Painted by a woman.... does it show?

[Allan Rahbek]

I am only a man so I wouldn't know,....... but I would certainly want to know,.... if there is a difference in the way female artists chose to portray men and women.

Do they emphasize other aspects of the persons character than men does ? Which painterly means would express male / female ?

Responses to this question would be very interesting if they were illustrated with both pictures and your personal view and arguments.

[Linda Brandon]

Okay, Alan, I am going to post these two that you posted in the Colorist thread...
and your question was, which one was painted by a woman?
To tell you the truth, I am less interested in the answer than in the reasons why everyone votes the way they do. (I am voting for #2, by the way.)

[Patricia Joyce]

for number one. I tend to believe that women are generally speaking more emotive then men in their paintings.

[Enzie Shahmiri]

I vote for two. The dog for me is the give away! I also think that a woman would want to use the act of painting as a way to confront the stereo typical role that is imposed on her by defying the subservient stance with that of the confrontational.

[Carol Norton]

Number 2 was my choice for the female artist. A bit of pontificating: The male point of view is to eliminate detail: go right to the point. The focus of the hunter is like that of a cat watching a mouse (or a male watching T.V.) #2 is exhibits more detail - the multi-tasker - the female watching children, weaving, ........ or, today, maybe .......painting? If this sounds sexist, it is. We ARE different - THANK GOODNESS!

[Julie Deane]

I go for no. two, because the woman in the painting appears to be looking without hesitation, somewhat directly, at the painter. There appears to be a relationship of sorts between the depictor and dipictee.

Relationships tend to matter more to women, I think. Also, I doubt the interaction I see would have been so direct if the artist had been male, especially in Japanese culture.

Anyway, painting no. 2 feels more feminine to me: look at those wonderful curves in the kimono.

[Allan Rahbek]

Originally Posted by Patricia Joyce

for number one. I tend to believe that women are generally speaking more emotive then men in their paintings.

Patty got it right!............ the name of the Japanese female artist is Shoen Uemura 1875-1949.

You can read more about her here:
http://www.lingnanart.com/J-master/J-master-shoen.htm

Her clear focus on the emotion of the woman in the portrait made me wonder at the question; if it is a typical women thing to do so, or if it was just Shoen that cultivated a certain interest.

Kanoh HOHGAI, the man, tend to have more interest in emphasizing the technical side of making pictures. The Panda head is brilliant, but sort of override that of the sitter. I do like the picture, but then again....I'm only a man

Two other from them, women first.

[Enzie Shahmiri]

Well, there goes my theory out the window! I find it interesting though, how many of us females voted for number 2. I wonder what that says?!

[Patricia Joyce]

Here's how I got it right. (how about that, I rarely get these things right!!) We all accept that we express emotions a bit more than our male counterparts - right? Image #1 focuses the viewer's attention on emotion, depth of soul. Purely. The second image is emotional but also shows great prowess, the stance, the well executed figure, details, even the animal is well represented. Not that women artists don't enjoy the same detail and elaboration; but if you only had the two to choose from...

[Sharon Knettell]

I got it wrong as well.

Thank-you for posting this wonderful Japanese artist.

Aiiyeee!! Look at the exquisite color harmonies!