From Venus to the Pin-Up: A History of "Boudoir" Paintings

Warning: this post has pictures of bare-naked ladies.

My newest piece, Boudoir II, may be called something of a "boudoir painting"- a bit of campy fun for me. I find myself drawn to appropriating and playing with traditional forms of displaying the female form. ⁠

©lesliepetersonsapp Boudoir II 40x48 Acrylic, charcoal, and collage on panel

---

What is a boudoir painting?⁠

It is a painting of an object of desire, for the purposes of private viewing, rather that public display. In other words, for the bedroom, not the drawing room.

However prurient the motivations creating and owning such art may have been, boudoir painting has an august history, and are often considered to be some of the worlds greatest works of art.

The examples of boudoir paintings shown below differ from Boudoir II in one important way: my lady has got clothes on. But what it does have in common with them are: a prominent female figure, who usually addresses the viewer directly, in an intimate setting, that includes props that infer meaning. ⁠The trappings and props create a narrative, and often, the artworks raison d'etre.

Titian, "Danae" 1554

In this example, Titian depicts a reclining nude woman. Very erotic, but you may notice the odd "golden shower" descending upon her from above. It depicts the Greek myth of Danae, who is visited by Zeus in the form of a golden rain. Accoutrements such as these legitimized the painting of erotic subjects.

In this Titian, there is a similar pose, but this time he ditches the mythology. Yet, there is still some allegory- or is there? Debates are ongoing. Why are her servants looking in a clothes chest in the background? Does the little dog signify fidelity?

Titian "Venus Of Urbino" (1538)⁠

At any rate, the inclusion of "Venus" in the title provides the necessary bona fides that made this an acceptable work to own. 

---

"Orientalism" is another way that western painters could legitimize depicting the female nude. Imperialism and colonialism created a blank canvas upon which a European artist could depict sensuality not permitted by polite society in Europe.

Grand Odalisque by Ingres ⁠is one of the most famous examples of this.

Ingres "Grand Odalisque" (1814)⁠

Interesting fact: the word "Odalisque" means an enslaved woman, or a concubine in a harem. It's French, derived from the Turkish word, odalık, which derived from the word oda, meaning "room". As in, you can't leave your room.

---

Then things started to get really interesting.

In 1865, Edward Manet painted "Olympia". It was transparently referring to The Venus of Urbino, shown above, but with oppositional elements. It was shocking to society at the time, not because she was naked, but because of her frank, direct gaze, and accoutrements that indicated she was a prostitute, not a goddess or an exotic "other". She is depicted as a woman in charge of her sexuality, not a receptive, docile plaything. (An interesting and related subject is the difference between "nude" and "naked" in traditional art- but that is for another blog post!)

Manet "Olympia" 1865

Though the veil may have been ripped off the pretense of female nudity, the racist depiction of her black maid, who literally disappears into the background, was entirely conventional.

For some interesting background about both of the models in this painting, go to these articles: Victorine Meurent and Laure.

Just to give you an idea of what was "acceptable" female nudity during that time, check out this painting by Alexandre Cabanel in 1863. Venus is born, complete with tiny cherubs! (A far cry from the original, formidable Eros!)

Alexandre Cabanel, "Birth of Venus" 1863

---

As time went on, the ability to mass produce imagery developed, so the  boudoir picture moved from the salons of the privileged few to the Everyman. Depictions of nudity, and specifically female nudity, became more and more acceptable in fine art and in popular culture.

Most everyone is familiar with the pin-up girl. This is a classic example done by the quintessential pin-up artist Alberto Vargas in 1945.

The pin-up had a particular combination of innocence and sexual knowingness that makes this genre particularly unique, and makes it popular even to this day. The aesthetic of the pin-up girl has been co-opted by women as a form of creative self expression and, ironically, healthy body image. The stagey pretense and the playfulness makes it a popular medium for female expression.

For a great example of this, check out Vixen Pin Up Photography, whose tag-line is "Be the Girl of Your Dreams"

---

In 1975, Laura Mulvey, feminist film and culture critic coined the phrase "The Male Gaze" to unpack the phenomena of the preponderance of female nudes in visual culture.

In the 1970's, Sylvia Sleigh turned it all on its head by painting men, nude, in vaguely "orientialist" settings, to evoke traditional odalisque paintings. ⁠

Sylvia Sleigh "Phillip Golub Reclining" (1971)⁠

In 1985, an anonymous group of female artists called The Guerrilla Girls formed to fight sexism and racism within the art world.

I remember seeing their posters around Manhattan when I was in college, of course, not understanding or appreciating what it really meant, or how it applied to me.

I did a bit of appropriating myself in 2017, using the  Grand Odalisque to depict the goddess Circe in my Man of Many Wiles show at Gallery 114. Back to the good old goddess days, only this time, she uses her powers to turn men into pigs.

©lesliepetersonsapp Circe of the Lovely Braids 10x18

---

So, what does this all mean? I don't pretend to be particularly enlightened when it comes to feminism and art. I am still very beholden to The Male Gaze myself. But part of being an artist is following where our inspiration leads us. My relationship to sexualized images of women is an inexorable part of who I am. The question is, what do I do with it? How does it reflect my individuality? Does it resonate with others, and if so, how?

In light of this, I recently purchased Pin-Up Grrrls: Feminism, Sexuality, Popular Culture by Maria Elena Buszek.


Stay Tuned.