Artist Quote by John Berger
“In the average European oil painting of the nude the principal protagonist is never painted. He is the spectator in front of the picture and he is presumed to be a man.”
About This Quote
Source Book: Ways of Seeing, 1972
The quote critiques how Western art traditionally excludes the viewer’s gender, assuming a male gaze that renders the female nude invisible.
In simple terms: Art often assumes a male viewer, ignoring other perspectives.
Key Takeaway
Question the assumed viewer in visual culture.
Themes
art
gender
representation
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
theoretical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- museum visits
- art criticism
- media analysis
Key Concepts
feminist theory
visual culture
Questions to Reflect On
- Whose perspective is missing in this painting?
- How does the male gaze shape interpretation?
A Different Perspective
May ignore other cultural contexts; not all art follows this pattern.
![“The painting is always done very much with [the model's] co-operation. The problem with painting a nude, of course, is that it deepens the transaction. You can scrap a painting of someone's face and it imperils the sitter's self-esteem less than scrapping a painting of the whole naked body.” quote by Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d15/lucian-freud-12071_body_the-painting-is-always-done-very-much-wi_2407554.jpg)
![“There's the artist's intimacy and truthfulness to himself, but an equal intimacy to the Other [the one drawn]. Picasso drawings are like that... the Rembrandts are like that. The artist who most often did that was Van Gogh.” quote by John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0d1/john-berger-1590_art_there-s-the-artist-s-intimacy-and-truthf_155171.jpg)
