Many artists have used their work to examine, question and criticize the relationships between gender and society. As the feminist movement gained momentum in. In male-dominated cultures, gender representations are often influenced by ideas of strength and weakness, superiority and inferiority, goodness and evil. Since the Renaissance, more and more authors, thinkers and creatives have been examining gender issues, in particular the social function of feminine.
The term “querelle des femmes” (debate on women) is a French term that referred to humanist debates about femininity and the role of women in the society of their time. Renaissance portraits of women in art and design are intended to express their social status and their almost archetypal beauty. The traits of a man's occupation and social position defined him. The historical representation of women behind the canvas is minimal. The idea that women should only be seen and admired for their physical form or beauty and not seen as artists is the central theme of the Guerrilla Girls' work.
This group of feminist activist artists protested the lack of female artists at the end of the 20th century. The group highlighted inequalities between female and male artists by drawing attention to statistics, according to which only 4% of modern artists at the Metropolitan Museum of Art are women, while they represent 72% of the gallery's nudity. In addition to encouraging broader research on gender-related issues in art, feminist art and art history have helped to revalue the representation of women as subjects, artisans and recipients. of pictorial art.
