Basking in Refracted Glory

Think that the history of science is a wholly male affair?

A new project I've just launched on Kickstarter aims to highlight women scientists and change perceptions of women's historical role in the sciences.

From Socrates, who thoughts that women's character possessed "a sort of natural deficiency", through to the doctors who thought women's access to higher education would lead to ‘anorexia scolastica’  a debilitating thinness and weakness resulting from too much mental stimulus, there have been many barriers preventing participation in the sciences.

Despite this, these women rose to prominence in their field and I think they ought to be better known. Hence this project 'Basking in Refracted Glory', celebrating their achievements, researching their lives and sharing this with the world.

More info here - http://kck.st/1OCwfyU

Caught in the act

I mentioned in my last post that women artists of the past were keen to picture themselves at work at their easels or drawing boards.  Not one to trust unsubstantiated statements myself, I thought I would provide a picture based post to show some of these images (There is a much larger selection to see on my Pinterest page https://www.pinterest.com/thevictoriastor/self-portraits-female-artists/).  Palette in hand, they are actively engaged in their subject.  They (nearly) all stare straight at you, not glancing coyly to the side, or gazing coquettishlly at the viewer.  They're just looking, getting on with it, active.

To see women as active doers in an historical painting is refreshing. So often, the female figure is sprawled naked, standing naked, posing stiffly in expensive fabrics or holding The Baby. Here, they have their hands on the tools of their industry, their gaze fixed ahead in concentration, looking at you, the mirror. 

Rolinda Sharples and her Mother, probably telling her off for not keeping her back straight. 

Judith Leyster. "Hey, come on in but don't disturb my painting"

Sofonisba Anguissola, keeping a straight face

Anna Marie Ellenrieder, looking intently stage left

Rosalba Carriera, showing off the goods

Adelaide Labille-Guiard, passin' on the knowledge to the sisterhood

Henriette Lorimier, sketching in her negligee

Giovanni Fratellini, throwing a casual glance

Thoughts on a Portrait

'Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting' Artemisia Gentileschi


It's such an arresting image - the artist lost in her work, staring intently at her painting, probably scrutinising an eye that doesn't look quite in the right direction, or a curl of the lip not adequately expressed.

Artists like to picture themselves at work, but particularly the female ones it seems. It's as if to say 'yep, it's really me doing the painting - I'm not the muse here, or some prostitute dragged in to model, or the wife of someone important. I am the doer.' But in no portrait, male or female is this spirit of 'doing' more self-evident than in the ' Self-Portrait as Allegory of Painting', by Artemisia Gentileschi. Most at least interrupt their studies at the canvas to gaze at the viewer, which, let us be honest here, is really a mirror. But admire the set-up that allowed the artist to portray herself at that angle, on her side, half from above. Even setting up a camera to capture that angle proved a challenge and one that I still failed to quite get right when trying to recreate the image. Doing that from mirrors must have presented myraid challenges.

Perhaps the intensity of concentration is intended to convey her seriousness. No cosseted daughter of the aristocracy lies before you, painting just to show off her accomplishment. This is a woman serious about her painting and intent on letting you know that too. You are not meant to admire her skill in dressing, or her fine headgear or elegant jewellery. Her hair is messy, unstyled and falling loose around her face; there's the hint of a sheen of sweat on her face. She's too involved to look up, or acknowledge the viewer.

It stands out when seen in the context of an art gallery - in this case, the Cumberland Art Gallery at Hampton Court Palace, surrounded by other figures and portraits. It strives to be different, to prove something. It doesn't sit back on its laurels, knowing that it's good enough. It grabs your attention by being different to the rest, like the lone female in a room full of chaps.




'Self Portrait as an Allegory of Artemisia' Vicki Cooke 2015
Currently on display at Hogarth House, Chiswick, til March '15