Lover and painter Raphael conveys the importance of his subject by empowering her with agency, drawing parallels to powerful religious figures, and surrounding her with opulence and symbols of love.
Raphael empowers the young woman’s agency in his painting using two methods; first, he allows the woman to command her sensuality, second, he grants the subject absolute control to overpower the audience. The women in the painting is almost nude; her breasts are uncovered, her midriff is wrapped in a sheer fabric, and her genitals and lower body are covered by a red cloth. Yet, the cloths that cover her body—or don’t—are controlled by the subject herself, and not held by anything else. Her right hand gently caresses her breast, lightly holding the
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Raphael did not paint a posed women; she posture is slouched and too casual for a portrait. Her stomach is protruded forward and relaxed; her legs are comfortably open. This casual ambiance that Raphael embodies allows her to be more than a vessel of beauty, she refuses to be a ridged object for the audience to gaze upon. Instead, she poses for her own pleasure; her slouch allows her to caress her own breast and gently touch herself. Again, the women is the agent; she refuses to control her body and perform for the audience. Agency is also illustrated by her eyes. Painted darkly and framed by deep eyebrows, the subject looks beyond the audience. Yet, it is a knowing look; Raphael paints her eyes revealingly; the subject stares specifically at somebody within the frame, out of the grasp of the audience. By painting a gaze not directed at the audience, Raphael refuses the public a look into her eyes; no matter where an onlooker might stand, Raphael excludes them from this sensual moment she is sharing beyond the painting, beyond the reach of the audience. Raphael allows the women to reject the audience, and include a person of her choosing, therefore empowering her