John Serafin's "Still Life With Olives" is an abstract painting using fruit and flowers. He painted it for me, his wife, as a gift. Today, in my blog, I want to speak about women and art, and still life paintings. On the Internet, I learned that, "from the 16-19th centuries, women were barred from studying the nude model, which formed the basis for academic training and representation." (Women, Art, and Society) Which means that men were able to keep them out of formal art education and the artists' circles for centuries. Women artists centuries ago had many conflicts, especially marriage, which didn't allow a career, such as art. So, women could paint flowers, fruit, and portraits without becoming too naughty. Hence, Georgia O'Keeffe and her sensuous flowers that beg the question, "flowers or vaginas"? She never confessed painting anything other than flowers. Oh well, she did however always assert "that she was an important artist, not just an important female artist."
(The Guardian)
