Masculinity and Art History

Perhaps one of the reasons masculinity is hard to disconnect from the male body, even in modern investigations into gender, is the intense focus on the male body throughout history, especially how it physically displays the masculine characteristics of strength and sexual prowess. When doing a simple Google search of “Masculinity and Art History” the predominant images and articles that come up are of male nudes and discussions of artworks like Michelangelo’s David or ancient Greek and Roman sculptures of Gods like Heracles and Apollo. One important task for scholars and those working in the field of gender studies is how to move discussions of masculinity away from the male body.