The Woman Looked Out: Artist Eva Gonzalès
Her Women Evade the Male Gaze, Find Their Own Viewpoints
French painter Eva Gonzalès (1849–1883) spent her artistic career shrugging off the male gaze. In her work, she expressed her own outlook.
Early on, exposure to a certain manly stare nearly derailed her career. Édouard Manet, perhaps to please her literary father, painted the young artist’s portrait.
Awkwardly posed at an easel in impractical formal dress, she dabs at a bland composition. The popular painting kept contemporaries from taking her as the serious artist she was—most mistook her for a charmingly inept artists’ model.
The Slant of a Woman’s Gaze
Acclaimed during her short lifetime, Gonzalès used Manet’s realist focus on everyday life as a springboard. Yet her point of view is her own.
Gonzalès focused on personal perspective—a woman’s gaze, as opposed to a man’s. For Gonzalès, the slant of a woman’s gaze shows her intention—what she looks for, what she rejects.
Faces Turned Away
In two works, women’s faces are almost completely turned away from the viewer. Are they thinking of venturing somewhere new?
