The University of Melbourn
Sexing the Canvas: Art and Gender
What do paintings tell us about sex? How is art gendered?| Length | Under 3 weeks |
| Effort | Self-paced |
| Price | Free |
| Subject | Art |
| Level | Beginner |
| Languages | English |
| Video Transcripts | English, French, Greek, Spanish |
About this Course
In this course we will study some of the world’s most beloved pictures guided by expert curators and art historians who step outside of the square, bringing a gendered reading to the masterpieces contained in the magnificent collections that we have been lucky enough to bring to the Coursera platform.What you'll learn
Gender and sexuality is an integral part of the production and reception of works of art
To increase your understanding of paintings through theories of gender and sexuality
To understand key terms from gender-related theories of art history and museology
To recognise the operation of what is termed ‘the gaze’ and how it works in relation to paintings
Ideas about gender and sexuality can productively be employed in theorising art curatorial practices
To take the initiative in relating theoretical ideas about gender and sexuality to the reading and display of art and visual cultures.
Course syllabus
WEEK 1
Tiepolo’s Cleopatra
WEEK 2
The Culture of Sensibility and the ‘Man of Feeling’
WEEK 3
Gainsborough at the Huntington
WEEK 4
Sexual Codes in Eighteenth Century French Courtly Painting
WEEK 5
Orientalism, Gender and Display - Painting in Morocco
WEEK 6
Henri Rousseau: Challenging the Myth of the Passive Woman
WEEK 7
Henri Matisse, Paul Cezanne and Max Dupain - Modernism, Gender and the Science of Movement
WEEK 8
Frida Kahlo, Glyn Philpot and the Struggle to Paint
WEEK 9
What is Women’s Business? Indigenous Art and the Dreaming
Meet the instructors
Jeanette Hoorn
Professor
Culture and Communication