The role of women in art history – from artist to fashion icon

For long women in art only appeared on the screen themselves, but almost never held their brushes in their hands and when they did it, their works were rarely seen. Nevertheless, there were artists who managed to make a name for themselves.

Some of them have shaped society sustainably. Their influence shows, among other things, in fashion.

The absence of the female artist

If you remember the names of great artists, you will quickly find that there is probably not a single woman among them. The reasons for this are varied and were in detail by art historian Linda Ahnin in her essay "Why have there bees no great women artists?" ("Why didn't there be any important artists?").

In it she went to court with the society dominated by men and put the thesis that women had no chance of being recognized as an artistic genius under these conditions.

The woman from the man's perspective

For a long time, art was primarily dominated by white men. However, since women were part of the reality of the life of many of these men, the female gender often served as inspiration for numerous works of art that are still world famous today.

Many male artists even described certain women in their lives as their muses and devoted them to romantically transfigured pictures. At the same time, the woman is often presented as an object of desire in the course of the artistic epochs or declared an untouchable saint.

With self -determination, these representations in art usually have little in common. Because it is always about the perspective of the man.

The artist as an exception to the rule

Even if the women were given little space as active participants in the world of art, there were always artists who, despite all resistance, reached a high level of awareness.

Mexican Frida Kahlo should be familiar with almost every fan of art. She declared herself to her own muse and often painted herself in a logical consequence. Her expressive self -portraits and her very own style of clothing are still iconic and show the great influence of women on society.

A cross -generational fashion icon

Through the targeted self -staging, Frida Kahlo an influencer from the artist, who showed a new self -determined side of the woman. To this day, she influences the entire fashion world with her characteristic look.

With her bushy eyebrows and the women's beard, she proved how diverse the appearance of the woman can be. In contrast to these supposedly masculine license plates, Frida Kahlo has many years long, wide skirts with colorful designs and colorful flower wreaths that clearly provide female charisma.

In fact, the skirts also a social comment . Because Frida Kahlo was inspired by a folder group from the Tehuantepec region in which the women are in charge.

Individual elements of her look are reflected in today's pop culture. For example, US singer Lana Del Rey is a self-confessed Frida Kahlo fan and frequently wears large, opulent flower crowns. But the world's leading fashion designers also emulate Frida Kahlo's colorful and expressive style.

Frida Kahlo is shown in the Vogue

In 1937, Frida Kahlo was released in the American Vogue for the first time and thus became a style icon during his lifetime. Even if she didn't make it to the cover at the time, she became part of an editorial entitled "Senoritas of Mexico" and found its way into numerous American households.

The fact that her influence has not passed has been shown by the fact that it was discussed by Vogue . This time the editorial team even dedicated a cover picture to her.

A source of inspiration for the very big designers

Jean-Paul Gaultier repeatedly uses elements of Frida Kahlos Look in his collections. In addition, he was inspired by the Mexican artist "The Fifth Element" She had painted herself in a similar corset. In 1998 he also dedicated some dresses to her in his spring collection under the topic "Mexico."

Karl Lagerfeld had Claudia Schiffer like Frida Kahlo , while Dolce & Gabbana connects current fashion with Frida Kahlos Look and uses, for example, to combine her iconic headdress. Givenchy was influenced by the clothes, skirts and corsets from Frida Kahlo, but rather rely on covered colors instead of a colorful splendor.

All of these examples show how sustainable the influence of the exceptional artist is and how diverse the interpretation of her look can be. Their influence can still be felt today, where elegant, monochrome parts as well as colorful skirts enjoy great popularity.

Frida Kahlo not only made herself immortal with her pictures, but also with its effect on the fashion world - even though she was a margin of the art of the early 20th century as a woman.