Sculpturen van Lucina, een Amazone en Faam 1538 - 1641

This is an undated drawing titled "Sculpturen van Lucina, een Amazone en Faam," whose author is anonymous. The drawing depicts three female figures, each labeled with a classical name: Lucina, an Amazon, and Fame. But let's look beyond the names, and ask how women are represented in this image. The figures are idealized, smooth, and passive, frozen in gendered roles that have, historically, been imposed on women. Their postures and drapery indicate conventional representations of femininity. The Amazon, though a figure of female strength, is here tamed and contained within a classical form. What does it mean to depict even a warrior within such a restrictive aesthetic? This piece encourages us to consider how women's identities are shaped by cultural expectations, and how even symbols of female empowerment can be co-opted by patriarchal narratives. It allows us to reflect on our own relationship to the historical depictions of women, and how those depictions continue to affect the experience of women today.