The Flanuer
In order to understand what the flanuer culture encompassed one first needs to understand what flanuer is. According to Charles Baudelaire, the flanuer is a man who is so enthralled by the urban society/world that the external overpowers the internal, so fascinated with the on goings of others that he temporarily forgets his own self. The flanuer removes him form the on goings of thaw world as he/she strands astride the worlds hearts.
There are two schools of thought with regards to the description of the flanuer culture. The first school of thought associates the flanuer culture with a new urban commercial type of culture that is characteristic of the 1840s. The second school of thought is the avant-garde flanuer and it is embodies in the critical texts of Baudeleirs of from the period between the 1850s and the 1860s.
Gender plays a very significant role in the flanuer culture. According to Aruna D’Souza and Tom McDonough, the flanuer culture largely ignored the role of women and made them invisible participants. The two also go own to indicate that historians association of flanuer with the modern painter significantly denied the agency of female artists like Mary Cassatt and Barthe Morisot. The two also indicate that the flanuer is primarily gendered as male, a stereotypical situation that resulted in the marginalization of women which led to the creation of the female version of the flanuer that was referred to as the flaneuse. Thus this paper is going to provide a discussion on the flanuese and how it emerged as a result of the marginalization of women.
The flanuese is regarded to exist in a context much different from that of the flanuer; this is because she is simply not noticed by male history writers. Whereas the flanuer is believed to discover new concepts with regards to architecture, the flanuese is recognized for discovering domains related to art forms. The flanuese is also still objectified by patriarch institutes and men. However, the flanuese has managed to become independent without having to take over the absent gaze and look associated with the flanuer; they have managed to change their lives into art forms and establish voices in the society in which they live in by denouncing the earlier perception of women as muses.
An analysis of the concept of the flanuer and the flanges makes it clear that there is no pure flanuer or flaneuse and that this characters are used to provide a social description on the images of street life that are associated with a certain period in order to make the analysis of specific facets of the city easier. While analysis the gender difference from the perspective of perception, it becomes evident that the flanuer and the flanuese are not equal. The primary difference between is how they utilize public space, which is influenced by the respective perception of the city.
The role of the flaneuse is however extremely criticized even in today’s society. Critics hold that the role of the flaneuse is impossible will continue to be impossible despite the increase in public activities which women can participate in such as shopping and attending cultural events.
They also point out that the strong presence of separated sphere that was associated with the 19th century serve to prove that the flaneuse is non-existent. Most women from the middle class were dedicated to their private domains and interior affairs and those women who were roaming the public spheres where regarded as prostitutes and thus no consideration was given to them.
Even though modernization has led to changes in society’s perception of the flanuese, the places where women are spending their time while in urban spaces still affect how they use the public spaces and in return affects the public spheres.
Modernization has also led to significant changes in the flaneur culture, as more and more women are working instead of staying home and thus more and more women have the opportunity of acting as flaneuse.
The flaneuse is not the exact female version of the flanuer their fore she does not experience things in a similar manner to the flaneuse. The archetype of the flaneuse is also difficult to define, because it consists of many sub categories and paradoxes. Key concept associated with the flaneuse is the amount of spare time, crowd, the aesthetic detachment towards objects and sceneries that they see and are ambiguous about.
For instance, the department stores are regarded as the starting point for the flaneuse, but the same department stores also marked the as a consumer. The difference between the consumer and the flaneuse is in the distance that they create between themselves and the on goings ion the city.
The flaneur has the aesthetic distance between the subject and the object of their attention. The consumer-flanueuse lacks this distance therefore view the object of attention in a different light. Shopping, art and day trips which are activities associated with the flaneuse are also believed to have altered the way she views things.
Some of the popular flaneuse are Berthe Morisot and Marry Cassatt. By analysis their paintings, one can conclude that Morisot’s paintings focused more on illustrating the role of the female in society. This was achieved through by depicting women performing different house hold chores. On the other hand, Cassatt’s paintings primarily depicted the affection that is characteristic of women.
Art Analysis
Laundresses Hanging out Wash1875
As the name suggests, Morisot’s painting depicts laundresses hanging out the wash in what seems like a home steed. This painting depicts the women in their interior context perfuming house hold chores in the rural areas while the men go to the cities where there are industries. The painting promotes the stereotypical role given to women of home makers. Further analysis of the painting reveals the difference between the flanuer and the flaneuse whereby as the flanuer is free to wonder the city, the flaneuse is supposed to stay at home and conduct house hold chores.
Mother and Child Series
The mother and child series by Cassatt depicts two women lovingly embracing their children. This painting aims to showcase the level of affection associated with women which is also reflected by the flanuese in their close association with the target object of interest. The paintings also appear to showcase the closeness that exists between a mother and her child. The colors utilized in the painting are earth toned to illustrate the affection associated with mothers.
Cassatt Tea 1880
As the name suggests, the painting titled tea by Cassatt depicts two women having tea. This painting also attempts to depict the women’s interior role in society as the women are depicted to be in what seems like a house.
LES BAS BLUES
The painting titled Les blas Blues depicts two scenarios. In the first scenario, the woman is stirring a pot while reading a book and the man is portrayed brushing his shoes. In the second scenario, the woman is portrayed reading a book while the man sorts out clothes. This painting aims to illustrate the changing roles in society that are as a result of modernity. By depicting a woman reading a book the painter highlights the fact that the modern woman is more informed. By depicting a man sorting out clothes, the painter appears to pass the message that will modernization, gender roles will have to change as women will take more assertive roles in life and men will have to share the house hold chores with women.
According to Guy Debord, derive is a, methodology of rapid passage through different ambiences. This definition of derive makes it essentially different from the concept of the flanuer placed forward by Baudelaire which advocates for strolling through different ambiences; thus the primary difference between the two is found in the playful aspect and the awareness of psych geographical effects. Another difference between the two is that while Debords drive focuses mostly on identifying geographical zones as areas of interest, Baudelaire concept of the flanuire does not limit in any way the target of interest.
In as much as they are different, the two concepts also have essential similarities. One notable similarity between Guy Debord’s theory of the drive and Baudelaire concept of the flanuer is that they both advocated for an individual to disassociate from all other activities and focus only on the object of interest to him or her and proceed to experience the encounters that they may find in the object of interest. The two individuals also agree to the fact that both fluneur and derive are best done in the urban context because urban areas provide for a lot of variety in areas of interest.
Bibliography List
Gluck, Mary. "The flâneur and the aesthetic appropriation of urban culture in mid-19th-century Paris." Theory, Culture & Society 20, no. 5 (2003): 53-80.
Pollock, Griselda. Modernity and the Spaces of Femininity.na, 2008.
Pollock, Griselda. Painting, feminism, history. na, 2002.
Seal, Bobby. "Baudelaire, Benjamin and the birth of the flâneur." Psychogeographic Review (2013).
Wilson, Elizabeth. "The invisible flâneur." New Left Review 191 (2012).
Appendix A
Laundresses Hanging out Wash
The Laundresses hanging out the Wash is a painting made by Berthe Morisot in the year 1875 in her house in the country side. It is oil and canvas painting and it showcased women laundresses hanging out clothes to dry on a clothing line. The painting is among Berthe’s many expressionist paintings that aimed to showcase the role of women in society.
Appendix B
Mother and Child Series
The mother and child series is oil and canvas based painting made by Mary Cassat in the year 1882. The painting is part of a series of painting that aimed to showcase a woman’s role as a mother. The painting was part of the flanuer culture as it depicted how Cassat viewed women.
Appendix C
Cassatt Tea
Cassat Tea is another painting made by Mary Cassat in the year 1880. The painting is made from oil and canvas and depicts two women sitting in a living room drinking tea. The painting was made in her studio. In this painting Cassat showcased the woman’s role as an interior being bound to conversing in the house.
Appendix D
The painting titled Les Bas Blues aims to depict how modernization is leading to a change in gender roles. The painting is by Barthe Morisot and in it she tries to showcase how the roles of the man and the woman have significantly changed as the woman becomes more educated. The painting is made from oil and canvas in the year 1876 in her studio apartment.
