Statue of David and Male Gaze

Throughout this course, the topic of “male gaze” has been discussed. It has been said that many of the women depicted in art and film have been manipulated by the medium to fit the standard of the man. The man should be able to project his fantasies on her, and thus she should appear willing.


I chose to discuss the Statue of David for this post because I wanted to discuss the differences between a nude male and nude female in art. In this particular statue, I don’t believe Michelangelo’s goal was to imply anything sexual or perverse about the male condition.


Contrastingly, “David” is chiseled and portrayed to be in great physical shape. He is baring his naked body completely but avoiding a direct stare at the audience. He is on a literal pedestal so the viewer is forced to look at him from a low angle that in turn presents him as great, prominent and magnificent.


The statue is meant to represent the Biblical hero, David. I wonder though, even if this statue had been modeled after a female Biblical heroin, would the artistical aspects have been the same? Would she have been on a pedestal as well? Would her body language have symbolized anything in the way of bravery? Or would it have been contorted in a way to fit the profile for “male gaze”?


Male gaze, as I discussed in one of my earlier posts, is a concept created by film critic Laura Mulvey. It suggests that any visual art containing women, are structured around a male viewer/audience. To put it in simpler terms, Mulvey is saying that women are purposely objectified and exploited to appeal to a masculine eye.


Men portray men as they are or should be in terms of grandeur. They portray them as strong and superior. Men portray women with characteristics that are further from human condition but mores abstract. Women are objectified, made to appeal specifically to a man’s interest and imply something sexual or inviting.


Placing a statue of a naked woman next to the Statue of David would connote two completely different things. I will bet the one of the woman will be more apparently seductive than the other. I will bet her body language will imply attainability and readiness as well as inclination. Her body will most likely be bent in a way that serves to emphasize her physical assets rather than a comfortable or relaxed pose.


As this course comes to a close, I have to agree with Laura Mulvey that women in the visual arts are profiled and structured around a "male gaze". Because this is mainly considered speculation, the notion still remains an opinion or "feminist" ideal. Still the proof remains in the visual arts, for every viewer, male and female, to decide for themselves.

Statue of David (Michelangelo)

Statue of Naked Woman