Strenght Thy Name is Woman

'A woman's presence expresses her own attitude to herself, and defines what can and cannot be done to her. her presence is manifest in her gestures, voice, opinions, expressions, clothes, chosen surroundings, taste - indeed there is nothing she can do which does not contribute to her presence' - John Berger in Ways of Seeing

Winter By Karl Bang

Marilyn Monroe

Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci

'Winter' by Karl Bang shows that the woman is graceful and there is also a strong sense of beauty in the painting. However, there could also be a vulnerable side to her since she has her arms crossed.

Everyone knows that at one point Marilyn Monroe was seen as a sex object after staring in films such as 'The Seven Year Itch'. Was it simply because she was the stereotypical blue eyed, blond beauty that men found attractive? The truth is that even though she appeared as a carefree, fun, mischievous and maybe even flirtatious person on the outside; inside she was falling apart with news that she continued to have miscarriages and her marriage was over.


The Mona Lisa has become one of the most famous paintings in the world. In this painting Mona Lisa looks graceful yet, viewers immediately know that she is from an middle or upper class background from the way she is posing and holding herself. It is said that Da Vinci asked her to lay her right hand over her left to represent Lisa as a faithful wife and virtuous woman. The landscape in the background seems like a distant land far away. This makes Lisa stand out more and thus makes her more eye catching.


Berger also said:

 "From earliest childhood she [women] has been taught and persuaded to survey herself continually."

 I agree with the author because if we look at these paintings and pictures we see how women portray themselves. The first one may be a picture but even so, she is graceful and portrays an icy defiance as if to say she will not be controlled or owned so easily. In the second picture we see how Marilyn shows her audience and fans her slightly childish and mischievous side even though she wasn't like that in reality. In the third and final painting we see how Lisa holds herself as an upper class lady as well as her pride of being a respectable wife and woman.