Lily Monaghan- BA (Hons) Fine Art and Art History
Musings
Monaghan’s practice is feminist based, focusing on how women are presented as a ‘muse’ through the Baroque and Renaissance period; furthermore, looking at the male gaze and how men vs women represent women and concepts of rejecting being perceived.
They explore their practice through traditional oil painting on self-made canvases, they approach their work in this way to emulate the feel and style of the Baroque and Renaissance period.
Their inspiration comes from the likes of Artemisia Gentileschi, in how she presents women and herself – hence Monaghan’s exploration of women as a muse through self-portraiture. She also considers feelings of the uncanny, few women were portrayed in a grotesque or unsettling way during the periods she explores, except for Gentileschi.
Based on this they enjoy subverting and rejecting the male gaze, being active in paintings while not being fully perceivable.
