JEAN PHILIP DE TENDER

Every art lover will have a copy of “The Story of Art” by E.H. Gombrich. It was first published in 1950 and has gone in multiple reprints. Millions of copies have been sold. I have the 2016 luxury edition by Phaidon, but you also have a pocket and plenty of other versions.  It is prominent in my Geneva library, but I haven’t read it.  I have browsed it.

What I did read is “The Story of Art without Men” by Katy Hessel, first published in 2022. The book drew much attention as it seemed to criticize “Gombrich’s bible.” I’m not convinced that Hessel’s book was intended as criticism. I think she ment to put a spot on female artists who don’t feature on the traditional ‘art playlists’. Considering geopolitical, local, and social contexts, I’m surprised by what women artists achieved in a male dominant world. And I agree that we need to highlight that more.

Educational, academic, social, and other circumstances made it difficult for women to play the first violin, but they were part of the orchestra. It’s great that through this book, I’m now exposed to a range of female painters, sculptors, drawers, … that were not on my radar before. 

But Hessel’s book may lead to another controversy. We now divide the world into male/female when it comes to art production and topic representation.  The “Woke World” will no doubt criticize that shortly, and I struggle with it. I’m one of those white, well-educated, privileged men with gray hair. Unfortunately, no one opened the other more diversity boxes I tick. Shouldn’t the only categorization be what each of us likes and dislikes? Art where you as an individual feel represented or not? 

One thing is certain: we live in a more inclusive (and therefore exciting) art moment than ever before.

Katy Hessel

My husband and I occasionally buy some art, and gender is never a consideration. We buy what we love. We are building the collection and don’t buy in terms of gender. I do not know the percentage of male/female, hetero/gay, … representation in our collection. Do we have anything queer? We don’t mind the artist’s identity. We buy what we love, and many of them have multiple identities. They are queer, book lovers, foodies, city lovers, … and all that is fine. I don’t feel the urge to put them in boxes.

“The Story of Art Without Men” puts artists like Louise Bourgeois, Frida Kahlo, Tamara de Lempicka, Yayoi Kusama, and many others into perspective. But it also opened a new world to artists like Lynette Yiadoum-Bookye, Dorothea Tanning, Aloïse Corbaz, and many other talented artists.

“The Story of Art Without Men”, Katy Hessel, Penguin Random House UK, 2022.