At the beginning of the twentieth century, our calendar appeared new holiday, whose name sounded like a revolutionary slogan: "International Women's Day of Solidarity of Working Women in the Struggle for Equality of Rights".
Fortunately, over time, this day has acquired a completely different meaning, and for us, March 8 is a holiday. female beauty and charm.
Wishing to combine the historical with the pleasant, we have collected several paintings of cute, flirtatious and strong workers from great artists - eternal captives of female beauty and virtues!
Alexey Venetsianov, a native of Moscow, first visited the village at the age of 35, when, after the wedding the newlyweds went to visit the wife's parents in the Tver province.
The artist was so fascinated by nature that he immediately had a desire to settle among the Russian expanses and he buys an estate in Safonovka.
It is here that he paints the picture "On arable land". All the work of Venetsianov is permeated with poetry, his paintings, dedicated to peasant life, idealize village life.
Since childhood, Zinaida Serebryakova has been in love with Venetsianov's paintings. In her early paintings felt invisible connection with the work of a Russian writer of everyday life. A hundred years later, the peasant women of Venetsianov seem to continue to live in her paintings.
The artist's village girls are majestic, with a regal posture, they leisurely do their daily work - true poetry of spirituality!
Zinaida Evgenievna Serebryakova. Harvest
1915, 177×142 cm.
The paintings "Harvest" and "Whitening of the Canvas" are attributed to the best works Zinaida Serebryakova. They were written in family estate Neskuchnoe in the Kharkov province, where since 1898 the Serebryakov family spent summer and autumn.
In 1914, after a long journey through the North of Italy, Zinaida arrived in Neskuchnoye and immediately set to work on the painting The Harvest.
Studying the creativity of artists Italian Renaissance, only recently seen in museums and galleries, is felt in a classically built composition, and the monumentality of forms emphasizes the beauty of female figures against the backdrop of a landscape with wheat fields unevenly leaving the horizon.
These paintings are considered the last idyllic paintings of pre-revolutionary Russia.
Zinaida Evgenievna Serebryakova. "Whitening of the canvas"
1917, 141.8×173.6 cm.
Lace, powder, lipstick - all that a charmer needs...
French ladies also work tirelessly in the paintings of artists. In the Rococo era, the most fashionable profession for city dwellers was the work of a milliner.
Elegant and luxurious outfits, corsets, embroideries and lace were all women's thoughts, because it was necessary to keep up with the trendsetter Madame Pompadour!
And the fantasies of young maidens were embodied by craftswomen of all trades - milliners. François Boucher in the painting "The Modiste" seems to stealthily peek into the room and spy on the ladies who are discussing the future model.
Francois Bush. "Modiste"
53×64 cm.
In the 18th century, during the Enlightenment in France, it was customary in art to praise and affirm the virtues of the third estate, and in painting good tone considered simplicity and naturalness.
Jean-Baptiste Greuze in the painting "Laundress" not only portrays a graceful and charming young worker - in this way he sings of hard work.
In Russia in the second half of the 18th century, Greuze became fashion artist, the noble nobility vied with each other to order portraits for him, Empress Catherine II herself, on the advice of Diderot, acquired the painting Paralytic from the artist.
Of course, such popularity of Greuze's work did not go unnoticed by Russian painting, his paintings had a great influence on the Russian portrait.
Jean-Baptiste Greuze "Laundress"
1761, 32×40 cm.
Lace craftswomen
"Russian Dream" was called Vasily Tropinin for charming female portraits. For the first time in Russian painting he created new type genre portrait- a poetic image of a girl at work.
The young beauties in the paintings “Lacemaker” and “Golden Sewinger”, busy with their work, take their eyes off their work for a minute and look slyly at the viewer.
Vasily Andreevich Tropinin. "Goldworker"
1826, 64×81 cm.
Tropinin was a serf artist and only at the age of 47 received his freedom. It is symbolic that it was 1823, the year the Lacemaker was written, that brought the artist both freedom and official recognition.
This year, for the first time, he shows his work at the Academy of Arts, and the artist is awarded the title of "appointed to the academicians." So an intimate portrait of a townswoman brought freedom and success to its creator.
Tropinin." Lacemaker "
Keeper hearth
Household has always been on women's shoulders and kitchen chores - a direct duty. For some, this is a blessing, and for many, a hassle. For the heroine of the painting "The Cook" by Bernardo Strozzi, this is a duty and a sacred rite.
You can ask yourself a lot of questions looking at the picture. For example, why is a young girl gutting a bird in elegant dress and beads? Does she have a large family, because dinner is supposed to have a fair amount of dishes?
Who is depicted in the picture - maybe the artist depicted his wife and that is why she looks at the viewer so affectionately? This option is quite possible: the picture on household plot Strozzi's is a rarity, and for his wife he could well make an exception.
Bernardo Strozzi "The Cook"
1625, 185×176 cm.
The author of the picture - italian artist baroque era with a remarkable biography. The adventurous nature of Strozzi was reflected in all his activities: in his youth he joined the Capuchin order and became a priest, then he studied painting in the workshop of the Genoese artist Sorri and at the same time worked as a ship engineer in the Genoese fleet.
Later artist escaped from the monastery and hid from the persecution of the monks in Venice. But Strozzi never left painting. Its main theme was portraits, religious and mythological scenes, and on creative manner the painting of Caravaggio had a great influence.
The “profession” of a shepherdess was once very popular and artists often turned to her. touching image we find a middle-aged shepherdess in the work of Van Gogh, who painted ordinary villagers with special warmth and love.
Look at the color of the picture: yellow wheat fields- the color of the sun and warmth, softly contrasted with the shepherd's blue cape, - frequent use in the works of the artist, but he does not cause disturbing feelings, as in his other paintings.
Van Gogh conveys his feelings unusually accurately with shades of color. Whatever whirlwinds rage around, a woman is calm and submissive to a difficult fate ... Both our dominant and sincere feeling at the sight of this picture - "empathy".
Vincent Van Gogh. "Cowgirl"
1889, 52.7×40.7 cm.
The artist created this work while undergoing treatment at Saint Remy in the south of France. During this period of 1889-1890, he studied the work of the founder of the Barbizon school, Jean-Francois Millet, and during this time made copies of 23 of his paintings, among them The Shepherdess (although it is difficult to call Van Gogh's painting a copy).
Vincent writes to his brother about his occupation thus:
“I assure you that I am extremely interested in making copies, and since I have no models at the moment, I will not abandon work on the figure with these copies.
I use black and white reproductions of Delacroix and Millet as if they were real life scenes. And then I improvise color, although of course not exactly as if I did it myself, but trying to remember their paintings.
However, this 'remembrance', the vague harmony of their colors... is my interpretation."
Comparing the paintings of the two artists, it seems that Van Gogh painted the shepherdess in his imagination.
Millet "Shepherdess" 1, Millet "Shepherdess" 2.
Jean-Baptiste Chardin observed the life of ordinary citizens and wrote stories from them. Everyday life. From the painting "Laundress" breathes a quiet home comfort, where everything is warmed by the cares of the hostess.
While mom is washing, the son is busy with his simple fun. Children's images are always present in Chardin's paintings, emphasizing the mother's love for the child. Demonstration of these relations helps him to create a spiritual atmosphere of warmth and a modest, but significant and fulfilling life of the townspeople.
Women's labor in the artist's paintings is equated with noble work done with special diligence and love.
Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin. "Laundress"
Social Labor editorials - we new world let's build!
New professions are mastered by women in Soviet country. With us, they are not just some Western fashionistas - soviet woman maybe build a subway!
In the graphic series of the 1930s by Alexander Samokhvalov, portraits of girls working in metro construction embodied the ideal of socialist labor.
Enthusiasm, young energy, optimism and strength overflow in these works - we will build new country. Here she is with a drill, with a shovel, beautiful, strong and happy, she can handle everything!
The artist has joined the ideological path of the country, he sincerely believes in universal creation for the benefit of a brighter future. And the spiritual impulses of the artist - the matter is quite tangible, just look at the work!
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First of all, we know two things about the painting: its author and, possibly, the history of the canvas. But about the fate of those who look at us from canvases, we know not so much.
website I decided to talk about women whose faces are familiar to us, but their stories are not.
Jeanne Samary
Auguste Renoir, Portrait of the Actress Jeanne Samary, 1877
The actress Jeanne Samary, although she could not become a stage star (she played mainly maids), was lucky in something else: for some time she lived not far from the workshop of Renoir, who painted four portraits of her in 1877-1878, thereby glorifying much more than it could make her actor career. Zhanna played in performances from the age of 18, at 25 she got married and had three children, then even wrote a children's book. But this charming lady, unfortunately, did not live long: at the age of 33 she fell ill with typhoid fever and died.
Cecilia Gallerani
Leonardo da Vinci, Lady with an Ermine
1489-1490
Cecilia Gallerani was a girl from a noble Italian family who was already engaged at the age of 10 (!) years. However, when the girl was 14, the engagement was canceled for unknown reasons, and Cecilia was sent to a monastery, where she met (or it was all set up) the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza. An affair began, Cecilia became pregnant and the duke settled the girl in his castle, but then it was time to enter into a dynastic marriage with another woman, who, of course, did not like the presence of her mistress in their house. Then, after the birth of Gallerani, the duke took his son for himself, and married her to an impoverished count.
In this marriage, Cecilia gave birth to four children, kept almost the very first in Europe literary salon, visited the duke on a visit and played with pleasure with his child from new mistress. After a while, Cecilia's husband died, the war broke out, she lost her well-being and found shelter in the house of the sister of the same wife of the duke - in such a wonderful relationship she managed to be with people. After the war, Gallerani returned to her estate, where she lived until her death at the age of 63.
Zinaida Yusupova
V.A. Serov, "Portrait of Princess Zinaida Yusupova", 1902
The richest Russian heiress, the last of the Yusupov family, Princess Zinaida was incredibly good-looking, and, despite the fact that august persons, among others, sought her favor, she wanted to marry for love. She fulfilled her desire: the marriage was happy and brought two sons. Yusupova spent a lot of time and effort on charitable activities, and after the revolution continued it in exile. The beloved eldest son died in a duel when the princess was 47 years old, and she could hardly bear this loss. With the onset of unrest, the Yusupovs left St. Petersburg and settled in Rome, and after the death of her husband, the princess moved to her son in Paris, where she spent the rest of her days.
Maria Lopukhina
V.L. Borovikovsky, “Portrait of M.I. Lopukhina", 1797
Borovikovsky painted many portraits of Russian noblewomen, but this one is the most charming. Maria Lopukhina, a member of the Tolstoy count family, is depicted here at the tender age of 18. The portrait was commissioned by her husband Stepan Avraamovich Lopukhin shortly after the wedding. Ease and a slightly haughty look seem to be either the usual pose for such a portrait of the era of sentimentalism, or signs of a melancholy and poetic disposition. The fate of this mysterious girl turned out to be sad: just 6 years after the painting, Maria died of consumption.
Giovannina and Amacilia Pacini
Karl Bryullov, Horsewoman, 1832
"Horsewoman" Bryullov - brilliant formal portrait, in which everything is luxurious: the brightness of colors, and the splendor of draperies, and the beauty of models. It depicts two girls who bore the surname Pacini: the eldest Giovannina is sitting on a horse, the youngest Amacilia is looking at her from the porch. The painting to Karl Bryullov, her lover of many years, was ordered by their adoptive mother, Countess Yulia Pavlovna Samoilova, one of the most beautiful women in Russia and heiress to a colossal fortune. The Countess guaranteed a large dowry for her grown-up daughters. But it turned out that by old age she was practically ruined, and then the adopted daughters of Jovanin and Amacilia, through the court, collected the promised money and property from the countess.
Simonetta Vespucci
Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus
1482–1486
The famous painting by Botticelli depicts Simonetta Vespucci, the first beauty of the Florentine Renaissance. Simonetta was born in rich family, at the age of 16 she married Marco Vespucci (a relative of Amerigo Vespucci, who “discovered” America and gave the continent his name). After the wedding, the newlyweds settled in Florence, were received at court Lorenzo Medici, in those years famous for magnificent feasts and receptions.
Beautiful, at the same time very modest and benevolent Simonetta quickly fell in love with Florentine men. The ruler himself tried to take care of her Florence Lorenzo, but his brother Giuliano sought it most actively. The beauty of Simonetta inspired many artists of that time, among whom was Sandro Botticelli. It is believed that from the moment they met, Simonetta was the model for all Madonnas and Venuses by Botticelli. At the age of 23, Simonetta died of consumption, despite the efforts of the best court doctors. After that, the artist depicted his muse only from memory, and in his old age he bequeathed to be buried next to her, which was done.
Vera Mamontova
V.A. Serov, "Girl with peaches", 1887
The most famous painting portrait master Valentin Serov was written in the estate of a wealthy industrialist Savva Ivanovich Mamontov. Every day for two months, his daughter, 12-year-old Vera, posed for the artist. The girl grew up and became charming girl, married mutual love for Alexander Samarin, who belongs to the famous noble family. After honeymoon trip in Italy, the family settled in the city of Bogorodsk, where three children were born one after another. But unexpectedly in December 1907, just 5 years after the wedding, Vera Savvishna died of pneumonia. She was only 32 years old, and her husband never remarried.
Alexandra Petrovna Struyskaya
F.S. Rokotov, "Portrait of Struyskaya", 1772
This portrait by Rokotov is like an airy hint. Alexandra Struyskaya was 18 when she was married to a very rich widower. There is a legend that for the wedding her husband gave her nothing less than a new church. And all his life he wrote poetry to her. Whether this marriage was happy is not known for certain, but everyone who has been in their house paid attention to how dissimilar the spouses are. For 24 years of marriage, Alexandra gave birth to her husband 18 children, 10 of whom died in infancy. After the death of her husband, she lived another 40 years, firmly managed the estate and left a decent fortune to the children.
Galina Vladimirovna Aderkas
B.M. Kustodiev "Merchant for tea", 1918
Kustodiev's "Merchant for Tea" is a real illustration of that bright and well-fed Russia, where there are fairs, carousels and "the crunch of French bread." The picture was painted in the post-revolutionary hungry year of 1918, when one could only dream of such an abundance.
Galina Vladimirovna Aderkas posed for the merchant's wife in this portrait-painting - a natural baroness from a family that traces its history back to one Livonian knight of the 18th century. In Astrakhan, Galya Aderkas was a housemate of the Kustodievs, from the sixth floor; the artist's wife brought the girl to the studio, noticing a colorful model. During this period, Aderkas was very young - a first-year medical student - and in the sketches her figure looks much thinner. After graduating from university and working for some time as a surgeon, she left the profession and Soviet years she sang in the Russian choir, participated in dubbing films, got married and began to perform in the circus.
Lisa del Giocondo
Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, 1503-1519
Perhaps one of the most famous and mysterious portraits of all times and peoples is the famous Mona Lisa by the great Leonardo. Among the many versions about who owns the legendary smile, the following was officially confirmed in 2005: the canvas depicts Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a silk merchant from Florence. The portrait may have been commissioned from an artist to mark the birth of a son and the purchase of a house.
Together with her husband, Lisa raised five children and, most likely, her marriage was based on love. When her husband died of the plague and Lisa was also struck by this serious illness, one of the daughters was not afraid to take her mother to her and let her go. Mona Lisa recovered and lived for some time with her daughters, dying at the age of 63.
Paintings famous artists keep the secrets of the people depicted on them. We invite you to take a walk through the virtual art gallery and explore the stories of women from paintings. These stories can be romantic, mystical, or simply funny.
This work of art - one of the most famous paintings of the painter - was first presented to the audience in Italy, where it was favorably received by critics. Karl Bryullov was the first Russian artist who became famous in stiff Europe. For a long time it was assumed that this picture is a portrait of the young Countess Yulia Samoilova, whom the artist loved very much and often depicted on his canvases. For example, in the film “The Last Day of Pompeii”, three characters at once have facial features of Yulia Samoilova. However, when comparing the painting "Horsewoman" with the portraits of the Countess, which Bryullov painted later, it becomes clear that Yulia Samoilova is not in the picture. But who? In one of his paintings, Karl Bryullov depicted Countess Samoilova with her pupil Giovannina, in another picture he painted the same Countess with adopted daughter Amacilia. Researchers of Bryullov's work came to the conclusion that these girls, who were raised by the countess, are depicted in the picture. But the paintings of famous artists usually carry some kind of mystery. To solve the riddle from this picture, you need to take a closer look at the dog in the collar, which the artist depicted near the little girl. The name of its owner, Samoilova, is written on the collar.
It seems that how the picture "Alyonushka" was created has long been known to everyone. It is believed that Vasnetsov, in the form of a sad heroine of Russian epics, portrayed a girl with whom fate brought him together in the village of Akhtyrka. Speaking about this canvas, many quote Vasnetsov himself, where he admits that the image of Alyonushka has long settled in his head, but final version The portrait was formed when he met a simple girl in the village of Akhtyrka. But is it? In one of the artist's notes, one can read true story painting a picture. Vasnetsov admits that, although he already had a sketch of a painting painted from this simple girl, this is not a natural-genre thing. The artist was actually inspired by the eyes of Verusha Mamontova. He admitted that the eyes of this particular girl seem to him everywhere and settled in his soul. Who is Verusha Mamontova? Of course, her image is familiar to art lovers, because it is she who is painted in Serov’s painting “Girl with Peaches”. Now, knowing the revelations of the artist, in Alyonushka one can easily find the facial features of Verusha Mamontova.
Sometimes the paintings of famous artists surprise with where such a plot came from, sometimes the sources of inspiration are unexpected. This can be said about the history of writing the canvas " Unequal marriage". One aristocrat from Moscow decided to write down his memoirs, where he talked about all his relatives, including his uncle Sergei Varentsov. In 1862, this uncle, as a young man, suddenly fell in love with the pretty daughter of the merchant Rybnikov, Sofia. And he fell in love so much that he even got married, but he was refused. The prudent father of the girl did not want to give her daughter in marriage to a young and frivolous rake, but preferred to give her hand to the elderly and not poor merchant Korzinkin (it is interesting that the “aged” groom was then 38 years old). By an evil coincidence, young Varentsov had to play the role of best man at this wedding. The artist Vasily Pukirev was so imbued with this story and torment loving heart who created this painting. Thanks to this picture, Vasily Pukirev received the title of professor, as well as good money: the canvas was immediately bought by the art collector Borisovsky, and Tretyakov bought it from him. True, Pukirev had to remake the canvas a little, because Varentsov recognized himself in the best man in this picture. The artist depicted Varentsov so accurately in his work that, thanks to the popularity of the painting, all of Moscow began to discuss his unhappy love. As a result, Pukirev had to rewrite the best man's face, and now, looking at the picture, the public sees in the background the image of the face of Pukirev himself.
Painting "Portrait of M. I. Lopukhina" by Vladimir Borovikovsky
This picture was created in 1797 and is a romantic female image. For more than one century, she has delighted the eyes of the public, and connoisseurs of painting consider her an ode to sentimentalism. Pictures of famous artists are often accompanied by mystical stories. Such a fable is associated with this picture. The image of an 18-year-old beauty is the first painting in the history of Russia, covered with mysticism. The girl depicted in the portrait was the daughter of Count Ivan Tolstoy. In the year the portrait was painted, she married Stepan Lopukhin, who served in the administration of Paul I. Immediately after the wedding, her husband ordered Borovikovsky portrait his beloved wife. The marriage did not last long, because 3 years after the wedding, the young princess died of an illness - consumption. The inconsolable father bought a picture with a portrait of his daughter from his son-in-law and hung it in his house. It must be said that Count Tolstoy was a master Masonic Lodge and dabbled in mysticism. There were rumors that the count, with the help of magic, was able to summon the spirit of his dead daughter and breathe it into the picture of Borovikovsky. There is a fairy tale - any girl who looks at the portrait will surely die. They even cited "very reliable facts" that the portrait killed at least a dozen young girls. Fortunately for posterity, Tretyakov did not believe in mysticism, and a century later he bought the painting, which now millions of viewers can see in the gallery named after him.
The paintings of famous artists are distinguished by the fact that in their works they sing of the female ideal. Even depicting the Madonna, artists of all times without a twinge of conscience painted portraits of their lovers, many of whom were women not of their own. noble birth. For example, researchers of Raphael's work say that the artist met the daughter of a poor baker, Fornarina, on one of the streets of Rome. The artist fell in love with her. Raphael, who was already well-known at that time and occupied a high rung on the social ladder, bought the girl from her father and rented for her luxury house. The artist really considered her the ideal of beauty and lived with her until his death for 12 years. But they say that the beauty herself was not distinguished by loyalty to her benefactor and cuckolded him both with the artist’s students and with those who commissioned paintings. After the death of Raphael, because of the reputation of this woman, the Pope did not even want to sing him, because Fornarina was standing nearby. Despite all this, it is the face of Fornarina that we see in the picture “ Sistine Madonna". Raphael also gave her the face of many other Madonnas painted by him.
Portrait in painting is a genre visual arts, in which artists achieve not so much an external resemblance as they try to reflect the internal character of the depicted person. The portrait can be individual and collective, the master artist creates an image typical of a particular era.
History of the genre
How it turned out in times ancient art. On the island of Crete, during excavations, many frescoes with images of women were found. Other monuments of art belong to Egypt, where they found wooden boards with encaustic portraits depicted on them (these are wax-based paints). During the Middle Ages, a portrait in painting existed only for the image of donors and was part of the general artistic composition on religious topics.
The heyday of painting fell on the Renaissance. Renaissance artists preached humanistic ideas and took the world as a basis individual person, landscapes and interiors played a modest role as a background. The masterpiece of that time was the Gioconda, and its author Leonardo da Vinci became famous for centuries.
Titian made a huge contribution to the development of the genre; he created a whole gallery of portraits of his contemporaries. Self-portraits by artists such as Jan van Eyck and Albrecht Dürer are examples for many portrait painters.
Portrait of a woman in painting
The eternal theme of art is the image of a woman. Each era drew its own ideal of a woman, and her character attracted the special attention of many artists. Looking at the portrait of those times, we can see how the appearance and inner world certain events affect public life, art, literature, fashion.
The art of Russia in general, and the portrait in painting in particular, show how the ideal of female beauty has changed over the centuries. This is due to a change in worldview, habits, customs, with a change in government systems, generations.
images of women
By the end of the 18th century, the Russian portrait in painting reached its peak. And one of the most important and popular topics is the image of female charm. On the canvases we see women flirtatious and seductive. And in the portraits of foreign artists, Russian ladies and young ladies look like dolls, they playfully smile and playfully, and this makes one look like another.
Russian artists I.P. Argunov, D.G. Levitsky, V.L. Borovikovsky see a woman in a different way. They bring psychological revival, concreteness of character into a female portrait. In painting, they try to convey the living and the real picture morals, tastes and fashion of the era of female omnipotence. We see the whole spectrum of female characters: arrogant cold beauty and gentle soft dreaminess, coquetry and modesty, spiritual charm and severe secrecy with isolation. But to rule in the hearts of men is the main thing.
New ideals
The era of romanticism of the 19th century is designed to show in a woman a special sensitivity and subtle movements of the soul. The work of Karamzin, Zhukovsky had a huge impact on artists of the beginning of the century, for example, O.A. Kiprensky. Their canvases reflected all the features of romanticism in the portrait genre. In painting and music, as well as poetry of this time, motives of personal lyrical experiences, mysterious colorfulness are in demand. native antiquity(very popular romantic opera A.N. Verstovsky "Askold's grave" 1835).
But by the middle of the century, the sublimity and dreaminess of female images disappears without a trace. From the paintings of this period, you can study fashion trends. The feathers on the hats, jewels, lace are carefully drawn out, getting carried away by the details, the artists often forget about the character himself. Arrogance reigns in the images of secular beauties, and there is no longer that cordiality and simplicity.
But some artists of the beginning of the century, in particular, Venetsianov and Tropinin, in search of "live" images, turn to common people. A movement of the "common" female portrait arose, an idealized image of a woman-worker is being created.
Paintings by K.S. Petrova-Vodkina
The new century is characterized by the search for new forms in the portrait genre. In painting (the 6th grade of the school at the lessons of fine arts studies in detail the topic “ Women's images”), artists turn to the past and the future in search of the feminine ideal. The theme of motherhood and femininity great place in the work of V. Petrov-Vodkin. In the work "Mother" the artist achieved a full disclosure of the theme. His painting is a hymn to family happiness and the holiness of love. In the image of a mother, we feel moral strength, purity and sublimity, pressing the child to her, she resembles the Madonna.
Painting “Our Lady. Tenderness of Evil Hearts” was written by him during the First World War; it is the artist’s emotional response to the bloody events of those times. He created a sublime and reverent image, which is one of the most powerful in his work in terms of depth of impact.
The image of a woman has changed from era to era, but retained the main enduring features: beauty, tenderness, motherhood.
