Pablo Picasso |
In the 19th
century there was a lot of prostitution in Paris, and in all layers of society.
There were
poor women who had a job, but did not earn enough money and had to become
prostitutes to earn a living for their families.
There were also girls who
worked in the theatre or the opera, who went home with gentlemen, in the hope
of a better future.
And at the
very top you had the grande horizontales,
the courtesans who were mistresses of wealthy men and who took their place in
high society without shame.
Streetprostitution
was allowed from the moment the streetlights were on and when a woman was
sitting in a café on her own it was also clear what she was.
The police
tried to make some regulations and had registers of all known prostitutes,
women who worked in brothels had to have regular medical examinations and women
who contracted syphilis were locked up.
This world always
fascinated the artists. First they could only paint aspects of it, or show
things in a subtle manner. Only if you looked really closely you would know
what was behind the painting of the poor woman sitting on a bench and the two
gentlemen watching her.
But later
the painters could be more bold and show what they saw in the cafés and the
brothels.
The
exhibition Easy virtue in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam gives a wonderful
overview of the world of prostitution in the 19th century. There are
paintings by Edvard Munch, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Toulouse Lautrec, Kees van
Dongen Pablo Picasso and of course Edgar Degas.
Portrait of Julia Tahl by Carolus Duran |
In this
exhibition you can see all aspects, from the downtrodden whores who sit in a
café with a glass of absinth, waiting for their next customer, to the triumphant
courtesan who knows what she is worth.
There are
also the registers of the police with all the known prostitutes, the 19th
century make-up the ladies wore to distinguish themselves from the other ladies
on the streets, all give this very interesting and beautiful exhibition that
little bit extra.
Easy virtue can be seen until June 19th, 2016
As taking photographs was not permitted, these are photographs of the postcards I bought.
That's a great collection of artists. How fun that you get to see them all.
ReplyDeleteYes, that was absolutely amazing. I like an exhibition like that, with works from different artists.
DeleteKind regards,