THE IMAGE OF A WOMAN IN THE PAINTING OF CHINESE MODERNIST ARTISTS OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY: BETWEEN THE “DOLL” AND THE “NEW LADY”

Abstract

The purpose of the article: formation and transformation of symbolic images in women’s painting of republican China (on the example of the images of “doll” and “new lady”). Methodology. The article uses the methods of comparative and figurative analysis. The method of compositional analysis was used for the interpretation of works of art. Scientific novelty. The conducted research made it possible to demonstrate the importance of pictorial symbolism for the representation of the artistic features of women’s oil painting in the first half of the 20th century. in the context of the general evolution of Chinese fine art during the Republican period. The two most typical pictorial and symbolic themes are identified and analyzed: the child’s toy (doll) and the “new lady” as manifest in the development of women’s painting. Conclusions. On the example of the formation and development of women’s art, the ambivalent atmosphere of the Republic of China, which is a source of contradictions in symbolic imagery, is quite obvious. As a new professional community, women artists were forced to choose their own creative space, integrating both new artistic images and using the traditional arsenal of “female” symbols and signs. The image of a children’s toy, especially in its female version, visually emphasized the elements of family traditions, which in the practice of image-making at that time was not customary to express verbally or visually declare openly (for example, regarding the extremely “subtle” status of teenage girlhood). Thus, the visual self-presentation of the female image needed an additional symbolic context that allowed speaking not only on behalf of social gains (for example, personal freedom or equality of opportunity), but also to manifest the biased attitude towards women’s autarky existing in Chinese society. In this sense, painting is one of the most vivid arenas for the representation of such contradictions and their understanding in a visual, symbolic form. Practical meaning. The researches of Chinese scientists introduced into the scientific circulation can be used for further research of the problem.