In feminist ideologies, the male gaze is the act of presenting women as objects of pleasure, from the perspective of heterosexual males. The male gaze is internationally prevalent throughout the history of art and film. The gender power asymmetry that dominated the nineteenth-century was a commanding force in how artists catered to the male viewer. This only further encouraged the pre-existing patriarchal ideologies and discourses. A Roman Slave Market by Jean-Leon Gerome will be formally analyzed in order to expound upon the presence of male dominated perspectives of women in art. Jean-Leon Gerome was a nineteenth-century French painter and sculptor who took to academicism. Academicism; can be classified as an art style that focuses on
…show more content…
Gerome had drawn out many studies prior to putting paint on paper. This contributed to the strong sense of realism that is present in the painting. Gerome painted a series of six slave market scenes that appear to take place in either ancient Rome or nineteenth-century Istanbul. During slave market events, men would advertise female slaves and auction them off to the highest bidding male. A Roman Slave Market literally depicts the buying and selling of a woman’s naked body, reinforcing the notion that women are objects created for a man’s pleasure. Still, it comes as no surprise that these slave market scenes were some of Gerome’s most talked about works. The subject matter was rather common but the element that intrigued viewers the most was the distinct point of view that the painting …show more content…
Andrew Graham-Dixon suggests that we are looking at the whole scene through “the eyes of the next slave to be sold.” With the exception of the auctioneer and two men that are looking at each other as if discussing the female, all the other male spectators are looking up admiring the slave’s nude body. Some have their hands up in the air placing a bid, while others are just staring open-mouthed in awe. The arched back, voluptuous hour glass shape, and pale skin are all idealized features that were romanticized by men during that time period. What
Gerome had drawn out many studies prior to putting paint on paper. This contributed to the strong sense of realism that is present in the painting. Gerome painted a series of six slave market scenes that appear to take place in either ancient Rome or nineteenth-century Istanbul. During slave market events, men would advertise female slaves and auction them off to the highest bidding male. A Roman Slave Market literally depicts the buying and selling of a woman’s naked body, reinforcing the notion that women are objects created for a man’s pleasure. Still, it comes as no surprise that these slave market scenes were some of Gerome’s most talked about works. The subject matter was rather common but the element that intrigued viewers the most was the distinct point of view that the painting …show more content…
Andrew Graham-Dixon suggests that we are looking at the whole scene through “the eyes of the next slave to be sold.” With the exception of the auctioneer and two men that are looking at each other as if discussing the female, all the other male spectators are looking up admiring the slave’s nude body. Some have their hands up in the air placing a bid, while others are just staring open-mouthed in awe. The arched back, voluptuous hour glass shape, and pale skin are all idealized features that were romanticized by men during that time period. What