The Display of the Hidden Qualities of the Ideal Woman in Paintings

Abstract

Painters (artists) one way or the other are inspired by several things in their environment. It was observed that artists have several sources of inspirations, and these are previous works, works of other artists, especially, the masters, events, magazines, photographs, women, and personal experiences. Women are the most commonly used among all the sources. It became apparent that women are preferred as the major subject matter for contemporary painting artists. The measurable ideal qualities of a woman in Ghanaian culture established in this research were beauty, confidence, motherly care, hard work, thick lips, heavy breasts and dark complexion. This study was meant to be a preliminary attempt to quantify the portrayals of women in painting for a positive reason. The results of the study indicate that some changes in the portrayal of women have taken place over time, however several differences still remain. In the light of these findings, people have to be sensitive to understand the principles of art appreciation and that female images used in paintings are not meant for erotic display but rather to portray the hidden qualities of the ideal Ghanaian woman.