Seeing Ourselves Hb [Hardcover]

Frances Borzello (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 23, 1998

For centuries, the art world was a male preserve. Exceptionally talented and ambitious women became successful artists, only to be written out of the history of Western art. But how have women really seen themselves? What can self-portraits tell us about the way women have lived and worked? This book examines the subject, revealing a vibrant, colourful but largely overlooked genre. The two earliest self-portraits come from 12th-century manuscripts in which nuns gaze at us across eight centuries. In 1630 Artemisia Gentileschi depicted herself powerfully as the very personification of painting. From Adelaide Labille-Guiard to Angelica Kauffmann, in the 18th century, women signalled in their different ways ambition, femininity and the artist's calling. In this century, growing freedom and awareness have allowed for an increasingly intimate self-scrutiny, in the work of such artists as Gwen John and Paula Modersohn-Becker. Frida Kahlo's "The Broken Column" of 1944, shows her confined by the steel that supports her damaged spine. Sarah Lucas portrays herself as a tough, masculine outsider in photographs such as "Self Portrait with Fish". And when Cindy Sherman explores identity by transforming herself, she poses the questions that all the women in this book have faced when they "see" themselves - and help all of us to see ourselves too.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her fifth book, social art historian Borzello has "tried to make sense of what I was seeing by treating the self-portraits as painted versions of autobiography." Borzello has chosen vivid self-portraits of women from middle ages to the present that reveal cultural characteristics of an era as well as ideographic inclusions of the artist's perception of herself. As in every autobiographical sketch, imagery is selective. Thus many portraits of earlier centuries are modeled on those of male painters, palette on one arm, brush poised in the other, both indicating serious intent. But despite this earlier evidence of fine self portraiture, it was not until the late 19th century that art began to be recognized as a legitimate and significant field for women. Borzello's text, accompanied by the 240 well-chosen illustrations (100 in color) is a history of the marked separation of male/female domains in daily life, as well as women's ability to skirt prevailing male traditions and portray an inner life that transcended domesticity. The transition from subtle details?the setting the portraitist chose for herself, the style of dress and hair, the placement of her hands?to the startling freedom of 20th-century imagery that revealed women artists as "independent and unshackled by conventional notions of feminine behavior" is arresting. The visual manifestation of how women see and represent themselves may seem elusive, but Borzello does a fine job of illuminating the subject, without overly simplifying it.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Books of this high caliber are few and far between in feminist art history. Borzello, a specialist in the social history of art, aimed to "present women artists' self-portraits as a genre in its own right." She succeeds admirably, creating a work that is exciting yet factual, inspiring without indulging in hyperbole, and that stands as one of the finest single volumes on women artists appearing in at least a decade. Written in elegant prose that will draw in even casual readers, it bears a wealth of new material on both well-known and practically unknown artists, with 240 illustrations?100 of them in large format and excellent color. After the preface and introduction, there are separate chapters covering the 16th through 20th centuries, with headings that range from "the presentation of self" to "breaking taboos," and comments called "drawing breath." For example, of the late 1960s Borzello writes, "These were the glory days of feminist art, when indignation fueled the artists and everything seemed possible." To demonstrate, she discusses Louise Bourgeois's "Torso/Self Portrait," c.1963-64, and Sylvia Sleigh's "Philip Golub Reclining," 1971. A landmark work; essential for all academic and large public libraries.?Mary Hamel-Schwulst, Towson Univ., MD
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thames and Hudson; 1st Ed. edition (March 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500018367
• ISBN-13: 978-0500018361
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,119,386 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding review of how women artists see themselves, November 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Seeing Ourselves: Women's Self-Portraits (Hardcover)

An outstanding gift for all those interested in women's history and art. Lavishly illustrated, this book provides a fascinating text which raises provocative questions about how and why women artists chose to represent themselves in the way they did. This is a particularly useful contribution to both women's studies and art history." I enjoyed it thoroughly.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is wonderful, June 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Breaking Through: The Making of Minority Executives in Corporate America (Hardcover)

Few books have the ability to relate the importance of the information contained within to both professional and layman alike. That is, however, exactly what this book accomplishes. It shows you the how the achievements of minorities trying to attain status at the corporate level are linked to career decisions and mentoring relationships. This is accomplished by examining the characteristics of several minority executives at different companies who have managed to break through the glass ceiling. It also teaches several approaches for acheiving racial diversity throughout a company. It examines three large corporations who have accomplished this feat, by tracing their diversity efforts throughout the past few decades. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the processes by which businesses accomplish diversification throughout all levels of the company.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is destined to be a classic management text, December 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Breaking Through: The Making of Minority Executives in Corporate America (Hardcover)

This is destined to become one of the classic management texts. I found the authors treatement of the subject matter to be insightful and well thought out. This is a must for any person of color who is wondering why it's taking them so long to move into the executive level. As a trainer I will be using this as one of my texts, and I plan on sending a number of copies to my friends.