Ways of Seeing
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"This is the first of 4 programmes in which I want to question some of the assumptions usually made about the tradition of European painting. That tradition which was born about 1400, died about 1900. Tonight, it isn’t so much the paintings themselves which I want to consider, as the way we now see them." "Men dream of women. Women dream of themselves being dreamt of. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at." ... "Women constantly meet glances which act like mirrors reminding them of how they look or how they should look." --Ways of Seeing (1972) by John Berger |
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Ways of Seeing is a book by John Berger, a companion to the 1972 BBC television series of the same name. Ways of Seeing consists of a series of written and visual essays that raise questions about hidden ideologies in European oil painting of the 15th century until the end of the 19th century and depictions of women in advertisements and oil paintings, which is typical for the then-emergent feminist readings of popular culture. Ways of Seeing is considered to be a seminal text for studies of visual culture and art history.
It starts with the sentence: “Seeing comes before words. The child sees and recognizes before it can speak,” which erroneously stresses the visual component of culture. As David Toop and other have since pointed out, a child hears and feels before it sees.
The work, esp. the first episode 'Painting and the Camera" was in part derived from Walter Benjamin's essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.
On the cover is the English version of Magritte's The Key of Dreams.
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Production
Ways of Seeing was a 1972 BBC television series created chiefly by writer John Berger and producer Mike Dibb, that led to a book of the same name. The book Ways of Seeing was made by Berger and Dibb, along with Sven Blomberg, Chris Fox, and Richard Hollis. The book consists of seven numbered essays: four using words and images; and three essays using only images.
Response to Civilisation (TV series)
The series and book criticize traditional Western cultural aesthetics by raising questions about hidden ideologies in visual images. The series is partially a response to Kenneth Clark's Civilisation series, which represents a more traditionalist view of the Western artistic and cultural canon.
TOC
Ways of Seeing, Part 1: Painting and the Camera
The program starts with Berger taking out a knife and cutting out Venus's face from Botticelli's Mars and Venus. Then there is a voiceover reciting Dziga Vertov's Kinoks Revolution manifesto over footage of Man with a Movie Camera. This episode is in part derived from Walter Benjamin's essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction and is concerned with the effects of mechanical reproduction. It then moves to a discussion of the prime version of Leonardo's Virgin of the Rocks and its authenticity.
Ways of Seeing, Part 2: Painting Nudes and Women
Ways of Seeing, Part 3: Painting and Possessions
Ways of Seeing, Part 4: Painting and Advertising
List of works reproduced
8 The Key of Dreams by René Magritte, 1898-1967, private collection
12 Regents of the Old Men's Alms House by Frans Hals, 1580-1666, Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem 12 Regentesses of the Old Men's Alms House by Frans Hals, 1580-1666, Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem 18 Still Life with Wicker Chair by Picasso 1881- 20 Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519, National Gallery, London
22 Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519, Louvre, Paris
23 The Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist by Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519, National Gallery, London
25 Venus and Mars by Sandro Botticelli, 1445-1510, National Gallery, London
27 The Procession to Calvary by Pieter Breughel the Elder, 1525-69, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna 27 Wheatfield with Crows by Vincent van Gogh, 1853-90, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam 31 Woman Pouring Milk by Jan Vermeer, 1632-75, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 38 (top left) Nude by Picasso, 1881 — 38 (top right) Nude by Modigliani, 1884-1920, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London 38 (bottom left) Nevermore by Gaugin, 1848-1903, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London
38 (bottom right) Nude Standing Figure by Giacometti, Tate Gallery, London
39 Bathsheba by Rembrandt van Ryn, 1606-69, Louvre, Paris
43 Judgement of Paris by Peter Paul Rubens, 1577—1640, National Gallery, London
45 Reclining Bacchante by Felix Trutat, 1824—48, Musee des Beaux Arts, Dijon
48 The Garden of Eden; the Temptation, the Fall and the Expulsion Miniature from 'Les Très Riches Heures du Due de Berry' by Pol de Limbourg and brothers, before 1416, Mus6e Conde, Chantilly
49 Adam and Eve by Jan Gossart called Mabuse, died c.1533. Her Majesty the Queen
49 The Couple by Max Slevogt, 1868-1932,
50 Susannah and the Elders by Jacopo Tintoretto, 1518-94, Louvre, Paris
50 Susannah and the Elders by Jacopo Tintoretto, 1518-94, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
51 Vanity by Hans Memling, 1435-94, Strasbourg Museum
51 The Judgement of Paris by Lucas Cranach the Elder. 1472-1553, Landesmuseum, Gotha
52 The Judgement of Paris by Peter Paul Rubens, 1577-1640, National Gallery, London
52 Nell Gwynne by Sir Peter Lely, 1618-80, Denys Bower collection, Chiddingstone Castle, Kent
53 Mochica Pottery depicting sexual intercourse Photograph by Shippee-Johnson, Lima, Peru
53 Rajasthan, 18th century, Ajit Mookerjee, New Delhi
53 Vishnu and Lakshmi, 11th century, Parsavanatha Temple, Khajuraho
54 Venus, Cupid, Time and Love by Agnolo Bronzino, 1503-72, National Gallery, London
55 La Grande Odalisque by J. A. D. Ingres, 1780—1867, Louvre, Paris (detail)
56 Bacchus, Ceres and Cupid by Hans von Aachen, 1552-1615, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
57 Les Oreades by William Bouguereau, 1825-1905, private collection
58 Danae by Rembrandt van Ryn, 1606-69, Hermitage, Leningrad (detail)
60 Hel&ne Fourment in a Fur Coat by Peter Paul Rubens, 1577-1640, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
62 Man Drawing Reclining Woman by Albrecht Durer 1471-1528
62 Woodcut from Four Books on the Human Proportions by Albrecht Durer, 1471-1528
63 The Venus of Urbino by Titian, 1487/90-1576, Uffizi, Florence
63 Olympia by Edouard Manet, 1832—83, Louvre, Paris
66 (top left) Virgin Enthroned by Cimabue, Louvre, Paris, c. 1240-1302?
66 (top right) Virgin, Child and Four Angels by Piero della Francesca, 1410/20-92, Williamston, Clark Art Institute
66 (bottom left) Madonna and Child by Fra Filippo Lippi, 1457/8-1504
66 (bottom right) The Rest on the Flight into Egypt by Gerard David, d.1523. National Gallery of Art Washington, Mellon Collection
67 (top left) The Sistine Madonna by Raphael, 1483-1520, Uffizi, Florence
67 (top right) Virgin and Child by Murillo, 1617-82, Pitti Palace, Florence
67 (bottom) The Pretty Baa Lambs by Ford Madox Brown, 1821-93, Birmingham City Museum
68 (top) Death of St Francis by Giotto, 1266/7-1337, Sta Croce, Florence
68 (bottom) detail of Triumph of Death by Pieter Brueghel, 1525/30-69, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
69 (top left) Guillotined Heads by Theodore Gericault, 1791-1824, National Museum, Stockholm
69 (top right) Three Ages of Woman by Hans Baldung Grien, 1483-1545, Prado, Madrid
69 (bottom) Dead Toreador by Edouard Manet, 1832-83
70 (top) Still Life by Pierre Chardin, 1699-1779, National Gallery, London
70 (bottom) Still Life by Francisco Goya, 1746-1828, Louvre, Paris
71 (top) Still Life by Jean Baptiste Oudry, 1686-1755, Wallace Collection, London
71 (bottom) Still Life by Jan Fyt, Wallace Collection, London
72 Daphnis and Chloe by Bianchi Ferrari, Wallace Collection, London
73 (top) Venus and Mars by Piero di Cosimo, 1462-1521, Gemaldegalerie, Berlin-Dahlen
73 (bottom) Pan by Luca Signorelli, c. 1441/50-1523, original now destroyed, formerly Kaiser Friedrich Museum, Berlin
74 (top) Angelica saved by Ruggiero by J. A. D. Ingres, 1780-1867, National Gallery, London
74 (bottom) A Roman Feast by Thomas Couture, 1815-79, Wallace Collection, London
75 (top) Pan and Syrinx by Boucher, 1703-70, National Gallery, London
75 (bottom) Love seducing Innocence, Pleasure leading her on. Remorse following by Pierre Paul Prud’hon, 1758-1823, Wallace Collection, London
76 Knole Ball Room
77 (top left) Emanuel Philibert of Savoy by Sir Anthony van Dyck, 1599-1641, Dulwich
77 (bottom left) Endymion Porter by William Dobson, 1610—46, Tate Gallery, London
77 (right) Norman, 22nd Chief of Macleod by Allan Ramsay, 1713-84, Dunvegan Castle
78 (top) Descartes by Frans Hals, 1580/5-1666, Copenhagen
78 (bottom) Court Fool by Diego Velasquez, 1599—1660, Prado, Madrid
79 (top left) Dona Tadea Arias de Enriquez by Francisco Goya, 1746-1828, Prado, Madrid
79 (top right) Woman in Kitchen by Pierre Chardin,
1699-1779
79 (bottom) Mad Kidnapper by Theodore G6ricault, 1791—1824, Springfield, Massachusetts
80 (top) Self-Portrait by Albrecht Diirer, 1471-1528
80 (bottom) Self-Portrait by Rembrandt van Ryn, 1606-69
81 (top) Self-Portrait by Goya, 1746-1828, Mus6e Castres
81 (bottom) Not to be reproduced by René Magritte,
1898-1967, Collection E. F. W, James, Sussex
83 Paston Treasures at Oxnead Hall, Dutch School, c. 1665, City of Norwich Museum
85 The Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in His Private Picture Gallery by David I. Teniers, 1582-1649, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
86 Picture Gallery of Cardinal Valenti Gonzaga by G. P. Panini, 1692-1765/8, Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, Connecticut
87 Interior of an Art Gallery, Flemish, 17th century.
National Gallery, London
89 The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1497/8-1543, National Gallery, London
91 Vanitas by Willem de Poorter, 1608—48, collection, Baszenger, Geneva
92 The Magdalen Reading by Studio of Ambrosius Benson (active 1519-50), National Gallery, London
92 Mary Magdalene by Adriaen van der Werff,
1659-1722, Dresden
92 The Penitent Magdalen by Baudry, Salon of 1859, Mus6e des Beaux-Arts, Nantes
93 Water-colour illustration to Dante's Divine Comedy — inscription Over the Gate of Hell by William Blake, 1757—1827, Tate Gallery, London
95 Admiral de Ruyter in the Castle of Elmina
by Emanuel de Witte, 1617-92, collection. Dowager Lady Harlech, London
96 India Offering Her Pearls to Britannia,
painting done for the East India Company in the late 18th century. Foreign and Commonwealth Office
97 Ferdinand the Second of Tuscany and Vittoria della Rovere by Justus Suttermans, 1597-1681,
National Gallery, London
98 Mr and Mrs William Atherton by Arthur Devis, 1711-87, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
98 The Beaumont Family by George Romney, 1734-1802, Tate Gallery, London
99 Still Life with Lobster by Jan de Heem, 1606-84, Wallace collection, London
99 Lincolnshire Ox by George Stubbs. 1724-1806,
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool 100 Still Life ascribed to Pieter Claesz, 1596/7-1661, National Gallery, London
100 Charles II Being Presented with a Pineapple by Rose, the Royal Gardener after Hendrick Danckerts, c. 1630-78/9, Ham House, Richmond
101 Mr Towneley and Friends by Johann Zoffany, 1734/5-1810, Towneley Hall Art Gallery and Museum, Burnley, Lancashire
160
161
101 Triumph of Knowledge by Bartholomew Spranger,
1546-1611, Vienna Gallery
102 Three Graces Decorating Hymen by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1723-92, Tate Gallery, London
102 Ossian Receiving Napoleon's Marshalls in Valhalla by A. L. Girodet de Roucy-Trioson, 1767-1824,
Chateau de Malmaison
103 Tavern Scene by Adriaen Brouwer, 1605/6-38,
National Gallery, London
104 Laughing Fisherboy by Frans Hals, 1580-1666, Burgsteinfurt, Westphalia: collection. Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt
104 Fisherboy by Frans Hals, 1580—1666, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
104 An Extensive Landscape with Ruins
by Jacob van Ruisdael, 1628/9-82, National Gallery, London
105 River Scene with Fishermen Casting a Net
by Jan Van Goyen, 1596—1656, National Gallery, London
106 Mr and Mrs Andrews by Thomas Gainsborough, 1727-88, National Gallery, London
111 Portrait of Himself and Saskia by Rembrandt van Ryn, 1606-69, Pinakotek, Dresden
112 Self-portrait by Rembrandt van Ryn, 1606-69,
Uffizi, Florence
114 (top) Europe supported by Africa and America by William Blake, 1757-1827 11 4 (bottom) Pity by William Blake, 1757-1827 11 5 Mildew Blighting Ears of Corn by William Blake,
1757-1827
116 (top) Mademoiselle de Clermont
by Jean Marc Nattier, 1685-1766,
Wallace Collection, London
116 (bottom) Sale of Pictures and Slaves in the Rotunda, New Orleans, 1842
117 (top left) Princess Rakoscki by Nicolas de LargilliSrre, 1656-1746, National Gallery, London
117 (top right) Charles, Third Duke of Richmond by Johann Zoffany, 1734/5-1810, private collection 117 (bottom) Two Negroes by Rembrandt van Ryn, 1606-69, The Hague, Mauritshuis
162
118 Sarah Burge, 1883. Dr Barnardo's Homes
by unknown photographer
119 Peasant Boy Leaning on Sill by Bartolomfe Murillo, 1617-82, National Gallery, London
120 (top left) A Family Group by Michael Nouts, 1656?, National Gallery, London
120/1 (top centre) Sleeping Maid and her Mistress
by Nicholas Maes, 1634—93, National Gallery, London
120 (bottom left) Interior, Delft School, c. 1650-55?, National Gallery, London
120/1 (bottom centre) Man and a Woman in a Stableyard by Peter Quast, 1605/6—47, National Gallery, London
121 (top right) Interior with Woman Cooking by Esaias Boursse, Wallace Collection, London
121 (bottom right) Tavern Scene by Jan Steen, 1626-79, Wallace Collection, London
122 (top left) The Frugal Meal by John Frederick Herring, 1795-1865, Tate Gallery, London
122 (top right) A Scene at Abbotsford by Sir Edwin Landseer, 1802—73, Tate Gallery, London
122 (centre left) White Dogs by Thomas Gainsborough, 1727-88, National Gallery, London
122 (centre middle) Dignity and Impudence by Sir Edwin Landseer, 1802—73, Tate Gallery, London 122 (centre right) Miss Bowles by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1723—92, Wallace collection, London
122 (bottom) detail: Farm Cart by Thomas Gainsborough, 1727-88, Tate Gallery, London
1 23 (top) The James Family by Arthur Devis, 1711-87, Tate Gallery, London
123 (centre left) A Grey Hack with a White Greyhound and Blue Groom by George Stubbs, 1724-1806, Tate Gallery, London
123 (centre right) The Bay Horse by John Ferneley, 1782-1860, Tate Gallery, London
123 (bottom) A Kill at Ashdown Park by James Seymour. Tate Gallery, London
124 Girl in White Stockings by Gustave Courbet, 1819-77
125 Demoiselles au bord de la Seine by Gustave Courbet, 1819-77, Musee du Petit Palais, Paris 126 (centre) Le Salon photograph 126 (top) Les Romains de la Decadence by Thomas Couture, 1815—79 126 (bottom left) Madame Cahen d’Anvers by L. Bonnat 126 (bottom right) The Ondine of Nidden by E. Doerstling 127 (top right) The Temptation of St Anthony by A. Morot 127 (top left) Witches Sabbath by Louis Falero 1 27 (bottom left) Psyche's Bath by Leighton 127 (bottom right) La Fortune by A. Maignar.
1 29 Photograph by Sven Blomberg
134 Dejeuner sur I'Herbe by Edouard Manet, 1832—83, Louvre, Paris
136 (top) Jupiter and Thetis by J. A. D. Ingres, 1780-1867, Mus6e Granet, Aix-en-Provence
1 36 (bottom left) Pan Pursuing Syrinx
by Hendrick van Balen I and follower of Jan Breughel I, 17th century, National Gallery, London 1 37 (bottom left) Bacchus, Ceres and Cupid by Bartholomew Spranger, 1546—1611
137 (top left) Interior of St Odulphus' Church at Assendelft, 1649 by Pieter Saenredam, 1547-1665
137 (top right) Wave by Hokusai, 1760-1849 139 Carlo Lodovico di Borbone Parma with Wife, sister and Future Carlo III of Parma,
Anon, 19th century, Archducal Estate Viareggio 141 Still Life with Drinking Vessels by Pieter Claesz, 1596/7-1661, National Gallery, London 147 Mrs Siddons by Thomas Gainsborough, 1727-88, National Gallery, London 147 Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol 155 On the Threshold of Liberty by René Magritte, 1898-1967
Book
In 1972, a book version was published with contributions by John Berger, Sven Blomberg, Chris Fox, Michael Dibb, Richard Hollis
See also
References
- Berger, John. Ways of Seeing. Penguin: London, 1972. ISBN 0140216316
