Serving as a mirror to societies that produce them, Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson’s The Burial of Atala (1808, France), Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s Street, Berlin (1913, Germany), and Willem de Kooning’s Woman I (1950–1952, USA) reflect politics, religion, and social unrest. Placing women at the center of their compositions and using formal technique, they amplified deeper commentaries on cultural tension. These artists used women as symbols and critiques of a society’s anxieties and ideals regardless of time period, country or artistic movement.
Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson’s The Burial of Atala (1808)
Girodet-Trioson began his artistic career in the Romanticism era in 1773, becoming Jacques-Louis David’s pupil in 1783, gaining an understanding and appreciation for neoclassicism later reflected in his work. Napoleon favored and instilled neoclassical style, while Romanticism was popularized in other parts of Europe, emphasising the importance of emotion and the sublime. Influenced by both movements, The Burial of Atala was well received.
Drawing attention to the impact of religion in society at the time, Girodet-Trioson depicts Young Atala who had taken her own life due to religious guilt instilled upon her by her mother. Unwilling to break the promise she had made not to lose her virginity, she committed suicide to avoid being with the man she loved whom she had met in a missionary she had traveled to in South America. Although the artist’s sentiments are not shown in the piece, they have created a piece that evokes discussion and emotion.
The viewer’s attention unravels the painting in a spiral. Starting near the lover who embraces Atala’s legs, following the curve of his body, outlining Atala and the priest supporting her, and finally tracing over the opening of the cave. Atala is emphasised through contrasting colors: while the rest of the painting uses darker tones, she is painted in lighter colors of white and gold. By proximity, the viewer feels utterly close to the situation, almost as if they were to experience the scene first hand.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s Street, Berlin (1913)
Kirchner was one of the most influential artists in the expressionist movement, creating art pieces depicting psychological tension and eroticism often challenging older ideologies of the bourgeoisie. Inspired by African and Polynesian art and influenced by Albrecht Dürer’s gothic style, he used colors and distinct paint strokes for visual impact.
Through his work of common areas such as streets in Germany, Kirchner was able to display the societal tensions in Germany before World War I began. The artwork illustrates the story of two well dressed prostitutes walking in the street amid crowds of generic looking men. He used these women in his painting as symbols of a new, visible, independent urban femininity Kirchner was a co-founder of Die Brücke, an expressionist movement connecting the past, present, and future through art, using harsh strokes to portray harsh conditions in German society.
A triad color scheme of bright blues, pinks, and hints of coral orange gives the piece its energy. The figures appear slightly distorted or stretched, and the men in the background seem to merge and flow into the women, conveying a sense of continual movement. Although the women are off to the left, they are emphasized by contrast and isolation as they are dressed in purple and teal while the men surrounding them fade into the background in navy blues and greys.
Willem de Kooning’s Woman I (1950–1952)
Woman I was created over a two year period and was completed in 1952, seven years after World War II had ended and during the Korean War. Many Americans were witnessing much violence and loss as over 300,000 American soldiers had died in World War II, and this violence often appeared in art pieces such as the violent depiction of the female figure in de Kooning’s Woman I. Upon coming to the United States as a stowaway on a British ship in 1926, de Kooning was heavily influenced by the culture in New York during the Roaring 20s. This opened his mind to the removal of structure in art, however, viewers were often unenthused with De Kooning’s increasingly violent and harsh work believing that his work was misogynistic and a regression to an outdated societal view of women.
Having spent many years as an advertisement sign painter, he had become accustomed to rigid expectations of what women should look like. This piece is expressive of de Kooning’s rejection and deconstruction of the female figure’s portrayal in the media. It conveys the idea that there is not one way that a woman should be presented to or interpreted. The artist is able to encapsulate his vision by using harsh lines and organic shapes portraying flow and chaos. The woman seems to blend into the background creating unity and balance through continuity.
Both The Burial of Atala and Street, Berlin give the viewer a sense of almost experiencing the event first hand. One through the close proximity of figures and the other through the overwhelming density of the crowd. The focus of both pieces is on a woman or women, brought forward through contrasting color: lighter beige and white in The Burial of Atala, and coral and purple in Street, Berlin. However, The Burial of Atala, made during Romanticism, depicts fervor and religious devotion with warmer tones, while Street, Berlin uses bright colors and harsh forms to reflect political tension. In The Burial of Atala all objects are proportional whereas in Street, Berlin the figures are distorted, as if gravitating toward the women at the center.
The Burial of Atala and Woman I are both centered around a single woman and comment on expectations placed upon women. The Burial of Atala focuses on religious expectations and sustained purity, whereas Woman I is a depiction of societal expectations of the female figure. Woman I took de Kooning two years and numerous drafts, whereas The Burial of Atala was based on a novella by François-René de Chateaubriand and took less idea development.
Focused on women’s unconventional portrayal in society, Woman I and Street, Berlin use women as symbols of anxiety, alienation and the tensions of modern life. De Kooning deconstructs the forms women’s bodies are expected to adhere to, depicting vulnerability through abstraction. Similarly, Kirchner’s prostitutes walking the streets furthers the sense of vulnerability through public exposure. Both artists use vibrant colors: Kirchner through a triad scheme contrasted with dark blues and blacks, and de Kooning through vibrant colors overlaying duller greys and browns. They differ in setting as Woman I is abstract with no precise location, while the background of Street, Berlin is essential to its meaning, with the men walking frantically conveying the common sentiment of Germany before World War I.
All in all, Girodet-Trioson, Kirchner, and de Kooning each used the female figure as a symbol for broader cultural and social commentary. Whether constrained by religious expectation, exposed by social circumstance, or liberated through abstraction, the women at the center of these paintings carry the weight of their respective worlds. United by intention, these artists shine a light on a broader structural component of society of how women are seen and how they are used as symbols of this view. They are evidence of the role of the image in shaping how we view women, and how our view of women impacts how we think, as they are used as symbols of society and societal thinking.
I am currently on exchange, studying Business Administration in Fashion and Luxury. I have a strong interest in cultural discourse, particularly at the intersection of art, fashion, and contemporary issues. I am especially drawn to analytical perspectives that explore how creative industries reflect and shape society.
