Abstract
Edouard Manet’s Le Dejeuner sur L’Herbe has been debated for over a century, often framed as a challenge to artistic tradition. At its centre is a nude woman, her clothes discarded, seated among fully clothed men while staring directly at the viewer. Some scholars argue that her gaze grants her agency, subverting passive objectification. This paper challenges that claim, arguing instead that a nude woman meeting the viewer’s eyes does not empower her, but rather deepens her objectification. Drawing on Kantian ethics and feminist theory, this paper explores how Le Dejeuner sur l’Herbe exemplifies a troubling phenomenon: the illusion of female agency within an inherently objectifying framework. Unlike traditional nudes, where the woman is unaware of being watched, Manet’s figure appears complicit in her own display, making her objectification more palatable to the audience. This complicity is deceptive - her nudity is not her choice, but the artist’s. Comparisons with Gerome’s and Pilny’s Slave Market paintings further illustrate how a woman’s direct gaze can normalize and even eroticize her own subjugation. Whether passive or confrontational, the gaze does not undo objectification; it only masks it beneath the illusion of consent. As images like Le De’jeuner sur l’Herbe proliferate, they shape cultural attitudes toward real women, reinforcing the expectation that women must not only be seen but must accept and participate in their own objectification. This paper argues that true artistic resistance requires more then a provocative gaze; it demands a dismantling of the structures that enable objectification itself.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
Art History, Feminist Theory, Objectification, The Gaze, Kantian Ethics
