An Invisible Violence? Women in Public Monuments

A monument is the most politically explicit artistic expression. Its main function is to legitimize the order of its time, and this is accomplished by using aesthetic forms that posses a powerful symbolic capital accumulated throughout history. One of the most persistent characteristics of the monuments is the profusion of female figures in them. The feminist critique is able to reveal the androcentric and ideologically interested nature that underpins this vision. The predominant female model in public statuary builds a fixed, allegedly universal, unchanging and anhistorical image of women: discriminatory gender stereotypes that monuments themselves reinforce.