Female Portraits Research Articles

FEMALE PORTRAITS IN SOVIET AND CHINESE ART IN THE 1960-1980S: TRENDS, ARTISTIC IMAGES, VISUAL TECHNIQUES

From the end of the 1960s till the 1980s, Soviet and Chinese painters explored female portraiture, o ering visual conceptualisations in art history. This paper primarily discusses three central themes: overall trends in socio-cultural development, comparative analysis of female-themed portrait imagery, and research into the painting language of female portraiture itself. By examining the historical and cultural perspectives of Soviet and Chinese oil paintings, this study aims to reconstruct the development of female portrait themes during the aforementioned period. The indepth exploration helps the author not only understand the artistic styles and technical features behind the artists’ works but also glimpse the complex changes in gender consciousness and cultural identity against the backdrop of social and political contexts of that time.

TYPOLOGY OF FACES ON ETRUSCAN TERRACOTTA (TO THE PROBLEM OF THE EVOLUTION OF THE STYLE OF HEAD TYPES ACCORDING TO P.J. RIIS)

Introduction. Etruscan-Italian fine art experienced a noticeable artistic influence from Greece. Iconographic types of the head and face were transmitted both through the import of finished Greek products and through the circulation of matrices and the artists themselves, which complicates the chronology and typology of monuments. P.J. Riis proposes to systematize the "evolution" of Etruscan terracotta styles by constructing a chronological series from the early archaic to the late classic [Riis, 1981]. The purpose of the work was to study the concept of P.J. Riis about iconography in Etruscan coroplastics and the creation of generalized morphological characteristics of local types (regional styles). Materials and methods. Illustrated chronological tables from P.J. Riis and the method of composite portrait in digital version were used. Results and discussion. P.J. Riis examined 352 types of images, their archaeological context geographically confined to Northern Etruria (Clusium), Central (Vulci, Volsinia), Southern (Caere, Veii, Falerii, Latium) and Etruscan Campania (Capua). The earliest production of Etruscan terracotta was concentrated in Campania, Southern and Northern Etruria, the first hellenized style of terracotta spread from Etruscan Capania into Southern Etruria. The composite portraits based on the combined samples of archaic art indicate the absence of significant sex differences. In the composite female portrait for all samples of the archaic period, a contribution of morphological elements of the types of Southern and Central Etruria is visually noted. The greatest contribution to the morphology of the face in the composite female portrait for all samples of the classical period was made by Central Etruria and Capua. The resulting composite portraits by region indicate the heterogeneity of facial iconography in the archaic and classical art of Central Italy and visualize the conclusions of P.J. Riis on the development of several local traditions of fine art style. Conclusion. The classification of P.J. Riis is constructed in such a way that it assumes for its further completion with new archaeological data, so it can be considered as an attempt to create a “visual” history of the Etruscan portrait, at least part of it.

The Celebrity Monarch: Empress Elisabeth and the Modern Female Portrait by Olivia Gruber Florek (review)

The Celebrity Monarch: Empress Elisabeth and the Modern Female Portrait by Olivia Gruber Florek (review)

The Awakening of Feminist Artistic Expression: A Comparative Study of the Self-Portrait of Frida Kahlo and the Self-Portrait of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun

The topic of feminism was not discussed by scholars until the 20th century, but it has become a highly debated issue in today's society. Female portrait artists have been historically marginalized due to the origins of portraiture being intended to please male viewers. In the past, women were predominantly viewed as mothers and housewives within the social context. However, the research has revealed that numerous female artists defied the societal norms of the time and made unique efforts to achieve independence as professional women. In the long history of painting, there have been many female painters who have expressed feminist ideas through their art. This article compares the self-portraits of two portrait painters, Frida Kahlo and Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, in terms of painting themes, methods, and the representation of women. This study explores how female artists' paintings were influenced by the rise of female consciousness in different periods. The final result concludes that feminist awakening is depicted in female-themed paintings across different social periods by female artists.

Female Portrait Statuary in Roman-period Athens: the epigraphic and sculptural evidence

Female portrait statuary forms a large and important category of evidence for understanding the historical phenomenon of the visual representation and commemoration of women in the public spaces of the Greek city. With its rich body of both epigraphical and sculptural remains, the city of Athens is a particularly fruitful site to undertake such a study. While portraits of women begin to be set up in Athens in the early fourth century B.C., the chronological focus here is the Roman Imperial period, when inscribed bases for statues of women and marble sculpture representing female portrait subjects are the most abundant. I consider epigraphical evidence in the form of inscribed statue bases. The main sculptural evidence comes from the American excavations in the Athenian Agora. While a great deal of important research has focused on the epigraphic evidence, particularly from the Acropolis, this article analyzes and puts into conversation both strands of this extensive corpus of material.

Traces across Time: Investigating an Unfinished Female Portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds

A portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds of an unidentified female sitter depicts only a face and a diamond breast jewel. Once owned by John Ruskin and then by Kenneth Clark, the portrait offers an opportunity to examine assumptions we make when discussing historic portraiture. What may we infer from the collectors who were drawn to this enigmatic object? How do judgements about sitters’ identities change? What is meant by finish? How might traces of ownership of a particular work - what we call ‘provenance’ - contribute to our understanding of the work itself? What can we tell from the material of a painting, that is, from its pigments and support, about how an artist ran his studio? How might accessories determine meaning? I disentangle and identify some of the assumptions taken for granted when discussing portraiture while at the same time re-evaluating a disputed and neglected work.

Масаи опознают мужчин-альтруистов по внешнему облику

<p>In this experimental study, we continue investigating an association between facial morphology and individual psychological characteristics. The study was conducted in the population of Maasai (Ngorongoro, Tanzania) in two stages during field trips in 2016 and 2021. At the first stage, we collected anthropological photo portraits from 305 individuals (123 women and 182 men) and interviewed them to identify the propensity to help others. Six generalized morphed portraits of Maasai (men and women) were created based on individual propensity to help. At the second stage of the study, portraits were presented to 200 Maasai, men and women from the same population. The portraits were evaluated according to the degree of expression of four qualities: physical strength, proneness to help others, a "good friend", and self-confidence. The results of the study revealed that representatives of the same population are able to distinguish altruistic men by their facial shape. Men who were prone to provide assistance to others were perceived as physically stronger. No such association was found for female portraits. The results are interpreted from the standpoint of evolutionary psychology.</p>

Gender semiology in folklore traditions: Russia, China and Adygea

The article presents an analytical analysis of the linguosemiotic features of the female portrait in the folklore fund of the linguocultures of Russia, the North Caucasus and China in the aspect of the intergender dichotomy "male-female" as the implementation of the policy of "soft power" of the ethnos to preserve its vitality. Hypothesis: The dichotomy of masculinity and femininity in traditional culture is presented as the result of the interaction of ethno-cultural strategies of the ancestral cult, in which the role of a woman is defined as the keeper of the knowledge of the people with the competencies of a housewife who needs help and care from a man. The relevance of the study is due to the growing research interest in the vitality of traditional cultures, which continue to influence the lives of modern women. Chinese, Adyghe and Russian folklore for the first time becomes the object of comparative analysis of the linguosemiotic characteristics of the image of femininity in the form of "feminine" folkloratives identified for the first time. The methodology uses a linguosemiotic approach and the theory of complex metagraphs in modeling the speech-behavioral gender matrix of women through the prism of folklore. The results show that folklore is a reproducible mechanism of "soft power" of gender regulation in the ethno-cultural practice of folk art.

Unveiling the Secrets of an Artwork through Non-Invasive Investigations—Case Study of a 19th-Century Female Portrait

This article aims to present the results of the investigations performed on a 19th-century oil painting on canvas belonging to the Conservation and Restoration Department of the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The artwork depicting the portrait of a lady originating from an important Irish noble family (Judith Bunbury, 1785–1861) has been investigated using only non-invasive methods. The investigation protocol included digital photography in different light sources at different wavelengths, which was used to document the current condition of the painting, UV fluorescence, which highlighted the previous improper retouches and the presence of a varnish coat, Infrared reflectography, which brought to light the underdrawing made by the artist and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, an elemental analysis technique which indicated the chemical composition of the pigments, suggesting the use of lead white, a barium white pigment, yellow and red ochre, vermilion, cobalt blue, and a manganese-based brown pigment. The results of this entirely non-invasive investigation approach helped in choosing the most appropriate conservation and restoration methodology for the artwork.

Re-carving is easy - when you are not detected

It has long been recognised that the majority of the portraits made in Rome and the western part of the Empire during the fourth through sixth centuries AD are recarved from older portraits. This conclusion derives primarily from studies of male portraits, whose facial features have been altered to a greater or lesser degree by the late-antique sculptors. In contrast, recarved female portraits have so far often gone undetected, because their faces have been altered in a more subtle manner or sometimes not at all. Instead, the sculptors focused their efforts on recarving coiffures, which served as individual markers. For the study of female recarved portraits, therefore, the back and profiles are more important than their faces. This observation makes it imperative to photograph female late-antique portraits (and preferably the male ones as well) from all four sides in order to enable scholars and students to see alterations made to their hair. This will allow for a fuller picture of recarving practices to be established. On cover:Late Roman wall, the portion immediately south of the West Gate (Porta Oea) with re-used blocks from first-century mausolea (Drawing by Francesca Bigi) and Tombstone of Regina from South Shields (Arbeia) (Tyne and WearArchives and Museums/ Bridgeman Images). E-ISSN (online version) 2611-3686 ISSN (print version) 0065-0900

A Re-carved Female Portrait from Buto in Kafr El-Sheikh Museum

This paper analyses a head of a female statue (Inv. no.19891) that was kept in the Marea storeroom and is now in the Kafr Al-Sheikh Museum. Unfortunately, there is no information about its archaeological context, except that it was found near the main temple at Buto, which makes it difficult to identify the function of the head, its owner or its date, and who the head represents. The head is made of marble, its height is 22.2 cm, with a partly broken nose, and the back of the head seems to be made of gypsum with decoration. The head is shown wearing a diadem.The characteristics of the head can be compared to other examples, namely the facial features, the hairstyle and the diadem. The analysis suggests that this head was made for the Ptolemaic queen Bernice II and was sculpted from a reused block from an architectural cornice or frieze of a previous building.

How to Be a Perfect Woman: The Evolution of Italian Renaissance Female Portraiture and Decorum

Renaissance portraiture represents more than the sitters. These images portray complex conceptualizations of identities, layered amalgams of the personal and political; dynastic and economic; amorous and pious; and present, future, and eternal. In the late fifteenth century, side profile portraits were the norm, characterized by the superiority of aloofness and nonchalance. Typically commissioned by husbands to celebrate marriages, these portraits memorialize the brides’ domesticity, piety, and above all, chastity. With Leonardo da Vinci’s groundbreaking Mona Lisa of ca. 1503 came the revolutionary change in female portrait composition, widely imitated by masters of the time. Females portrayed after this transition engaged the viewers directly, deviating from the previous detachment. These portraits are focused on harmony, with the prevalence of triangular formations along with scenic backdrops. The early sixteenth century saw another shift in female portrait ideals: artists were no longer constrained by traditional female decorum, but rather focused on exploring feminine sexuality. Belle Donne paintings and various counterparts grant viewers intimate insights into the lives of Renaissance women, whose sexuality was celebrated in the private sphere but remained taboo in public. Eventually, as more female art patrons rose to power in the mid-sixteenth century, the practice of female portraiture ceased to be dominated by male patriarchy, becoming rather a part of the female sphere. In this paper, I explored the evolution of female portraiture in chronological order, tracing the shift in feminine decorum along the way, ending with a survey of the connection between the art world and the literary realm.

The Analysis of Female Characters in the Golden Age of Hollywood

The United States experienced a 25% unemployment rate in 1929 as a result of the Great Depression. More than 5,000 banks in the United States announced closure, and more than 80,000 businesses filed for bankruptcy as a direct result of the Great Depression. Everyone was drowning in the woes of being unemployed. However, Hollywood movies provided a pastime for people who were suffering every day during the Great Depression. Although the 1930s was the worst time for the U.S. economy, it was the golden age of Hollywood. The 1930s to the late 1940s are referred to as the Golden Age of Hollywood, in which Hollywood dominated the film industry. Women on screen have many images, but all these female portraits cannot be separated from men. Women's life at that time was inextricably linked with men's. This paper analyzes women's images from the Golden Age of Hollywood movies. The purpose is to explain how the portrayal of women on screen reflects the status of women in society at the time and what factors led to such a portrayal of women on screen. The paper found that the most impactful factors are women's jobs taken by men during the Great Depression, the dominant social consciousness of masculinity, and the desire for male voyeurism.

КОГНІТИВНІ ПОТЕНЦІАЛИ ГОЛОВНОГО МОЗКУ ЧОЛОВІКІВ, ВИКЛИКАНІ СПРИЙНЯТТЯМ ОБЛИЧ ОСІБ РІЗНОЇ СТАТІ З РІЗНОЮ ЕМОЦІЙНОЮ МОДАЛЬНІСТЮ

The calculation of the difference in peaks of the event-related potential in men during exposure to different-sex faces with differential emotional modality using the MATLAB and EEGLAB software packages. The electrical activity of the brain of 20 male students of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University was recorded to identify the difference in the activation of brain structures during the demonstration of portraits of different sexes with positive and negative emotional modalities. Statistically significant differences in peak amplitude were recorded for components N250, N400, and P300 when subjects were presented with male and female portraits with a positive emotional modality, while when exposed to a series of images with a negative emotional modality, no statistical differences were registered in any of the componenStatistically significant differences in the peak amplitude were recorded for the N250, N400, and P300 components when subjects were presented with male and female portraits with a positive emotional modality, while when exposed to a series of images with a negative emotional modality, no statistical differences were registered in any of the components.

Soueif’s Aisha: A Portrait of Memory, Time, and Liberation

This paper explores The Returning, which is a short story written by Ahdaf Soueif. The Returning is selected from the author’s first collection of short stories entitled Aisha which was written in 1983. It is Soueif’s first fictional work. This paper focuses on the way the author depicts her female protagonist named, Aisha, as a nostalgic character. Aisha revisits her past and bumps into lost memories with her husband. Soueif also portrays Aisha’s transformation into a liberated and liberating female character. Aisha transcends time and the clutches of her past to claim a fresh start. This paper attempts to reveal how the author focuses on her protagonist’s memory and journey throughout her past, returning to the present. It also focuses on the author’s utilization of time-shift technique to depict her protagonist’s set-forth liberation and that of her story from oblivion and the chains of a lost past. This paper reveals an alternative vision of female characters detached from clichéd female portraits. It also unwinds creative images of time as flexible and co-existing entities; past, present, and future.

The artistic image of the ukrainian folk costume in the genre portrait of ukrainian artists (Russian-ukrainian war of 2022)

Purpose of Research. The purpose of the research is to determine the reasons and nature of the evolution of the female portrait in Ukrainian painting during the period of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. Methodology. The work is based on a general scientific complex approach, which combined the methods of art history, cultural, philosophical and aesthetical. The methods of pictorial-stylistic, comparative and compositional-artistic analysis of the works were used. Scientific Novelty. The scientific novelty of the work is the first attempt to analyse the artistic image of the Ukrainian folk costume as a fundamental component of the image of a «beregyna» woman in Ukrainian painting during the war of 2022. It is proven that female images in Ukrainian folk dress has become the leading motif of patriotic painting. Conclusions. The research examines the characteristic features of the use of the artistic image of the Ukrainian national costume in female portrait painting during the period of military operations of Russia against Ukraine in 2022. It is highlighted that the complex of Ukrainian traditional clothing and its elements in artistic works is a symbol of the indomitability of the Ukrainian nation, its connection with the past and respect for folk culture. The works contain the «breathing» of the real world with its tragic events, the reflection of the psycho-emotional state of the society through female images, the combination of ancient and modern folklore, and an emphasis on national identity. A modern Ukrainian woman, dealt with the emotional direction of the work and the use of one or another element of the constume, appears as a Young Girl, Beregynya, Madonna, Warrior. So, we can state that the artistic image of the Ukrainian national costume in genre female portrait painting occupies a special place in the period of the psychological cataclysms in the Ukrainian society in 2022 and it is an effective tool to unite the Ukrainian nation and encourage the preservation of the territorial, spiritual, historical and cultural integrity of Ukraine . Keywords: female symbol, art of war, female portrait.

VINCENT VAN GOGH’UN KADIN PORTRELERİ

Vincent van Gogh on yıllık kısa bir zaman diliminde ürettiği eserler ile sanat tarihine adı yazdırmış önemli ressamların başında gelmektedir. Sanat yaşamı boyunca pek çok manzara, natürmort, portre ve otoportre çalışmaları ile ün kazanan Van Gogh’un resim ve çizim çalışmalarının arasında portreleri dikkat çekmektedir: Sanatçının, köy veya şehirde yaşayan insanların portreleri ve kendini etüt ettiği otoportrelerinde plastik süreci başarılı yönetmesi ve duygu aktarımının etkili olması özellikle dikkati çeken unsurların başında gelmektedir. Van Gogh ilk yaptığı portreleri plastik sürecini geliştirmek amacıyla etüt etse de daha sonraları portre resmi onun için anlamsal bağlamda önem arz etmiştir.
 Bu çalışmada, Vincent van Gogh’un kadın portrelerindeki biçimsel alt yapıyı çözümlemek probleminden yola çıkışla portrelerin plastik bağlamdaki zamana ve mekâna bağlı değişim sürecinin varlığını sorgulamak amaçlanmıştır. Sorgulama sürecinde nitel bir yaklaşımla plastik analiz yöntemi kullanılarak sanatçının formu yorumlama biçimi, renk ve ışık kullanımına odaklanılmıştır. Çalışmanın ilk aşamasında kadın portreleri yıllara göre daha sonra Van Gogh’un yaşadığı mekânlara göre ayrılarak altı bölümde incelenmiştir.
 Araştırmada sanatçının plastik süreçteki değişimlerinin en belirgin kırılma noktalarının zamansal ayrımdan daha çok bulunduğu mekâna göre oluştuğu gözlemlenmiştir. Ayrıca Van Gogh önceleri kısıtlı renk paleti ile figürün yüzündeki ışığı irdelemeye odaklanırken sonraları daha fazla renk kullanımına gittiği ve biçimsel yorumlamandan daha çok modelin ifadesini yakalamaya odaklandığı belirlenmiştir.

Evaluation of animal model congruence to human depression based on large-scale gene expression patterns of the CNS

Depression is a complex mental health disorder that is difficult to study. A wide range of animal models exist and for many of these data on large-scale gene expression patterns in the CNS are available. The goal of this study was to evaluate how well animal models match human depression by evaluating congruence and discordance of large-scale gene expression patterns in the CNS between almost 300 animal models and a portrait of human depression created from male and female datasets. Multiple approaches were used, including a hypergeometric based scoring system that rewards common gene expression patterns (e.g., up-up or down-down in both model and human depression), but penalizes opposing gene expression patterns. RRHO heat maps, Uniform Manifold Approximation Plot (UMAP), and machine learning were used to evaluate matching of models to depression. The top ranked model was a histone deacetylase (HDAC2) conditional knockout in forebrain neurons. Also highly ranked were various models for Alzheimer’s, including APPsa knock-in (2nd overall), APP knockout, and an APP/PS1 humanized double mutant. Other top models were the mitochondrial gene HTRA2 knockout (that is lethal in adulthood), a modified acetylcholinesterase, a Huntington’s disease model, and the CRTC1 knockout. Over 30 stress related models were evaluated and while some matched highly with depression, others did not. In most of the top models, a consistent dysregulation of MAP kinase pathway was identified and the genes NR4A1, BDNF, ARC, EGR2, and PDE7B were consistently downregulated as in humans with depression. Separate male and female portraits of depression were also evaluated to identify potential sex specific depression matches with models. Individual human depression datasets were also evaluated to allow for comparisons across the same brain regions. Heatmap, UMAP, and machine learning results supported the hypergeometric ranking findings. Together, this study provides new insights into how large-scale gene expression patterns may be similarly dysregulated in some animals models and humans with depression that may provide new avenues for understanding and treating depression.

Female Portraits from Long Ago. Graphic Artworks in the Collection of the National Museum

Among the multitude of (prevalently male) portraits from the graphic art collections housed by the National Museum of Transylvanian History, there is a small number of nineteenth‑century female portraits, most of which belong to the artistic world of those times. These creations often depict figures from social and aristocratic circles or heroines brought to the public’s attention by special events. The precise artistic investigation of the portraits accomplished in romantic or Biedermeier style is completed by the presence of some compositional portraits in the collections, which bring a note of delicacy and romanticism in an austere environment.

Five essays on women's art and perception in interwar Austria

The essays translated in this collection are representative of debates and views about women in art in Austria in the 1920s and 1930s. The texts are reviews of exhibitions of work by women artists, as well as discussions of ideas of design and gender by women critics. They also include contemporary reviews of the so-called Elida Prize of 1928, for the 'Most Beautiful Female Portrait.' The texts are accompanied with an Introduction that puts them into context, considering evolving ideas of women as designers and as artists. The Introduction demonstrates that while the focus of most research on gender and culture in the interwar period has been on the rise of the idea of the 'New Woman,' there were other, more conservative ideas of female identity.