ABSTRACT
Gowing presents Renoir's traditionalism as if it were an extension of his nature, the inevitable result of virtuosity. Rather than overtly stating that his "natural" ability found its expression in the representation of "natural womanhood", Gowing subtly describes Renoir's painting practice in self-consciously phallic terms, so extending Renoir's own ironic assertion that he painted "with his prick". Renoir's statement points to one of the key areas of focus within feminist discourse which challenged the traditionally held belief in the incompatibility between women as rational thinking citizens on the one hand and women's legendary gentle nature and identity as wife and mother on the other. Many of Renoir's paintings represent women performing domestic chores with apparent ease and enjoyment. While feminists rejected traditional roles, symbols and even, in some cases, fashion, artists promoted with unprecedented intensity the myth of natural womanhood.
