In the 20th century Women’s role in the role has caned. From Housewife, to Flapper of the 20’s, Rosie the Riveter, Mrs. Cleaver, Janis Joplin, Madonna and others, the idea of what a women should be has had some drastic changes. And, as art reflects society, WE can see just how women are sometimes perceived.

Some artists may have been influenced, either directly, or indirectly, of a certain magazine, which was founded in 1953, entitled “playboy”. This was one of the first widely published collections of nude images and erotica.

Another Artist to take into consideration is Pearlstein. Pearlstein is known for his nude paintings, and working from models of both sexes. In

The artist Hans Bellmer was a surrealist artist, and one of his most famous books, was The Doll. In this, his drawings, and photos of dolls accompanied text. One of the illustration of this book was a sketch of a female in a “doggie style” pose, with her sexual organs exaggerated, her breasts so enlarged they resemble a man's testicles. This was only the beginning of his doll fetish. Bellmers dolls are bizarrely constructed bodies with interchangeable anatomy, some life like in sections, but none over all resembling anything of nature. Bellmer believed that a woman’s sexuality was conditioned by the desire of the man that desired her, and that all things associated with femininity were actually adaptations of masculinity (Khamen, pgs 61-62).

John De Andrea and Frank Gallo are to modern sculptures that portray statues of nude women. Those by Gallo are smaller than life size, such as his Quiet Nude (1966). “…Their look of boredom and their strong physicality remind us of the ‘girlie’ pictures in popular magazines” (Khamen, pg 72). John De Andrea is a realist, and his sculptures are so lifelike; they can hardly be distinguished from the real thing. De Andrea’s use of airbrush and inset hair allows us to see every physical attribute of the nude. In his – “untitled” (Also known as Woman #2 black) done in 1970- was part of a series of life-size realist sculptures. In this one example we see a nude black woman touching her thighs sensually. And although their poses themselves, may not be terrible provocative, one cannot help but notice, how truly naked his figures are (Kultermann, pg 83).

Throughout all of these images, we see many different references to the female figure, and to the female sex in general. During this time, the role of women changed greatly, and there were many feminist movements, which may have influenced some of these artists perception of the female sex. However, all through this examination of Art, Sex, and Woman’s Sexuality also appear to play a great part in how they are

Some topics in this essay:
Hans Bellmer, George Segal, American Nude”, Allen Jones, De Andrea’s, Kilim Rug, Joplin Madonna, Willendorf Goddess, Pop Art, Woman’s Sexuality, female nude, contemporary art, john de andrea, woman’s sexuality, de andrea, american nude, khamen pg, russell gablik, john de, nude woman, “classic nude”,