and “feminine” were categories that had been socially constructed. This theorising saw
criticism levelled at the art of women like Schapiro and Chicago, for trying to “fix”
women as “different”. The social theorist Teresa de Lauretis (1987:1) describes what she
understands as the threat posed by this so-called “essentialist thinking”, commenting
that “the notion of gender as sexual difference and its derivative notions – women’s
culture, feminine writing, femininity … have now become a limitation, something
of a liability, to feminist thought”.
The rise of deconstructivism in art and its appropriation of feminist thinking appear
to have left many unhappy feminist daughters (the 80s generation) feeling that their
art mothers (the 60s generation) had “let them down”, because they were essentialist
thinkers and out of touch. In some ways, feminist artists of the 1970s were left behind
as ageing anachronisms, because of their insistence on female biology. The feminism
of the 1980s and 90s focused more on empowering women and erasing difference(s)
based on biology, with proponents arguing that men and women are essentially the
same and can do the same things. This neglect and disavowal of the female body,
however, was ironically challenged once more by material feminists of the late 90s
and the new millennium. The sisterhood of the women’s movement has therefore,
to an extent, excluded cross-generational collaboration. Revolution and liberation are
hollow if only for the young, but daughters separate themselves from old women in
a long-lived manifestation of patriarchal and filial control, the divide-and-conquer
politics of female competitiveness. An argument can be made that the competition
and individualism which are evident in the feminist movement are also patriarchal
constructs, which feminists should identify as such and actively work against.
Although the debate regarding the importance of women’s biology for the feminist
cause is not over, a truce has been declared, acknowledging that both sides have
valid arguments. To an extent, theorists have had to learn to live with the paradox
of a socially constructed concept of gender and the shape of women’s lives caused by
their biology. Flavia Rando (in Gouma-Peterson 1999) presents a different theoretical
perspective, which questions why only feminist art theory and practices are fixated
on the essentialist and constructivist “debate” around gender, while art history and
practice generally continue to follow the same old patriarchal path, untroubled by
the supposed conflict. The answer may simply lie in the fact that “woman” keeps
ending up on the “body” side of the culture/body divide, while “man”, the “natural”
inheritor of “culture”, continues to write “mainstream” art history and philosophy.
Man continues to occupy most places in academic life, and simply carries on regardless.
66
Further, Schapiro observes that “if gender is no longer a factor, then it is women
who will dissolve into a man’s world” (Gouma-Peterson 1999:33).
Feminist body art practices of the 1960s and 70s made a significant contribution to
postmodernism in the visual arts. The importance of a performance approach to
art making, as the baroness showed the world a generation or two earlier, is that it
gives the artist literal presence in the work. Also, its articulated intention is to disrupt
and upset the status quo.
In 1975, Carolee Schneemann created a performance, Interior Scroll (figure 44), during
which she produced a thin coil of paper from her vagina, unrolled it, and read the
text written on it to the audience. This performance focused on the Freudian concept
of woman as lacking male genitals. Schneemann’s art literally came from within
her, from her body, and is therefore the very definition of “women’s art”. The text
she read from her vagina reported a conversation between herself and an invented
(male) structuralist filmmaker. The exchange summed up the paradoxes of women’s
art. The filmmaker judged her art, levelling at her a series of criticisms which eerily
predicted De Lauretis’ fault-finding mission against “essentialist” feminism in the
1980s. He objected to her “personal clutter”, her “persistence of feelings”, her “diarist
indulgence” and her “painterly mess”. These criticisms are typical of a male-dominant
culture which belittles women’s cultural efforts as too personal, too self-indulgent
and too autobiographical. Some of these criticisms are still being levelled against
“women’s art”, but feminist (and increasingly also postcolonial) artists are arguing
more and more that these very self-reflective practices are the strength of their art in
a world where neo-liberal market capitalism has eroded the ability to be self-critical
and self-aware. This raises the dilemma of feminist practitioners: they can either
choose to produce art which may be continually marginalised by virtue of being
women’s art, later to be criticised as essentialist; or they can make art like men and
be accepted, appropriated and reabsorbed.
FIGURE 45
Carolee Schneemann, Interior Scroll (1975). Taken from a suite of 13 gelatin silver
prints, edition of 7. (Wikimedia 2018).
Of course, Schneemann is naked in her work. So, how does a woman artist undress
herself in public and not run the risk of being re-objectified? Some theorists argue
that it is not possible for female artists who expose their bodies not to be objectified
by the male gaze, however, others argue that Schneemann does not present her body
in a way that fulfils the stereotype of femininity and beauty. In other words, by not
presenting her body as an object of male desire, Schneemann was subverting the male
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gaze, partly due to her use of a “shock tactic”. On the other hand, Schneemann’s
naked body was still on display and being viewed by male spectators who might
have found her performance to be seductive, nonetheless. This is another irony of
using the female body in performance art, because of the cultural position of the
female nude.
Being a woman and an artist simultaneously was a central theme which feminist
artists explored from the 1970s onward. Women artists challenge not only the idea
that one cannot be an artist as well as a woman, but more specifically also address
the issue of artists who are mothers. Mary Kelly (1974) addresses this theme in her
work Post-partum document. This is an important feminist work which places focus on
the female body, but also on intersubjectivity (Liss 2009:23), which Kelly perceives
to be central to human existence.
Kelly’s documentary installation work (figures 45–47) was produced in London

between 1973 and 1979, and published in book form in 1983. For this work, Kelly
meticulously documented the first six years of her son’s life by keeping detailed
records of feeding charts, fecal stains on nappies (figure 45), hand- and footprints,
and keepsakes of her sons’ life as he grew up. To complicate matters, she set up a
dialogue between these documents and her own personal experience in the form of
a diary as she experienced various emotions. She also deliberated, theoretically and
academically, about her son’s growing independence from her, through psychoanalysis
(figure 47).
FIGURE 46 FIGURE 47
Mary Kelly, Post-partum document Mary Kelly, Post-partum document:
(detail) (1973–1979). Perspex units, white Documentation IV Transitional Objects,
card, diaper linings, plastic sheeting, Diary and Diagram (installation view)
paper, ink, 31 units, 28 x 35,5 cm each. (1976). Perspex units, white card,
(Marykelly.com). plaster, cotton fabric,
8 units, 28 x 35,5 cm each.
Collection, Zurich Museum.
68
FIGURE 48
Mary Kelly, Post-Partum Document: Documentation II
Analysed Utterances and Related Speech Events (1975).
Installation view, Generali Foundation, Perspex units, white card, wood, paper, ink,
rubber, 26 units, 20 x 25,5 cm each. Collection, Art Gallery of Ontario.
This work created quite a stir in the art world as well as in feminist circles. Some critics
found the work repulsive for containing nappies stained with faeces, others found the
overt focus on the maternal body problematic, since it (just like Schneemann’s work)
essentialises women to reproductive functions only. Andrea Liss (2009:30), however,
contends that this work should “be considered a strategic assault against the gamut
of cultural restrictions placed on the mother”. Kelly’s simultaneous expression of
her love for her infant son, coupled with overt expressions of her own sexuality as a
woman, unsettles the patriarchal order which desexualises the mother and renders
her desire for her infant merely platonic. Kelly creates an unease by expressing a
sensual desire for her son, when she writes:
I’m really enjoying my present relationship with K. going out to lunch, to

the park, shopping together. He’s fulfilling my fantasy image of a son as lit-
tle companion-lover. (Kelly in Liss 2009:30)
The mother’s desire, in this instance, is portrayed as all-consuming and intense, even
erotic at times, which represents the ultimate taboo. Kelly’s work shows, through her
careful portrayal of the delicate interplay between joy, pain, sensuality and wonder,
how the mother experiences the eventual Freudian separation between mother and
son. Liss (2009:38) also notes that Kelly’s work grapples with “the difficulty of the
nonrepresentation of the Mother in Freudian psychoanalytic theory as well as the
risky possibility of her visual representation in contemporary art”.
ACTIVITY 3.5A – FREUD AND FEMINISM

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) is often referred to as the Father of Psychoanalytic
theory. The work of several other authors, especially French philosophers such
as Jacques Lacan (1901–1981), Gilles Deleuze (1925–1996) and Felix Guattari
(1930–1992) as well as notable feminist theorists such as Simone de Beauvoir
(1908–1986) and Luce Irigaray (1930– ) is based on Freud’s groundbreaking work.
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Do internet research on Freud’s conception of the separation which needs to hap-

pen between mother and son, for identity formation to be successful. You can also
search the journal database on the library website for criticism against Freud’s
theories, especially by feminist authors.
Now answer the following questions in an essay of about 1.5 pages:
•• Why are some feminist authors so critical of Freud’s theories?

•• How does Mary Kelly’s work address Freud’s theories?
3.9 FEMINISM IN SOUTH AFRICA
3.9.1 Introduction
The validity of Western or so-called “white” feminism has been under scrutiny in
the African (and specifically South African) context since the 1990s. Cecily Lockett
(1996:6) explains that the material conditions of African women are markedly different
from those of white and even black Western women, and that aspects of gender,
sexuality, motherhood and power have different meanings in African contexts.
Lockett (1996:23) adds that, in South Africa, women often straddle first- and third-
world conditions simultaneously, while fighting multiple overlapping oppressions
which include those of race, class and gender.
Aaronson (2012:1) notes that South African theorists have been slow to deliberate on
art from a feminist perspective: the female body is often interpreted as an articulation
of the colonised social body or the black body in general under apartheid. The
legacy of apartheid further complicates the matter, as women are usually expected
to fight racial oppression first, before attempting to dismantle patriarchal cultural
constructs in their own communities. South African artists have therefore been
careful to proclaim that their work is “feminist”, often taking a deliberate stance
against this very label.
Aaronson (2012:1) notes that women’s social movements in South Africa have played
an important role in raising women’s issues and fighting multiple oppressions. She
acknowledges that South Africa is ahead of other African countries in this regard.
The tension between “white” and “black” feminism in this country has, however,
been noted by several authors and is twofold: the first issue is highlighted in a 1990s
essay by Sisi Maqagi (in Daymond 1996:27), which critiques the persistence of white
females and black men theorising about black women’s creative production. The
second issue is highlighted in Okwui Enwezor’s 1997 essay, in which he critiques
the representation of the black female body by white South African artists.
The main issue which arises from both these authors’ work is the right to, and the
desire for, self-representation and self-definition – a question which is addressed by
various black artists and writers. Maqagi (1996:33) notes that in South Africa, because
of its unique history and material conditions, a certain acceptance of “the old, the
new and the borrowed” should be expected and embraced, and that feminism in
postcolonial contexts can never have a single unified set of thoughts and theories.
Feminism is multiple and fragmented in African contexts, according to Maqagi
(1996:33), who calls for ways in which a variety of different women’s voices can be
taken into consideration. The same sentiment is held by the prolific exiled South
70
African author, Zoë Wicomb (1996:45), who argues that South African women of
all colours and disciplines – including artists and writers – should strive to tease out
the contradictions that exist in women’s literary and creative practices.
3.9.2 Intersectional and African feminisms

Feminist debates in South Africa are largely influenced by African and intersectional
feminisms. Anna Carastathis (2014:304) notes that it is widely accepted today that
women face “multiple interlocking systems of oppression” which include race,
gender and class. This means that many women are not only excluded because they
are women, but also because of their race or their poverty. Sexuality comes into play
here, since the acceptance of gay and lesbian subjectivities and opinions is still not
conventional in many parts of the continent – not even throughout the Western
world. Kimberlé Crenshaw (in Carastathis 2014:305), a notable black feminist, states
that the complexity of contemporary life makes isolating one feature of subjectivity
(such as gender) impractical. Intersectionality as a theoretical approach cautions
against putting race and gender “up against each other” and creating a hierarchy of
evils, in which some might see sexism as the greatest of evils, while others may view
racism as such. Intersectionality acknowledges that various aspects of an individual’s
identity (race, class, gender, sexual orientation, geographical origins, cultural beliefs,
religion) might affect his/her experiences as well as his/her position of power in
society. It is therefore the “work” of (especially African) feminists to be aware of these
interlocking systems of oppression, and actively work towards dismantling them.
Diedre Bajedo (1998:96) summarises the task of African feminists as follows:
1) Revisit African women’s histories on the continent and in the diaspora; 2) replace
women of African descent at the core of African world dialogue; 3) review the impact
of enslavement and colonialism on gender relationships; and 4) refocus the discussion
of contemporary African male-female relationships within the evolutionary track
and vision of healthy African-centered foundations.
Chielozona Eze (2011:57) notes that women of African descent are often complicit in
their neglect of gender issues in discourse, due to a belief that the liberation of Africa
or Africans is a more pertinent issue. Furthermore, Norwood (2013:228) refers to the
anti-feminist sentiment expressed by many African intellectuals (including women),
who label feminism as an un-African “man-hating ideology that rejects marriage
and motherhood”.13 African liberation movements have a tendency to position the
struggle against colonialism or “the West” above gender issues, thus black African
women feel they should first achieve racial liberation before gender liberation, and
that the struggle against patriarchy does not deserve such immediate attention.
Crenshaw’s intersectional feminism argues that all oppressive power structures are
equally damaging to women, and that patriarchy is just as damaging to men who
are not heterosexual, able-bodied and middle class. She believes that all forms of
oppression should be challenged simultaneously.
13 The same is mentioned by Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2015:25) in We should all be
feminists.
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Women are often unaware of the patriarchal structures which obtain in their own
societies. Authors such as Oyeronke Oyewumi and Ifi Amadiume14 (in Eze 2011)
provide examples of instances in African cultures where women are not gendered
in similar ways as in Western cultures. These and other authors use examples from
indigenous cultures to show the need to challenge Western conceptions of sex, gender,
and gendered oppression, discourse and liberation (for more on this, read some of
Oyewumi and Amadiume’s work). Eze (2011:58) cautions against the assumption
that patriarchy did not play a role in traditional societies, and that examples cited
by authors such as Oyewumi and Ifi merit the assumption that women were treated
as equals to men, and that gendered oppression did not exist. Eze (2011:58) warns
against a glorification of the past, which he believes could cause Africans to resist
responding to contemporary, local conditions in creative ways. This, Eze (2011;58)
believes, amounts to a nostalgic nationalism, associated with male postcolonial
writers such as Leopold Senghor (1906–2001) and Frantz Fanon (1925–1961).
Various African feminist writers such as Chimamanda Nkozi Adichie (2015) and
Bibi Bakare-Yusuf (2003) strongly refute the claim that precolonial African societies
were non-patriarchal, and critique the tendency within African feminism to position
sex and gender as being accommodating of issues of universal power within the
postcolony, based on assumptions of race and class only. Both argue that women
were oppressed (and still are) by men in traditional societies, albeit in different ways
than what is understood by Western women.
Within African feminism there is a need to investigate difference through women’s

diverse experiences of history, and to be anti-racist and resist the tendency to
universalise by repeating the canon of postcolonial theory through a focus on race
and colonial oppression. The goal, therefore, within postcolonial African feminism
should be to fight the multiple intersecting oppressions of race, class and gender,
in order to make positive changes to women’s lives and not merely to respond to,
or comment on, the image that the West holds of African women (Eze 2011:62).
Flax (in Ang 1995:199) notes that our view of the postmodern condition of
“ambivalence, ambiguity and multiplicity” collides with the modernist tendency
to structure and order – a tension that is challenged by contemporary postcolonial
feminist scholarship. For Ang (1995:199), postcolonial feminists should not aim to
resolve this tension nor to “celebrate” it, but should rather acknowledge how this
tension necessitates dialogue between the West and those sited as “other(s)”. This
sentiment is also held by Bakare-Yusuf (2003:122), who calls for “informed exchange
between African feminism and other theoretical traditions”, specifically ones that
originated in the West.
Adrienne Rich (2003:31) proposes materiality and specifically the female body as
the necessary starting point for all decolonising, feminist theorising. The body, Rich
(2003) argues, should be acknowledged as a crucial site of negotiation, which has the
potential to challenge phallo-Eurocentric abstraction, by insisting on the materiality
and specificity of individual bodies with all their differences. It is important for
feminism (and specifically for African feminism) that women should acknowledge
that everyone has a different experience of life, and that power structures have
varying effects on women. White middle-class feminists should thus concede that
14 Eze (2011:56) refers to Ifi Amadiume’s (1987) Male daughters, female husbands: Gender and sex in an African
society, as well as Oyeronke Oyewumi’s (1997) The invention of women: Making an African sense of Western
gender discourse, when he critiques a strand of African feminism commonly referred to as “womanism”.
This philosophical term is meant to embrace the multiple oppressions African women face, and can
only be applied to women of African descent.
72
the experiences of black or poor women are vastly different from their own, and the
aim of feminism should thus not be to find a universal way of describing women’s
experiences, nor should it be to create a world in which all women are treated as
if they are the same or similar. For Rich (2003:32), “locale” refers not only to the
physical place in which bodies are situated and where they speak from, but also to
the body itself as a historical site of difference and feminist revolt. The use of the
body as a medium of expression calls for an investigation into the way bodies and
their idiosyncrasies are described in visual art practice.
The use of the body in visual art is not a new feminist phenomenon, nor is it unique
to African or South African feminist art practice (see previous sections of this unit).
The body as a site for the construction of identity is a crucial consideration in any
analysis of feminist artistic practice, and African and South African female artists
indeed use the body for those purposes.
3.9.3 Examples of contemporary feminist South African art

•• Penny Siopis
Multiplicity, hybrid feminine identities and the female body
Lisa Aaronson (2012:4) notes that it was only in the 1980s that South African women
artists (mostly white) began to articulate a concern with gender in their work. Penny
Siopis (1953– ) is one such artist who is still active today in artmaking, academia
and activism.
In Plum Cream (figure 47), an early work of Siopis’, oil paint is used in a way that
suggests flesh in its excess. Siopis, according to Richards (2005:17), allowed for a
certain degree of chance to guide the end result in this painting, by working with
dried impasto over wet paint and building up forms to give the work a “weight”
that emphasises the painting as a material, sensuous object.
FIGURE 49
Penny Siopis, Plum Cream (1982). Oil on canvas, 149,5 x 201,5 cm.
(Smith 2005).
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Siopis in Richards (2005:17) asserts that heavily impastoed forms “test gravity” and
risk “collapsing into formlessness”. Siopis’ work in this painting (and others from the
1980s) shows a distinctly modernist aesthetic in her treatment of definite, closed shapes
and formal compositions. These works, as is the case with her later works, comment
on feminist aspects of the female body, specifically the tension which exists between
the sexual, the reproductive and the life-sustaining properties (Richards 2005:22).
Siopis’ earlier works, when viewed in contrast with her later work, portray a view of
femininity which appears less fluid and more egalitarian. Works such as Plum Cream
(figure 47) portray femininity in a way which could be described as essentialising
women to specific, sexed body parts, instead of whole, lived bodies, which is more
in line with contemporary feminism.
In Swarm (figure 48), a more recent work of Siopis’, she uses a combination of staining,
flows and splatters to create a vast mass of teeming, insect-like objects which seem
to burst from a red nucleus in the top left corner of the first canvas. The woman on
the second canvas swings upside down towards the swarming mass, her hair almost
becoming one with it. Siopis has added detail to some of the splatters, making them
appear almost bee-like.
FIGURE 50
Penny Siopis, Swarm (2011). Ink and glue on canvas, diptych, left panel 200 x 180
cm, right panel 200 x 125 cm. (Perryer 2011:34–35).
The swarm instinct pictured in this work goes against humanist notions of the
sovereign autonomous self, and suggests a rather uncomfortable merging with various
fragmented others, in a manner which seems chaotic and extremely precarious. Siopis
makes extensive use of staining as a painterly technique in this work, as she does in
her other works. “The Stain”, according to Saltzman (2005:374), received extensive
attention during the post-war period in America under the New York School as a
painterly technique that could be attributed to feminine artistic practice. Critics at
the time described staining as an articulation not of pure abstraction, but of the
artist’s body. Staining was often described in terms of its “subtlety and delicacy”
(Saltzman 2005:375) and its bleeding, fluid qualities that contrasted with the hard-
edged, linear qualities of men’s paintings.
74
According to Saltzman (2005:376), in her discussion of Helen Frankenthaler’s

(1928–2011) work, staining was considered “menstrual” and a sign of “involuntary
bodily function” and “uncontrolled nature”. Frankenthaler’s work is discussed in
terms of her coy treatment of her medium, by allowing it to do as it pleases, instead
of opting for the more masculine approach of directing her medium definitively, as
with the masculine gendered action of painting movement. According to Saltzman
(2005:376), this view of the female artist as a prudish vessel, through which materials
direct themselves much like bodily fluids do, is problematic in that it robs the female
artist of the agency associated with the creative act. This misogynistic way of viewing
women’s artistic practice is typical of the modernist era.
Through her technique that relies on chance and accidental elements, Siopis attributes
different meanings to the process of staining, which is active, energetic, embodied
and even violent. Siopis controls the flow of her medium to a certain degree and,
in other instances, just “lets the medium have its way” (Nuttall 2009:98). This view
articulates an understanding of painting as a raw, creative and extremely subjective,
embodied process, where the artist – through the act of painting – becomes part of
the work’s own process of becoming. Siopis (in Nuttall 2009:99) explains her process
in terms of both her bodily actions and the physical properties of her medium. The
process is thus part of the work itself, and articulates Siopis’ rejection of Cartesian
dualist thinking and essentialist notions of subjectivity, which position male and
female as distinctly opposite. Siopis presents subjectivity here as something more
fluid and complex.
Maternal aspects in the work of Siopis
This section explores how Siopis, through her work, articulates a negotiation of
various aspects in relation to the maternal body, which seeks to destabilise known
conceptions of feminine sexuality and desire. In the Lasso catalogue, Siopis (2007:3)
explains how vulnerability, which is a trait commonly attributed to women, can be
used towards positive, transformative ends. Siopis negotiates a corporeal feminine
experience that seeks to redefine feminine subjectivity through an experience of
the body and the specificity of individual feminine experiences. This is a typically
materialist feminist approach.
Julia Kristeva (1982:4) describes the abject as that which “disturbs identity, system,
order … does not respect borders, positions, rules ... the in-between, the ambiguous,
the composite”. She describes how the feminine is coded in specific stereotypical,
oppressive ways within patriarchal society, to operate in society through religion,
ritual and psychoanalytic theory. Despite Kristeva’s sociological perspective from
which her analysis of the abject stems, her phenomenological approach as well as
her focus on the body and its actions, functions and flows within the social and
cultural realm, makes her theories useful within a corporeal feminist framework.
Culture prescribes certain normative behaviours to abject materials such as menstrual
blood, faeces, vomit and corpses, in order to protect it from the potentially damaging
effects of inappropriate actions and desires. This is also why the work of Mary Kelly
seemed so radical in the 1970s, as it is culturally unacceptable to bring these bodily
fluids and actions into the public realm, let alone present it as art.
The maternal is very closely related to the abject and has specific implications for
feminine subjectivity. The pregnant body is of particular importance here, as it grows
and contains another the “Other” and continues to leak and bleed even after birth
(Magennis 2010:93). Kristeva (1982:54) refers to the labelling of the maternal body
within patriarchal society as “terrifying … murderous … abject”, while Cooklin
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(2003:3), in her analysis of Kristeva, contends that the maternal body and female
sexuality pose a threat to notions of “the clean and proper” (Kristeva 1982:2) as
well as the controllable social body, which is therefore either defiled and excluded
or uplifted to cult status through absolute reverence, as in the case of the Virgin
Mary (Cooklin 2003:5) or various other feminine stereotypes such as the omnipotent
mother.
Pregnant women and various imagery of mothers or mothering can be found in

Siopis’ Lasso series. In Lull (figure 50), a woman lies on a bed, half-covered by a
sheet, exposing her pregnant belly. Flush (figure 51) also features a pregnant woman,
this time decontextualised on a pink background. She seems to be floating, as if
she is in the womb herself, quietly suspended in a safe environment. Shoeprints
(of what appear to be men’s shoes) surround the woman in figure 51. She remains
unaffected, however, and seems calm and peaceful within the womblike form which
surrounds her.
FIGURE 51 FIGURE 52
Penny Siopis, Lull (2007). Oil and glue Penny Siopis, Flush (2007). Oil and glue
on paper, 25 x 25 cm. (Perryer 2007). on paper, 27 x 36 cm. (Perryer 2007).
Magennis (2010:92) describes the pregnant body as the “ultimate abject”, since the
pregnant woman’s growing belly does not respect the known borders of the body,
thus underscoring its permeability. Terry Kurgan (1998:1) maintains that outside of the
sentimental and the religious, very few representations of “real motherhood” exist. She
calls attention to the sociocultural implications of pregnancy and mothering, which
subject the woman to various pressures and expectations pertaining to motherhood.
These expectations can be very limiting for women, who might feel pressure to act
in certain ways when they become mothers.
With the abovementioned in mind, the woman in figure 50 can be seen as showing
her pregnant belly for inspection and scrutiny. Kurgan (1998:1), in the catalogue for
a notable 1998 group exhibition entitled Bringing up Baby, shares her unease at the
public interest in her pregnancy as “eroticised spectacle” paired with the invisibility
of maternal subjectivity within the public realm. The reproductive function of the
female body in this case is highlighted, while subjectivity is negated. Siopis, in the
above paintings, aims to draw the viewer’s attention to the public appraisal which
maternal bodies are subjected to.
76
For Fowler and Lee (2003:40), women experience motherhood as something outside
of their control, and as situated within multiple masculine discourses pertaining to
good mothering practices. Anne Bartlett (2002:376) comes to the same conclusion in
her analysis of women’s embodied experiences of breastfeeding, when she shows how
the complacency of mothers to accept “authority and instruction” on breastfeeding
and other maternal functions, is often a prerequisite within masculine discourse which
supports a Cartesian dualist framework. Siopis, in the above images of pregnancy,
affirms the invasiveness of patriarchal culture in the way maternal subjectivity is
constructed, but does not negate the affected body of the woman or show pregnancy
as something which must be overcome, as is the case in egalitarian feminism.
Western, middle-class society regards the choice whether or not to become a mother
as a personal one, but according to Meyers (in Sevon 2005:461), women’s choices
regarding motherhood and mothering are more often than not greatly influenced by
their partners, as well as societal or cultural expectations. Childlessness, according
to Sevon (2005:462), is often seen as a “lack of femininity”, while motherhood is
viewed as the fulfilment of a woman’s natural destiny. Bartlett (2002:374) is of the
opinion that a corporeal event such as childbirth can lead to “a profound shift in
subjectivity”, adding that masculine Western discourses on childrearing promote
a binary opposition between mind and body, which serves to negate women’s
corporeal, lived experiences. These lived experiences, according to Kurgan (1998:2),
often oscillate between ambivalent extremes, such as “joy and rage, desire and loss,
pleasure and frustration”, and are intensely embodied and complicated, and even vary
between individuals. Popular culture, according to Kurgan (1998:2), serves to further
relegate women’s experiences by portraying motherhood as “mutually fulfilling and
uncomplicated” as well as natural, showing romanticised, idealised versions thereof.
The difficulties, ambiguities and challenges that some women experience in their
roles as mothers are often ignored or relegated to the periphery.
Various works of Siopis, such as Flood (figure 52) and Spell (figure 53), feature
images of women caring for children. In Flood (figure 52), a woman holds a barely
distinguishable baby. She is crying, her tears spilling over the tiny body. The woman
herself seems to be melting, suggesting a dissolution of subjectivity, brought about
by her caring for a child who might be sick or premature. Douglas and Kristeva
(in Grosz 1994:195) refer to bodily fluids as leaking within borderline states – a
precarious, vulnerable place where the subject can no longer uphold the non-porous
body or the autonomous self. While bodily fluids normally fall within the realm of
the abject, as previously discussed, tears, according to Douglas (in Grosz 1994:196)
have cleansing and purifying properties, and could therefore denote social processes
and practices as well as relationships. Siopis’ image of the crying mother could thus
be an articulation of the mother relating to her child through her social, embedded
situation, but also through embodiment and affect. Her tears, as purifying agents,
highlight the ambiguity of her position as feminine subject, caught between the
alterity of social prescription and expectations, and her embodied, lived experience
of mothering.
ARH2601/1 77

FIGURE 53 FIGURE 54
Penny Siopis, Flood (2007). Oil and Penny Siopis, Spell (2007). Oil and glue
glue on paper, 14,7 x 21 cm. (Perryer on paper, 25 x 35 cm. (Perryer 2007).
2007).
Spell (figure 53) shows the mother, once again, caring for what appears to be a sick
child. The laying of hands and the red, burning skin of the girl point to an infection
which the mother is tending to. The child seems at peace, floating on a white
background. Her borders, though, are not stable. Just like the mother in figure 53,
this mother appears to be melting, as her experience of bodily sickness allows her
self to become enmeshed with her child.
The small scale of the works in the Lasso series requires the viewer to step closer
to view them, thus moving within proximity of the intensely personal narratives
pictured. Siopis shows how the personal, private domain becomes public and political
through the viewing of these small, highly subjective and personal portraits. A sense
of unease and intrusion into the lives of the mothers and children pictured also
ensues from the viewing of these images, leading the viewer to consider the effects
of culture and public scrutiny on the subjective experiences of women, even within
the private realm.
Siopis’ work aims to bring to the fore issues of feminine subjectivity as they relate
to a material, sexed body, but also societal and cultural expectations of female
bodies and performances. Like Mary Kelly, Siopis addresses the unrepresentability
of the maternal body in art and popular culture, and attempts to resist stereotypical
representations thereof.
•• Tracey Rose
Tracey Rose (1974– ) is a South African performance artist who uses her body to
challenge stereotypical perceptions of the black female body. Through her work,
she takes an activist stance regarding visual representation and politics. In Ms Cast,
Venus Baartman (figure 54), Rose confuses the roles of the hunter/hunted animal, as
it is unclear which position she assumes. Is she stalking a prey, or might she perhaps
be the prey that is being stalked or preyed upon by the male gaze? The title refers
78
to Saartjie Baartman,15 a Hottentot/Khoi-Khoi woman who was taken to Europe

by a Dutch farmer, Peter Cezar, and a British doctor, William Dunlop, with false
promises of riches and fame, only to die there very young as a result of an unknown
illness. Baartman left the Cape in 1810 and was subsequently exhibited in Europe as
an oddity (Du Preez 2003:58). This reference leads us to read the image of Rose as
a hunted or violated body, an animal in the grasslands, stereotypically on par with
untamed nature, although her body posture could also be read consistently with that
of a hunter, stalking a prey.
FIGURE 55
Tracey Rose, Ms Cast, Venus Baartman (2001). Lambda photograph, 120 x 120 cm.
(O’Toole 2002).
The title, Ms Cast, refers to a controversial 1996 exhibition at the South African
National Gallery entitled “Miscast: Negotiating Khoisan History and Material
Culture”. This exhibition, curated by the Michaelis Professor, Pippa Skotnes, had as
its main aim to challenge the historical misrepresentation of the San people. Khoisan
representatives who were invited to attend the exhibition and ensuing colloquium
were unhappy about the way in which they were represented, and the fact that they
were not consulted on some aspects of the exhibit (Tomaselli 1999:132). Several
notable academic commentators were also critical of aspects of the display of Khoisan
documentation, resin casts and other paraphernalia, which they believed showed
the Khoisan as being a singular, homogenous grouping of people with a common
history, and framed them within a static framework of victimhood. The implication
is that, through the specific representation of the Khoisan objects and stories, real
people were stripped of historical and contemporary agency. “Miscast”, according
to Douglas and Law (1997:90), failed to grant Bushmen “status as agents active in
the shaping of their own identity”.
15 Saartjie Baartman’s (ca 1789–1815) status as a peculiarity was mostly focused on her “strange”
anatomical features (genitalia and buttocks), which after her death were preserved for study,
together with her brain. Casts of her entire body were made for further study and display.
Baartman became a general symbol of the oppression of specifically the black female body, and
has been a pertinent theme of feminist art internationally. The return of Baartman’s remains
to South Africa in 2002 was initiated by the new democratic South African government as
a postapartheid project, symbolising freedom and the return home of many disenfranchised
individuals under apartheid (Moudileno 2009).
ARH2601/1 79

Ms Cast, Venus Baartman (figure 54) articulates themes such as agency, power and
identity, intertwined with the themes of race and gender. The collapsing of the hunter
into the hunted challenges the stereotypical notion of both the Khoisan and the
woman as binary opposites of the Westerner and the man. Furthermore, as Douglas
and Law (1997:93) note with regard to the “Miscast” exhibition, “in becoming witness
[we are] simultaneously initiated as both judge and accused”. The nudity of the image
causes unease in the viewer, as we are forced to enter a private realm, imbuing the
image with a certain amount of violence and encroachment. Such voyeurism, for
Douglas and Law (1997:93), produces a desire for “wholeness, recognition and [the]
reclamation of absence”. Rose’s depiction of herself as a nude could also be read
with regard to the different forms of the “gaze” which it suggests. The depiction of
a nude female figure against a landscape furthers the interpretation of a gaze that
is not only “male” but also “colonial”, and is thus irreverent from two perspectives.
By collapsing several binary oppositions, Rose searches here for a liminal space in
which agency is awarded to the black, female subject. She searches for a position in
which she can claim control over her own representation and over the violence (both
real and ideological) perpetrated by representations of her struggles and traumas as
a black female subject (Van der Merwe 2015:125).
Rose’s continued interest in female agency is brought to the fore in a work entitled
Span II (figure 55).
FIGURE 56
Tracey Rose, Span II (1997). Digital print in pigment inks on 100% cotton rag paper, 65
x 91 cm, edition of 6. (ArtThrob 2001).
This work, performed at the 2nd Johannesburg Biennale in 1997, shows Rose sitting
on a television set, knotting her own hair, which has been shaved off. The images
on the screen consist of various identifiable moments from Western art history,
featuring reclining nudes and landscapes. Kelly Jones (2004:27) notes that, in this
performance, Rose intends to show her revolt at being a passive object of desire. Her
80
labour, in this sense, becomes almost an atonement or a meditation – something

that could perhaps lead to a form of healing from trauma. The trauma referred to
here is historical, actual and discursive. Rose refers to the trauma of being racially
and sexually marked as “other”, as well as the trauma of being excluded from history
and its writing.
ACTIVITY 3.6 – SOUTH AFRICAN FEMALE ARTISTS AND

FEMINISM
There are many South African female artists who address feminist concerns in
their work, although some of them do not necessarily like their work to be labeled
as specifically “feminist”.
Such artists include
•• Sharlene Khan
•• Kathryn Smith
•• Frances Goodman
•• Zanele Muholi
•• Sethembile Msezane
•• Claudette Schreuders
•• Thania Petersen
•• Stephané E Conradie
Do independent research on these artists on the internet and choose one whose
work appeals to you. Also try to find journal articles on her work.
Now write a report of about two pages in length, in which you discuss the following:
•• What feminist concerns can you identify in the artist’s work? Use examples of
artworks to support your answer.
•• How do you think the artist’s race, class and gender influence her work?
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THE ARTS AND IDEOLOGY 1

ONLY STUDY GUIDE FORARH2601

L van der Merwe

DEPARTMENT OF ART AND MUSIC

All rights reserved

Printed and published by the

Learning unit 1: Ideology 1

1.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES

•• Give a working definition of the term ‘ideology’

1.2 WHAT IS IDEOLOGY AND WHY DO WE NEED TO STUDY IT?

ACTIVITY 1.1 – IDEOLOGY AND EVERYDAY LIFE

1.3 IDEOLOGY AND POWER

1.4 HOW DO IDEOLOGIES SPREAD?

Television is thus an apparatus or tool of capitalism and free-market neoliberalism.

ACTIVITY 1.2 – IDEOLOGY AND MASS MEDIA

•• Which ideology is being promoted by this image?

According to Eagleton’s (1991) view of ideology, education is also under scrutiny.

ACTIVITY 1.3 – IDEOLOGY AND MASS MEDIA

Consider the following illustration:

The term ‘Rainbow Nation’ was coined by Desmond Tutu as a representation of

Now write a paragraph in which you deliberate on the following:

1.5 A ŽIŽEKIAN MODEL OF IDEOLOGY

ACTIVITY 1.4 – IDEOLOGY IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Comment on the following example in a paragraph:

Hegemony is defined very eloquently by Eagleton (1991:115–116) as

a whole range of practical strategies by which a dominant power elicits consent

1.7 IDEOLOGY AND IMAGES

ACTIVITY 1.5 – I DEOLOGY AND THE SOCIAL WORLD OF

3 All images from Coetzee (1991).

Consider the following passage from Coetzee’s book on Pierneef’s work:

Besides having a merely technical artistic motivation, the clear compositional

Now read the following article:

Peffer, J. 2005. Censorship and iconoclasm: Unsettling monuments. RES: Anthro-

1.8 MARXISM, MODERNISM AND IDEOLOGY

an awareness of your place in society. Marxist art-historical enquiry is sometimes

1.9 THE END OF IDEOLOGY?

Foster et al (2011:29) believe Althusser’s view on ideology to be the most productive

that postcolonialism emerged as a method of art-historical enquiry and theory in

2.1 INTRODUCTION AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

After studying this unit, you should be able to:

•• Explain how classicism emerged

Humanism is a philosophical idea that is related to classicism in many ways, both

2.2 ANCIENT GREEK CULTURE

2.3 THE PLACE OF CLASSICISM IN ART HISTORY

as it is a repetition of a pattern involving development, high points and subsequent

2.4 CLASSICISM IN GREEK AND ROMAN ART AND

2.4.1 Winckelmann’s classification of Greek and Roman art

Winckelmann’s assessment of Greek culture has been criticised by many scholars

Even though the historical accuracy of Winckelmann’s classification of Greek art

Let us look at the periods which Winckelmann (Adams 2007:145) delineated.

•• Archaic style (600–480 BC)

• Classical style (450–400 BC)

•• Hellenistic style (323–32 BC)

2.4.2 The “universal” principles of classicism

“Good taste”, by contrast, is a more problematic term, which we should briefly

Europe (London, Paris and Rome), which necessitated the professionalisation of

2.4.3 Roman Imperial sculpture and architecture (27 BC – 476 AD)

ACTIVITY 2.1 – I DEOLOGY IN THE SCULPTURE OF THE

Example: The Prima Porta

Do independent research on the Roman emperor, Augustus. At this stage, a

Also comment on the following in your paragraph:

•• Why do you think Augustus is depicted in this manner?

Although the Greeks succeeded in establishing a unique and seemingly “pure”

ACTIVITY 1.5 – I DEOLOGY AND THE SOCIAL WORLD OF

ACTIVITY 2.1 – I DEOLOGY IN THE SCULPTURE OF THE

ACTIVITY 2.2– I DEOLOGY AND CONTEMPORARY

ACTIVITY 2.5 – I DEOLOGY AND THE VISUAL LANGUAGE OF