Renoir, the Objectifier of Women

Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a talented impressionist of the late 19th century. He loved the world in which he lived and enjoyed painting the people around him. To Renoir, women were beautiful. He could bring a woman to canvas and make her appear very sensuous and lovely. His painting La Loge circa 1874, seen above, is an example of his representation of a beautiful 19th century lady. Perfectly coifed and dressed to the nines, her visible cleavage suggests a sexiness about her. In this scene, the woman is front and center and is the main subject. She is brightly illuminated and seems to peer directly at the viewer, although she is actually watching the opera from her balcony seat. The woman's date, on the other hand, is looking through his opera glasses in another direction. If the woman is watching the opera, then what could he possibly be looking at? The answer, OTHER WOMEN! How rude...

Renoir has depicted this woman as an object, there only to be visually pleasing to those men around her. Unfortunately, for all of her efforts to look stunning, she has failed to capture the attention of the one she is with. Can one blame Renoir for his objectification of women in this manner? He is, after all, only following the belief system that Haussmanization instilled in the 19th century male.

Happily, we have begun to emerge from the point of view that women are objects meant for men's gratification. As a society we have embraced women as leaders of business, government and families. However, there are still some individuals who persist in objectifying women. I believe that this year's republican presidential hopeful, John McCain, is the ultimate offender. While I think its great that a woman was considered for his vice president, I don't think Sarah Palin was chosen for her political skills. I truly believe she was picked to win over the "Hillary supporters." She was an object on the campaign there to please others, not to contribute political know how. The McCain camp actually thought that we (women) would vote with our hearts and not with our heads? Well, obviously that plan backfired. 

I am proud to be an American and so grateful to the early feminists who paved the way for women to have all of the rights that we enjoy today. Mary Cassatt, the first American impressionist artist, was one of those women. We got a sneak peak at her work this week and I think I really like it. I am looking forward to learning more about Ms. Cassatt in Monday's lecture.