African Art & Contemporary Practice Week #2

What is Berger's main argument in Chapter 3?

That nude art often reflects male power over women

How do men's and women's presence differ in art?

Men show power; women show how they think they should be seen

What does Berger say women learn to do from a young age?

Watch themselves through the eyes of others

What is the "split self" Berger describes?

Women are both the watcher and the watched

What does “Men act and women appear” mean?

Men do things; women are shown and judged for how they look

What is the difference between nakedness and nudity?

Nakedness is natural and personal; nudity is being looked at as an object

Why can nudity never be fully natural in art?

It’s made for someone else to look at, not just to be

Why is the male viewer always present in nude art?

The paintings are designed for his gaze, even if he’s not painted

How does the story of Adam and Eve relate to nude art?

It blames women for shame and makes them objects of judgment

How is Susannah and the Elders an example of objectification?

The viewer joins the elders in spying on her

What do mirrors symbolize in nude paintings?

Vanity and self-judgment, often to please male viewers

How does The Judgment of Paris show beauty as competition?

Women are judged for their looks, and the winner is owned

What did royal nude portraits, like Nell Gwynne’s, represent?

The woman was shown as a possession of powerful men

How does non-European art show nakedness differently?

As mutual, loving, and equal—not about one-sided power

Who is the invisible protagonist in most nude paintings?

The male viewer, who stays clothed while women are naked

Why is European sexual imagery often frontal?

It’s meant to please the male viewer who is “in charge”

What makes some nudes different from the rest?

They show the woman as a real person, not just a body

What makes Rembrandt or Rubens’ nudes exceptional?

They show time, emotion, and experience—not just form

What does Berger say about real nakedness in life?

It’s about shared experience, not just looking

Why are expressive nude photos rare?

It’s hard to show real intimacy in just one frozen moment

What is the “humanist contradiction” in nude art?

The artist is seen as an individual, but the woman is treated like an object

How does Berger describe women’s self-image?

Many women judge themselves the way men are taught to see them

What does Manet’s “Olympia” show?

A woman starting to challenge how she’s usually seen

How did 20th century art change the nude?

Artists used real women like prostitutes, not idealized figures

How does modern media continue the nude tradition?

Women are still shown to please an assumed male viewer

What critical test does Berger suggest for readers?

Imagine a male nude in place of a female and notice how strange it feels

Why is this chapter important?

It shows how art reflects deeper social power structures around gender