Art gallery controversy over picture
PAINTING’S REMOVAL SPARKS DEBATE ABOUT HOW WOMEN ARE DEPICTED BY ARTISTS
MANCHESTER Art Gallery has sparked controversy after removing a PreRaphaelite inspired painting depicting naked water nymphs seducing a man.
Hylas And The Nymphs, painted by John William Waterhouse in 1896, is a Victorian masterpiece, but its perceived erotic content - combined with the rise of the #MeToo movement and the recent expose of London’s President’s Club - has prompted curators to take the artwork down.
A statement on the gallery’s website said the painting was removed ‘to prompt conversation about how we display and interpret artworks in Manchester’s public collection.’
It read: “This gallery presents the female body as either a ‘passive decorative form’ or a ‘femmes fatale.’
“Let’s challenge this Victorian fantasy!”
Responses to the curator’s gesture has been varied across social media.
“A dangerous precedent is set for other artworks,” warned one person, while another criticised the “po-faced, politically-correct virtue-signalling”.
In response to these concerns, Claire Gannaway, of Manchester Art Gallery, stressed that this was not about censorship, but about “outdated and damaging stories this whole part of the gallery is still telling through the contextualising and interpretation of collection displays”. Writing on the gallery’s website, Claire says: “The area of the gallery which included Hylas And The Nymphs hasn’t changed for a VERY long time and still tells a very particular story about the bodies on display. “We think that we can do better than this and the taking down of the painting is a playful way to open up a discussion about this whole gallery, the collection and the way that artworks speak to us through the way they are interpreted and put into context.” “We’d like this gallery to tell a different story in 2018, rather than being about the ‘Pursuit of Beauty’ with a binary tale about how women are either femmes fatale or passive bodies for male consumption.” Hylas And The Nymphs was taken down on January 26, leaving a blank space where visitors are encouraged to leave post-it notes with their thoughts on the act. The removal was filmed and will be shown as part of an exhibition by Sonia Boyce, which is set to launch on March 23, this year.
The taking down of the painting is a playful way to open up a discussion Claire Gannaway