A Foregone Conclusion 1885

Editor: So here we have Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s “A Foregone Conclusion” from 1885, an oil painting depicting a Roman scene. There's something voyeuristic about the women looking over at this man. It feels tense, and I wonder what he's up to and why they're watching. What do you make of this, Professor? Curator: This piece invites us to consider the male gaze within a gaze, doesn't it? We see it first in Alma-Tadema's creation, then echoed within the painting by the women spying on the man. Does this raise questions about power dynamics? Consider the societal constraints placed upon women, and their limited agency. Editor: That's interesting, I hadn't thought about their power, or lack thereof, in this scenario. Does the title "A Foregone Conclusion" imply something about his fate, or theirs? Curator: Perhaps it's about the inevitability of social roles at the time. He is performing some activity, perhaps a ritual or a trade; the women seem restricted to observation, complicit perhaps, in maintaining social norms. It seems significant that the women appear on a higher level, but that they have to observe, unseen, almost as if they had something to lose. Is this painting a critique of Roman society's expectations? How does Alma-Tadema invite us to think about these women, and what were the available roles for women? Editor: It is making me think about the kind of agency that can only be obtained by women acting surreptitiously; I hadn't considered the ways it reflected their world views. It makes you consider women's history from a completely new direction. Curator: Indeed. This artwork prompts us to examine the complexities of looking, being looked at, and the social scripts that confine individuals within certain historical contexts, and in so doing asks questions about ourselves. We need more Alma-Tadema in feminist theory!