The woman's gaze

Special International Women's Day – March 8

For centuries, women have occupied a central place in the history of art, but not always as creators. Throughout much of Western tradition, they were models, symbols, or muses—figures represented through the eyes of others. From classical goddesses to Renaissance portraits and Baroque allegories, the female body has been one of art's most recurring themes.

However, history also holds another narrative, increasingly visible: that of the women who took up the paintbrush, the word, or the form to become creators of their own representation.

In the context of International Women's Day , it is a good time to look at that journey: from muse to author.

From muse to creator

For centuries, women were central figures in paintings, but they rarely signed their canvases. Renaissance and Baroque painters depicted Venuses, Madonnas, and female allegories embodying ideals of beauty, virtue, or temptation. Women appeared as central figures, but almost never as narrators of their own stories.

Despite social and educational restrictions, some female artists managed to forge their own paths. A pivotal figure was Artemisia Gentileschi , a 17th-century Baroque painter. Her works, such as Judith Beheading Holofernes , reinterpret biblical narratives from an intense and powerful perspective. Gentileschi not only achieved recognition in her time but is now considered one of the great painters of the Baroque period.

During that same period, other female artists also made their mark on the European art scene. Sofonisba Anguissola , active at the 16th-century Spanish court, was one of the first painters to achieve international renown thanks to her refined portraits. Later, Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun , portraitist to the court of Marie Antoinette , became one of the most celebrated artists of the 18th century.

In subsequent centuries, other female artists began to assert their voices. Berthe Morisot , a key figure in Impressionism, participated in several exhibitions alongside Monet and Renoir, bringing an intimate and sensitive perspective to everyday life. Her domestic scenes, portraits, and depictions of motherhood broadened the scope of Impressionism, introducing a different sensibility to a movement dominated by male artists.

Modernity and one's own voice

The 20th century brought a radical transformation. Female artists began to occupy a more visible place in the cultural landscape and to question traditional representations of the female body and identity.

Frida Kahlo 's work profoundly changed the way art addresses identity and personal experience. Her self-portraits explore pain, Mexican culture, and the construction of identity with an intensity that continues to influence generations of artists.

Georgia O'Keeffe also redefined the visual language of modern art. Her paintings of flowers, landscapes, and organic forms expanded the possibilities of abstraction and cemented her place as one of the great American artists of the 20th century.

In contemporary art, creators like Yayoi Kusama have taken the artistic experience beyond the canvas, transforming it into immersive installations that explore identity, repetition, and perception.

Female representation today

Today, the debate no longer revolves solely around who represents women, but also how they are represented and who has the creative voice. Museums, galleries, and collections are revising their narratives to integrate historically invisible perspectives.

In the Gaudifond collection, this diversity of perspectives is also present through artists who explore identity, the body, and memory from very different languages.

Helga Krebs 's work constructs a predominantly feminine universe populated by hybrid bodies, fetal figures, altered dolls, and anatomies in tension. Her career traverses some of the most significant aesthetic debates of the 20th century—from the abstraction of the 1960s to political realism—while the experience of exile profoundly marks the symbolic intensity of her work.

Sonja Sananes , for her part, stands out for her mastery of engraving and printmaking. Her work precisely explores line, texture, and the materiality of printmaking, combining graphic tradition and technical experimentation in a visual language of great poetic power.

In a different vein, Dolores Núñez develops a pictorial universe akin to poetic realism, where the female figure occupies a central place. Her compositions, with their restrained atmosphere and measured color, intertwine memory, symbol, and narrative, constructing scenes imbued with delicacy and emotional depth.

Dolores Nuñez - Let me dream

La Femme , from observer to creator

In this context, La Femme was born, the first limited edition book by Gaudifond , conceived as a participatory artistic experience.

More than a coloring book, it proposes a new relationship with the artwork. Inspired by 25 pieces from the Gaudifond collection, it invites the reader to freely interact with each image, transforming contemplation into a personal creative act.

Each sheet can be colored, removed and framed, becoming a unique work born from the dialogue between the original stroke and the individual interpretation.

The Woman

The book also includes:

• The essay “Presence, symbol and gaze”, dedicated to the evolution of the female figure in the history of art.

• Color reproductions of works by Glauco Capozzoli , also removable and designed for framing.

• A large format and artistic paper designed to allow for different creative techniques.

The result is an editorial object that invites creation without pressure or rules, recovering the value of the manual gesture in an era dominated by digital technology.

A conversation that continues

Throughout history, the female figure has been represented, reinterpreted, and questioned by generations of artists. Today, that dialogue continues from new perspectives.

La Femme is situated precisely in that intermediate space between looking and participating, where the work ceases to be merely contemplated and becomes a territory of personal experimentation.

Because the history of art is not just a succession of works preserved in museums:
It is a living conversation that continues every time someone decides to create.