Comments on: Question of the Week: Demure or Coquettish? Revealing or Concealing?

By: Rakashasha

Rakashasha — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 03:53:01 +0000

I think this piece represents a woman who knows how to portray just the right amount innocence in the seduction of a man. Here you have Mme Récamier revealing just enough to entice, while leaving the rest to the imagination. Its a beautiful sculpture and I’d have to say she is definitely being coquettish. Also, I think that the bust reflects Mmes ability to balance the different aspects of her personality. She was an educated woman who used her sexuality and didn’t repress it.
As a sidenote, Maskulin, it would be better if you left your chauvinist opinions in the backwards society that you claim is European. It would be ignorant to say all of Europe is like you, just like it would be ignorant for you to assume that anyone in an art blog is interested in your taste in women.

By: Maskulin

Maskulin — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 22:32:17 +0000

The title is soooo feminist american woman……outch
In europe we love feminin woman. We don’t love feminist fighting “might be man” woman. In America woman very often dress and behave like man. This is disgusting.
There is and was always a difference between man and woman. And this is good.
Can’t you just enjoy the beauty of a sculpture of a feminin woman ?

By: Christina

Christina — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 02:03:00 +0000

Revealing a breast is actually part of the silent pact that many artists refer to when designing the contours of a sculpture…it is a very old chiseled “trick” and accepted in the art circles…so what is wrong with revealing nature? What is wrong with being feminine? Covering up and revealing is a sexual, natural and sometimes innate way women attract attention. And if that is to be conveyed in an art form, well, it is not really a big deal unless the work is a masterfully done work as is this work is.

By: Guy

Guy — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:07:42 +0000

Very beautiful. Artist can definitely do justice to a woman. Some artist can over justify a woman’s beauty and disposition. I’ve met women in los angeles that are more stoic and uninteresting than any sculpture or statue i’ve ever seen.

By: Nicole Arsenault

Nicole Arsenault — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 20:52:57 +0000

This is such a beautiful piece. I think there is a lot of middle ground for the analysis. I have to agree with the comments about the dual nature of feminine sensuality. This personifies the ideal (societal view) of what the perfect woman should be…

By: bmw

bmw — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:39:52 +0000

The whole subject of relationships between artist and subject, as well as inspiration and common bonds has to be the most fascinating aspect of Art History. After reading the last paragraph of your response, Christine, I’m ready to dive into the stacks again.

By: Christine Spier

Christine Spier — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:11:13 +0000

Much intrigue surrounds David’s 1800 iconic portrait of Juliette, which you mention, BMW. Why was it left unfinished? We don't really know. Perhaps its "noble simplicity" did not please the subject, or perhaps David was working too slowly. He quipped, "Women have their whims, and so do artists…" Whatever the controversy, Mme Récamier then commissioned a portrait from David’s most respected student, Gérard. This work was much to her approval, as you note, BMW, and she gave the painting to her admirer Prince Augustus. Elijah -- what a fascinating observation about her possibly looking away from some unseen admirer! Knowing something about the artist may be interesting. Could it have been the artist himself? Chinard and Mme Récamier had a complex relationship that went beyond patron and artist -- they were friends, too. Conceivably by virtue of their common birthplace of Lyon, Chinard most likely met Mme Récamier and her husband Jacques in 1795 upon his visit to Paris to be admitted into the Institut de France. It was at this time that Chinard is believed to have executed his first bust of 17-year-old Juliette, which was followed by larger versions in both marble and terracotta. In fact, Chinard is said to have resided with Mme Récamier upon his return to Paris in 1801 and maintained his friendship with her until his death in 1813.

By: Elijah

Elijah — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 08:36:24 +0000

It could be the angle or the lighting but I get the impression that she is not looking downward but knowingly over her shoulder as though she feels the gaze of an admirer. The subtle details make all the difference. With little knowledge of either the artist or subject I would have to agree with the comment praising the dual nature of feminine sensuality.

By: BMW

BMW — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 07:54:41 +0000

Oh my. Rushing the typing is never good – of course Victoria was the sovereign herself, Sissy the consort.

By: bmw

bmw — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 02:18:30 +0000

I think that Récamier was somewhat controlling of her image. I did a long project on Jacques Louis David years ago, and read that she didn’t care for David’s (unfinished) iconic portrait of her on the couch that now bears her name. She preferred the portrait painted by Gérard – really any work that presented her in a more alluring, flirtatious light. I think the terracotta piece here is rather coy, it’s a feint at modesty, however, one with classical allusions. Think of the nude sculptures of an Aphrodite emerging from her bath caught in the action partially covering her breasts with her arms.

This convention of a society beauty with bared skin doesn’t seem to be all that unusual. I’m thinking of the semi-nude Canova sculpture of one of Napoleon’s sisters as Venus with her golden apple. One could also consider the “lingerie” portraits by Winterhalter of the Empress Elisabeth of Austria and Queen Victoria. They’re both in their white wrappers with hair down, but the paintings were only meant to be seen by their respective husbands. Of course, as the consorts of monarchs, they could never have bared more than their shoulders.

As for Mme Récamier, the image is rather artful on her part. I think that she was as happy to be known for her beauty as her intellect, witness her salons with the leading thinkers of her time.