Romaine Brooks
Romaine brooks was born and raised in a well off family, yet this financial security could not change the status of her miserable childhood. Most importantly, She took a career path of art, expressing his ideologies to drive particular messages out to the public. This paper particularly examines how Romaine brooks contributed to feminism through her pieces of art.
Brooks’ art that contributes to feminism is the “White Azaleas,” which features a naked woman lying comfortably on a sofa. Although Brooks may be physically attracted to her, the lady in the portrait does not appear sexually available. She seems to be lost in thoughts with small ship paintings featuring on the wall, imagining of wold so far beyond the horizons. This work is proof that Brook focused most of her art on women. Being a lesbian, it is believed that this was a nude painting of Brooks’s lovers. In those days, it was rare to find a woman painting a naked picture of another woman. This work reveals Brooks’s urge to break the then existing norms and taboos to free women of sexual bondages and encourage sexual expression among them even without the male figure. The ships on the wall are symbolic of this modern future idealism, as conveyed by Brooks. At the point of doing the painting, she was quite conversant with her will to push boundaries within the art world in contribution to feminism.
Brooks’s work in support of feminism is titled “The Crossing,” which features a naked woman lying on her back, appearing to be afloat in a vacuum with her long black hair flowing backward. The model is Ida Rubenstein, one of Brooks’s lovers at that time. The portrait appears dreamlike and lacks a domestic setting confronts the lesbian love they had; this way, she consolidates, intensifies, and sharpens the symbolic iconography of feminism. However, it is interesting that Brook describes this painting not as “The Crossing ” but as “The Dead Woman.” Ideally, in this manner, she clarifies that the woman is long dead, which prevents viewers from having a sexual engagement with the body. She seems to be proud of having a chance to interact and engage with her sexually, something which is long lost. Therefore, even if Ida’s body can be seen, her interior identity cannot be revealed anymore since she is long gone. Through this art, Brooks successfully sends out a message that a woman is greater than just her sexuality, which is constant in all ages.
Another unique art by Brook in support of feminism is “The Cross of France,” which features a Huge powerful woman who is presumably a nurse for wounded warriors. In the portrait, she is wearing a black coat with a red cross sewn on her right shoulder. Her background consists of a war-torn city with thick smokes racing up the sky, yet she appears hopeful for peace. Her determined stare makes her seem like a hero with the capacity to lead people to a brighter future if they joined her. Brooks uses this art to make a political statement of how women played a significant role during World War I. The figure in this portrait is still her lover, Rubenstein. This is symbolic of the work she did as an Ambulance driver during the world war. This is a genuine contribution, depicting Women as instrumental, just like men in society and political matters.
Another influential art that contributes to feminism is titled “L’Amazone,” which portrays Natalie Barney as a remarkable writer. Compared to the other skills, this one is less formal and softer than the previous ones, suggesting the comfort and love Barney and Brooks got from the relationship. The picture is painted with a back view of a window on a snowy scene. Brook includes a black horse named “The Amazon” to symbolize the Free-spirited nature and wildness of Barnley. According to Greeks, Amazon is a tribe of women warriors who are assertive and aggressive. Brooks features the Amazon to depict women as kind, helpful in times of danger and concerned with people’s needs. This art secretly supports feminism, and Brooks sets it out to the world in a bid to convey her unwavering message.
The prior art by Brooks in support of feminism is her self portrait. She appears to be assured in the image and stands tall, dressed in an Equestrian suit and a hat. Behind her is a landscape of old buildings contrasting her fresh and beautiful look. She is also wearing a red legion of Honor cross on her coat with great honor and pride. She uses a noon-gender specific attire for the portrait mimics Males while overriding the challenges of Femininity in support of feminism. In the modernity that she advocates for about her lesbian state, she uses Equestrian attire to point out feminine ambiguity by interfacing gender boundaries expressly.