Art History Department
Subject: The Artists' Model in Modernity.
Advisor: Dr. Gal Ventura.
Abstract: Albeit their essential role throughout art history, little research has been dedicated to artist's models, the role's conceptions or social realities. The aim of the current research is to illuminate the potential contributions of the model to the interpretation of the artwork and the creative process, particularly in modern art.
During the second half of the Nineteenth Century, when the formal art institutions were only starting to open their doors officially for women, female artists began their artistic careers through modeling for other male students or artists. Examining their bodies of works, in comparison with their portrayals by others, may reveal the influence of the models' unique experiences as the art object, on their perspectives and artistic choices in their own works, and offer new approaches for conceptualization of the relationship between object, artist and viewer.