Sexuality Presented in Different Perspective of Authors

Reading Response on Art AnalysisNameCourseTutorDate
Pieces of art are often used to illustrate different aspects of life. In the late 18th and 19th century, there were a number of pieces of art that were drawn by the different artists. Most of these pieces were poplar and there are different reasons that made then to be popular. One of the main reasons was the ability of the artist to come up with vivid images that captured the attention of the viewers. Even though the artists presented issues that were somehow controversial and unacceptable in the society, their pieces of work would be popular since they aroused the feelings of the viewers. There are also different historians who have tried to interpret the work of these artists in different ways. Most of the interpretations are based on the life that the artists actually led and the relationship between their lives and what they expressed in artwork. In this paper, we will examine the different ways that artwork was used to express gender and sexuality by presenting the views of different authors on the topic.
In the article, Gustave Courbet's "The Sleepers." The Lesbian Image in Nineteenth-Century French Art and Literature, Konski (1988), takes a look at the different ways in which the art was used to express sexuality in the society. The author primarily examines the work of Gustave Courbet who was a popular artist in the 19th century. Most of the artists during this time relied on art as a means of expressing their views about sexuality and morality. According to Konski (1988), the best approach that was used in the art of Courbet can be described as naturalism or realism. This is where the artists provided a vivid image of whatever that they want the audience to know about the earth. Most of the pieces of art drawn by Courbet emphasized on this technique and through the technique, one would easily get the intended message of the artist. Perhaps one of the pieces of art that can be used to illustrate this is Courbet’s popular lesbian painting The Sleepers painted in 1866. Through the art, the artist explored the detailed anatomy of the female body making sure that he portrays the different body parts in a sensual manner. The author also argues that most of the images that were drawn by the artist did not contain any ambiguity. He would draw the subjects in a way to illustrate that these subjects had gone through an ‘intense romantic struggle’. From the perspective of the author, Courbet has also transformed some of the aspects in the traditional especially the art of the 18th century. One of the common pieces of art that can be used to illustrate this point is the Courbet’s Sleeping Nude that has a clear resemblance to Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres Odalisque With a Slave. Throughout the entire article, the author also presents the artworks of the other artists in the 18th century. All the artworks presented in the article are about lesbian love that was dominant in the 18th century. Most of the artists even chose to express what was taking place during the time using graphic images with some of them portraying the women in the act of sex. These lesbian images were later used by different authors in the 18th century who wrote about lesbianism.[Kosinski, Dor...