A Bather, William Etty (1845)
‘A Bather’ is a female nude painting created by William Etty during his period of great commercial success, but at this time, the quality of his works deteriorated with his health. The woman in the painting sits on a draped chair, slightly curled up with her back to the audience, timidly turning her head to the right to see but dare not clearly see the people staring at her.
William Etty. A Bather, 1835 AD- 1845 AD. York Museum Trust. By Licence: Public Domain.
THEIR GAZE
…
Here they come again, another group of people here to stare at me.
I’m glad i’m not facing them, I can’t look them in the eyes and wander what they think of me.
Why did my title have to be ‘Bather’, is the only action women are capable of always related to being watched? Men get to be rulers, fighters, heroes in paintings!
They will never even know who I am, who I was. All they care about is that I took my clothes off to go for a swim… why don’t I at least deserve a name?
Does she deserve a NAME?
Leave your voice!
Back to Home