Propped
Item
-
Title
-
Propped
-
Description
-
Propped (1992) is a seminal 7-by-6-foot oil painting by Jenny Saville, featuring a raw,, fleshy self-portrait that challenges traditional, idealized female nudes. It depicts the artist naked on a stool, head tilted back, hands clawing at her thigh, looking down at the viewer in a commanding yet uncomfortable pose.
-
Date
-
1992
-
Identifier
-
0002.Sothebys
-
Material
-
oil on canvas
-
Location
-
New Bond St, Bond St, London W1A 2AA, United Kingdom
-
Sothebys London
-
Measurements
-
213.4 cm x 182.9 cm(84 inches x 72 inches)
-
Analysis
-
Confrontational female body that rejects traditional ideals of thinness, passivity, and polished beauty:
(21st century) In Propped, Saville presents a monumental female nude that challenges the idealized bodies often seen in art history. Instead of focusing on softness, delicacy, or passive beauty, she highlights flesh, weight, size, and a strong physical presence with realistic detail. The figure looks directly at the viewer, refusing to be seen only as an object of pleasure or quiet admiration. By focusing on a body that does not fit narrow beauty standards, Saville rejects the polished femininity shaped by the male gaze. Propped connects to your broader theme by revealing and resisting the long tradition of showing women through limited ideals of desirability, youth, and perfection.
