I don't think that you can properly understand the ways we represent women now, unless you go back to the ancient world. I think in some ways the building blocks are already established. They're invented there in the West. The absolute classic example has to be the most powerful woman in the divine pantheon of the Greek world is Athena. Essentially she is a female, dirty, but here she is in armour, she's helmeted, she has all the accoutrements of maleness. So it's a classic case of the powerful woman being dressed as a bloke. What that showed was Pandora, kind of the idea of the first female who messed things up and opened the box
How has Western culture depicted powerful women down the ages? To what extent have they been packaged into a male template? And how much have they been able to control their own image? Featuring classicist Mary Beard and Sotheby’s specialist Holly Braine, and chaired by cultural critic Shahidha Bari, the conversation will range from sculptures of ancient goddesses such as Aphrodite and Athena, to portraits of Queen Elizabeth I as ‘Gloriana’, to the empowered politicians and cultural icons of today. This conversation was produced in partnership with Sotheby's for Sotheby’s Talks: (Women) Artists.
To view the accompanying images for this conversation please visit: https://intelligencesquared.com/sothebys-women-artists-women-in-power/
This event was recorded on the 26th of February 2023, at Sotheby's in London. It was produced by Executive Producer Hannah Kaye and editing was by Producer Catharine Hughs.
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