Feminist ideas have significantly varied throughout their history due to differences in socio-cultural experience and individual capacities. Western currents are usually more expressed than Eastern ones since the development of civilization has followed different paths. Feminist narratives are found in painting, and the representatives of these currents are the artists Frida Kahlo and Amrita Sher-Gil. Both women contributed significantly to the development of the women’s movement and reflected their will and power in their self-portraits.
Amrita and Frida were two vibrant individuals who expressed their opinions of women in self-portraits through their work. Frida added many ideas about women’s freedom; her portraits were always filled with national motifs and personal experiences. Frida rarely smiled in her self-portraits, and her gaze showed strength and a bit of sadness. Frida Kahlo’s feminism concerns women’s lot: betrayals and infidelity, abortion, and the happiness of motherhood (Beani’s art point). Frida had health problems and could not become a mother, replacing possible children with monkeys and dogs. Feminist Frida is revealed in her confrontation with established stereotypes about women.
Amrita Sher-Gil is a woman of a different category who exalted her personality to a new level. Amrita’s self-portraits are vivid and majestic; through them, the artist shows the power each woman contains and how beautiful she is. Through her paintings, she spoke of women’s rights: women’s communes were a significant force to have equal civil rights. Amrita was concerned about Indian women and their sexuality and femininity. Unlike Frida, Amrita shows more often with a smile how majestic her beauty is in her self-portraits. Inspired by Europe, she did not turn her back on India but only fell more in love with it. Amrita’s regal and powerful self-portraits challenged social injustice and stiffness. Naked images opened up to the public, and Sher-Gil gained women’s confidence by revealing their sexuality.
Research hypothesis: Amrita Sher-Gil’s feminism is more about the emancipation and freedoms of Indian women, while Frida Kahlo’s feminism is about individualism and women as individuals.
Reference
Beni’s art point. n.d. “Frida Kahlo and Amrita Sher-Gil- Two Peas in a Pod.” Web.