Pregnancy in Art studies on the representation of pregnant women in Western art show that, after the Renaissance, pregnancy slowly became a visual taboo
· Women were "constantly" pregnant but rarely represented · Pregnancy was considered a result of women's sinful nature · It was more common to show a pregnant peasant - pregnancy was associated with "animality" of the people (above, fresco by Tiepolo, 18th century AD) If you want to know more on the subject, a very interesting podcast is available HERE. Sorry, it's in French!
"Point de fille qui ne désire devenir femme, point de femme qui ne désire devenir mère." French medieval popular saying, which reinforces the only purpose attributed to women: "No girl wouldn't want to become woman/spouse, no woman/spouse wouldn't want to become a mother." In French, the word "femme" can refer to "woman" as well as "spouse".
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