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Barbies Invade Classic Paintings To Bring Women Back Into Art History
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Barbies Invade Classic Paintings To Bring Women Back Into Art History

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These hand-painted Barbie dolls arranged to recreate famous paintings are the work of Catherine Théry. Their goal is to raise questions about beauty, intelligence, and women’s place in society – both then and now. In almost every painting, the Barbies have replaced the men in the originals.

Barbie dolls were launched in March 1959, and were inspired by a German doll called Bild Lili. Barbie was one of the first children’s doll that depicted an adult. Her name is based on the designer’s daughter’s name, Barbara. One of the common criticisms of Barbie is that she promotes an unrealistic idea of body image.

These barbies were recently exhibited at a gallery called Teodora in Paris under the title “Not the ones you think.”

More info: catherinethery.net (h/t: thisisnthappiness)

“The Last Supper”, Leonardo da Vinci

“The Death of Marat”, Jacques-Louis David

“The Son of Man” René Magritte / “American Gothic”, Grant Wood

“Gabrielle d’Estrées et une de ses soeurs”, Unknown Artist

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“The Two Fridas”, Frida Kahlo / “The Scream”, Edvard Munch

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“The Creation of Adam”, Michelangelo

The Card Players, Cezanne

“Lunch on the Grass”, Édouard Manet

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“The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp”, Rembrandt

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Dainius

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cassiewilliams avatar
CassieWilliams
Community Member
8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I just don't get how putting Barbie dolls in place of subjects in classical artwork is supposed to "raise questions about beauty, intelligence, and women’s place in society". These pieces feel like they are doing precisely the opposite.

Laure avatar
Laure
Community Member
8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

exactly what I thought, Barbie is the exact example of women not having a place in society. And «women» are replacing men in those art pieces. Fine, but there is a lot of art already depicting women. The work is interesting but it is really not raising those questions! I like the anatomy lesson though

Load More Replies...
sally.e.vogel avatar
SallyVogel
Community Member
8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not worth the effort it took to create them. Didn't inspire me to think about women's place in society or history, just to wonder why anyone would demean the original works of art with Barbies.

grasshopperologist avatar
MarthaChambers
Community Member
8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some of these images are sacriligious. The stated goal has not been reached. Women's place in society is not to replace or be men. The 2 sexes were made to complement each other, and each sex has its own value.

patti_wright_756 avatar
PattiWright
Community Member
8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unsettling display, which could make good art, in a way. Definitely communicating something about women's expressions and coming out.

manyasinha avatar
Manya Sinha
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

wow amazing ! can u create an article that how they created this amazing art ?

jeremiahharrington12 avatar
Jetches
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lesson learned: all renaissance painters had sexist bias

soonctekh avatar
Soon Tekh
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I do not support this flimsy cause. You cannot simply replace men with women in famous artworks and expect to change people's minds about how they view women. This is like the all-female Ghostbusters movie. How about writing something original (like Cloud Atlas - what a great movie!) with truly strong female characters instead of doing all-female remakes? Gender inequality does indeed exist, but fighting for equality in this way does nothing.

maggieshear04 avatar
CupcakeQueen
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dumb, tacky, cheesy, disrespectful, stupid, and pretty weird!

irene_russak avatar
IreneRussak
Community Member
8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The Barbies have not replaced men but all characters in paintings. Both men and women. I think the author of this article might have misinterpreted the meaning of this...

grasshopperologist avatar
MarthaChambers
Community Member
8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some of these are sacriligious. The stated goal has not been reached but sounds more like an attempt to glorify a tragic misunderstanding of humanity. Women's place in society is not to be men or replace them. Each sex has its own value, and the 2 sexes were made to complement each other.

cassiewilliams avatar
CassieWilliams
Community Member
8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I just don't get how putting Barbie dolls in place of subjects in classical artwork is supposed to "raise questions about beauty, intelligence, and women’s place in society". These pieces feel like they are doing precisely the opposite.

Laure avatar
Laure
Community Member
8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

exactly what I thought, Barbie is the exact example of women not having a place in society. And «women» are replacing men in those art pieces. Fine, but there is a lot of art already depicting women. The work is interesting but it is really not raising those questions! I like the anatomy lesson though

Load More Replies...
sally.e.vogel avatar
SallyVogel
Community Member
8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not worth the effort it took to create them. Didn't inspire me to think about women's place in society or history, just to wonder why anyone would demean the original works of art with Barbies.

grasshopperologist avatar
MarthaChambers
Community Member
8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some of these images are sacriligious. The stated goal has not been reached. Women's place in society is not to replace or be men. The 2 sexes were made to complement each other, and each sex has its own value.

patti_wright_756 avatar
PattiWright
Community Member
8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unsettling display, which could make good art, in a way. Definitely communicating something about women's expressions and coming out.

manyasinha avatar
Manya Sinha
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

wow amazing ! can u create an article that how they created this amazing art ?

jeremiahharrington12 avatar
Jetches
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lesson learned: all renaissance painters had sexist bias

soonctekh avatar
Soon Tekh
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I do not support this flimsy cause. You cannot simply replace men with women in famous artworks and expect to change people's minds about how they view women. This is like the all-female Ghostbusters movie. How about writing something original (like Cloud Atlas - what a great movie!) with truly strong female characters instead of doing all-female remakes? Gender inequality does indeed exist, but fighting for equality in this way does nothing.

maggieshear04 avatar
CupcakeQueen
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dumb, tacky, cheesy, disrespectful, stupid, and pretty weird!

irene_russak avatar
IreneRussak
Community Member
8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The Barbies have not replaced men but all characters in paintings. Both men and women. I think the author of this article might have misinterpreted the meaning of this...

grasshopperologist avatar
MarthaChambers
Community Member
8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some of these are sacriligious. The stated goal has not been reached but sounds more like an attempt to glorify a tragic misunderstanding of humanity. Women's place in society is not to be men or replace them. Each sex has its own value, and the 2 sexes were made to complement each other.

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