Muscular Men And Chubby Women In Art

An interesting look into art and how it has always been influenced by what society believes to be beautiful at the time. By Cultura Colectiva: https://culturacolectiva.com/art/the-body-in-renaissance-art/

Intermediate

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What society deems beautiful changes through the ages.
If you pick up any book about the history of art and take a look at the body types in each painting and sculpture, you’ll start to realize that every era has a “type.” For instance, prehistory has the “Venus of Willendorf,” a heavy and round figurine that represented everything a prehistoric man would’ve looked for in a female partner: strength and fertility. A few thousand years later, there are all the Greek statues of athletic and muscular men who represented the ideal Platonic man: fit and intelligent. These “types” are not mere coincidence. They are the product of the culture and values that predominated at the time, which are reflected in the art because that was art’s purpose back then.