Childhood in Art: A Symbol of Innocence and Naivety - Essay Sample

Introduction

Before the concept of childhood began to develop during the 16th century, the child had numerous symbolic meanings within the popular imagery through the history of the art (Hisamori 47). Within the general context, it is evident that the concept of a child offers a representation of a new beginning, such as innocence, naivety, or precious gifts (Broude 52). The symbolic meaning of a child further differed from one culture to another. Besides the depiction in the literature, this concept became more visualized in the paintings and the sculpture by many artists. Balthus is one of the many intriguing painters recognized for depicting the idea of feminine childhood in his way a particular way. Through the close dissection of the content of his artwork, the Guitar Lesson, and the elements of its composition, Balthus paint shows the loss of innocence of the young girl is experiencing (Hisamori 40). Balthus provides an excellent exposition of the imagery of the young girls, which oscillates between adoration and perversity of childhood.

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Sexuality and Feminism

Sexuality and feminism have been an extremely recurrent subject in art history since familiar representations (Broude 56). Nearly all civilizations had created sexuality implicit imagery, which is often within the context of spirituality and pornography to express the purpose of audience arousal. Male artists made common representations of the female nudes for the European artistic traditions. The theme of sexuality and feminism has been greatly portrayed in most Balthus works, including the “Guitar Lesson.” It is critical to note that Balthus is not the first artist in history to address these fundamental issues that form an important component in the societies we are living in (Hisamori 47). The topic of sexuality in art history has been approached in various ways, but of course, the most valuable ones in terms of a foundational subject.

Analysis of the “Guitar Lesson”

In the paint, Balthus depicts the loss of innocence of the young and her experience of the same. Within the paint, Balthus creates a young girl who is it her pubescent stage, in what it seems to be her music teacher. A closer look at the image will further show the green stripes in the background, which suggests the cage of immorality that young girls go through (Broude 89). On the young girl, there is a bright red cardigan, which implies the transformation from the innocence to becoming impure. The girl’s face suggests that she is in a complete state of submission to the demands and games of her music teacher. Broadly, the Balthus, The Guitar Lesson depicts a moment of sadistic evidence that is executed on an innocent girl.

Further, the naked body of the young girl is effortlessly transferred symbolically into the erotic guitar, whereby her instructor is playing the sadistic notes of the erotic education (Harger-Grinling 50). Observably, the child is being forced to play hesitantly with the incompletely denuded sensually erected teacher’s breast. Not only do these images show how the helpless young girls in society are taken advantage of and subjected to issues of immorality and sexual assaults without their consent (Broude 56).

Balthus’s paintings are an example of how symbolic works triggers a lot of discomfort to the viewers. The discomfort, in this case, is contributed by the fact that he predominantly uses you girls in his arts. Maybe the viewers thought that Balthus was attempting to satisfy his pedophilic desires while hiding such desires. However, I do not perceive that he was trying to satisfy and fulfill his erotic and pedophilic desires through such paintings (Clarke 521). The paint is highly prototypical if not ultimate, and an example of his utilization of the young girls in his paintings is a clear strategy to enhance a better understanding of feminism.

While the title itself may refer to the guitar on the foreground, this is not the case. Balthus is using it more symbolically (Broude 78). The symbolism in this work not only plays a big role in enhancing a comprehensive interpretation and reflection of the pertinent issues that occur within society. Broadly, this work offers a representation of two major aspects that include authority and dominance, where the young girl in the picture is submissively draped over the lap of the woman, and her face and lip show little agency. The woman is completely in control of the whole situation, and her face, as well as the downward look, is a pure implication of the dominance over the little girl. Although many critics view this painting as provocative, I believe that Balthus was trying to address some of the issues that dominate feminism (Clarke 523). Women experience numerous issues in their lives even before they reach the adulthood stage.

The colors of the child’s clothing offer a great indication of the transition from the state of innocence to another that involves the impurity of the experienced sexual pleasures. The audience can understand the cage of immorality that Balthus is attempting to address through the vertical lines present on the wallpaper. In reality, the Guitar Lesson is a fascinating artwork created and executed with utmost simplicity and truthful adoration of the innocent purity of the childish femininity (Clarke 525). In this sense, this painting is reported and mentioned in numerous publications because of its value because of its provocative but informative content.

Reflection on the environment and experiences of Balthus offers a justification as to why he chooses to address issues of feminism, immorality, and the exercise of dominance on the minor (Bissier et al. 1998). Balthus was raised in a creative household. In this way, he uses the paint to challenge the limits of the customary moral acceptability by using the Guitar Lesson artwork. He can feed us with knowledge about the moral problem because of his ability. He can provide a revelation of a great deal regarding the issues that surrounded his time (Broude 61).

The Guitar Lesson represents him as a figure with his back on the audience, unknown artists, and the unknowable determined to leave his audience and viewers with a mystery of a painting that is predominantly to him. Such mystic nature is still living with his admirers many years after his death. Even though he has been criticized for his works, which mainly featured young girls, he utilized his painting mechanism of speaking about his mind towards fundamental issues that affected the society of the young girls during that time. The Guitar Lesson makes Balthus one of the most controversial figures in art and paintings. This is based on the fact that he chooses to paint the contents of the naked young girls, causing the controversy based on their sadistic and sexually explicit imagery (Hisamori 50). This characteristic makes him one of the difficult-to-understand artists in the history of art and paintings. As a mystic, he is revered, reviled, demonized, and ignored because of the contents (Broude 34). However, I believe that it is only when we can embrace his paintings as a daring mystic that we can develop a better understanding of why Balthus is a controversial figure. Not only was his works being dismissed as the works of the pornographers, but also a pederast who had a mission to portray a given category of girls in the wrong way (Broude 90).

In my view, Balthus has played a critical role in addressing some of the fundamental issues affecting society. His fascination with life around him had nothing to do with the documentation of the events in everyday life. I view such meanings, as far as he is concerned, are occult and hermetic. This implies that Balthus was extremely right to decode them through images that would explicitly explain what is happening. In this way, therefore, the audience must take Balthus seriously rather than ignoring him. He was able to embrace a succession of the mystical guises, which composed of a variety of veils, mirrors, and masks that enabled him to provide a revelation of a deeper aspect of the truth.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Balthus offers an exposition of some of the fundamental issues that affect women in the society. He has succeeded in showing the loss of innocence experienced by the young girl. The girl in the picture is subjected to immorality against their wish. Through her facial expression, it is evident that the girl is completely submitted to her teacher. Fascinatingly, Balthus originally desired to paint himself as the music but realized that the audience would not easily accept the outcome. In reality, the Guitar Lesson is a fascinating artwork created and executed with utmost simplicity and truthful adoration of the innocent purity of the childish femininity. Although the Guitar Lesson makes Balthus one of the most controversial figures in the art and paintings, he does not deserve this description. His choice of painting the contents of the naked young girls undeniably causes controversy based on its sadistic and sexually explicit imagery. He can reveal a great deal through his artwork about the time and place where the events happened.

Works Cited

Broude, Norma. The expanding discourse: Feminism and art history. Routledge, 2018.

Clarke, D. J. "Wilson Shieh in Five Imperfect Frames.. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 14(4), 519-537. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/38047361.pdf

Harger-Grinling, V., and A. Thorns. "Robbe-Grillet and Balthus: Art and the Adolescent." International Fiction Review (1988). https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Robbe-Grillet-and-Balthus%3A-Art-and-the-Adolescent-Harger-Grinling-Thorns/875ee8e6dbaad2a31b54a4360177551bdc061232?p2df

Hisamori, Kazuko. "The Interplay of Imagination: Balthus's Illustrations for Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights." Australasian Journal of Victorian Studies 7.1 (2020): 39-50. https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/index.php/AJVS/article/viewFile/13832/12305