L’Arte del Femminile / The Art of the Feminine

Is there such a thing as a feminine gaze? How can such a seemingly neutral medium as photography address the incredibly nuanced complexities of gender portrayal? Spanning the Victorian, modern and postmodern eras, the works of Julia Margaret Cameron, Florence Henri and Francesca Woodman provide answers to these questions.

Despite their differing formal approaches, their portraiture evinces a common stance that affords the viewer a journey through the photographic representation of femininity.

The women in their photographs demand to be acknowledged, making photography the space in which identity may be put to the test, where objectification may be escaped and subverted. This book provides a fascinating potted history of the depiction of women by women, across three epochs.