"Seducing our eyes" : gender, jurisprudence, and visuality in Watteau

Author

Mirzoeff, Nicholas

Document type

Article (journal)

Language

English

Source

Eighteenth century. 1994, Num. 2, Vol. 35, 135-154

ISSN

0193-5380

Abstract (en)

Mirzoeff states: "Seduction cannot simply be subsumed within the erotic--both form distinct categories of discourse and behaviour. Seduction was a discursive practice, and, as such, was subject to change and evolution. In analysing Watteau's art as both seductive and that of a seducer, it is thus necessary to address the conditions in which seductions and seductiveness were constructed. The 18th c. jurisprudence of seduction is a crucial ground for such identification...However, Watteau's paintings did not simply 'reflect' the discourse of seduction: they created a point of exchange within that discourse. That exchange raised questions of gender, visual pleasure, and performativity that have been closed off by the seamless 'tradition' of art history, whose own history is explored here".

Subject (en)

• General history of art -- 1400-1800 -- Pictorial arts -- Painting and drawing -- France
• Watteau, Jean Antoine, 1684-1721
• Painting
• Seduction
• France
• 1600-1800
• Gender (sex)
• Jurisprudence
• Aesthetics
• Art history

Subject (fr)

• Histoire générale de l'art -- 1400-1800 -- Peinture et arts graphiques -- Peinture et dessin -- France
• Watteau, Jean Antoine, 1684-1721
• Peinture
• Séduction
• France
• 1600-1800
• Sexe (catégorie)
• Jurisprudence
• Esthétique
• Histoire de l'art

Origin

DatabaseBHA (Inist-CNRS/GRI)

Identifier19950401-00313537

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