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Zoom

by Brianna Howard

Oil on canvas | January 2019

Throughout art history, the female nude has been an object of interest by painters and sculptures since the 
start of the Italian Renaissance. In Zoom, the objectification of the female body is defied and transformed 
into a powerful, strong-willed gaze. The woman looks at the viewer with her head slightly tilted up, as 
if she is challenging the viewer. The woman’s direct eye contact leaves the viewer feeling unsettled and 
perturbed. The traditional color palette and realistic style of the Renaissance are discarded in favor of a 
more expressionistic palette, emphasized through the sweeping brushstrokes. Overall, this work acts as a 
transition between the classical objectification of the female nude and contemporary values. In this work, 
the woman no longer acts as an object for a male gaze, but rather as an equal, and even challenger, of the 
male. 


