Art and freedom. The women of the Belle Époque
The role of women in art from the perspective of three female artists from the early twentieth century
Rafael de Penagos
Drawing, 1916
© Fundación MAPFRE Collections
In many respects, the lives of the most notable female protagonists of the Belle Époque reflect the tortuous path that women had to follow in the late nineteenth century to earn their right to creation. Renée Vivien, Suzanne Valadon and Camille Claudel had to counter the chauvinistic social and moral caveats of their time to uphold a type of art which, it appeared, was considered unsuitable for them. Or was it?