Task five; the gaze.

‘According to usage and conventions which are at last being questioned but have by no means been overcome - men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at’ (Berger 1972, 45, 47)

Alexandre Cabanel 1863

In the time when this painting came about men definitely had the power and ruling over women. This type of painting would not be seen as provocative in any sense and in fact creates a message about the type of person Venus was described to be with focus on sexuality and beauty. The theory behind the gaze is that women are looked upon but do not look back, this has been presented well in this painting because Venus is covering her eyes therefor has no chance of gazing back, also the way in which she is doing this is almost as though she actually wants to be gazed upon, as though she knew her role at the time. There is clear male power over the painting because she has been placed in a pose in which most of her body can be gazed upon. The cherubs are yet further indication of Venus' characteristics in the sense that they are pure so make this pose seem furthermore innocent.

Eva Herzigová 1994

Within more modern examples of the gaze there has been little changes to the way in which women are presented. In the same way as the painting of Venus, the woman in this advert can be gazed upon but does not gaze back. The main difference that can be seen between the two is the fact that because photography has been used in the advert, the model has a bit more decency to her because photography is seen as provacative in the sense it is 'real'. The other difference here is that the model looks more as though she is enjoying being gazed upon, this may be because it has become the 'norm' for women or is it because women are trying to loosen the power men have over them? However, It connotes that women may feel more confident if they buy this product due to the expression on the models face, so maybe this is just another way of selling the product to its audience by creating an idea.