From ancient fertility symbols to idealized Classical, Renaissance, and Impressionist forms of women, figure drawing and painting often emphasize the "female gaze" or male-dominated perspectives. The emphasis on anatomy, symbolic modesty, and the rise of female artists, shifting from ancient figures like Venus to contemporary ones like.
Classical and Ancient: To emphasize fertility, early art frequently featured exaggerated, symbolic depictions of women. Art in the Greek and Roman periods shifted toward perfected, idealized forms. From the Renaissance to the Baroque, artists like Botticelli idealized the female form, and Renaissance portraiture, like Leonardo da Vinci's Ginevra de' Benci, defied convention to depict intimate portraits. Baroque artists, such as Artemisia Gentileschi, shifted their focus away from depicting merely passive female subjects and toward portraying powerful, dramatic heroines. 18th to 19th centuries: Female artists like Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun gained more attention and provided a feminine perspective, despite the fact that many of their contemporaries were men. Impressionists like Berthe Morisot were interested in maternal themes and day-to-day life.