Essay by Rebecca Hodgson, Class of 2012

What is femininity? Certainly the answer to this question varies with time and culture. Seen time and again, American Impressionist Charles Courtney Curran (1861-1942) unveiled his definition of femininity in many of his paintings. Emerging near the end of the nineteenth century, Curran constructed, what has come to be referred to as "floral-female painting" (Stott 61) with his works of art. Women within these compositions have been manipulated to echo a particular flower's distinguishing features. The development of a language of flowers became a pertinent aspect of the Victorian era, during which Curran painted. Regarding life's domestic and social spheres, books were comprised of flowers and their corresponding personified meanings (Rice). In countless displays of artistic expression throughout history, flowers have often symbolized an array of feminine qualities. In certain contexts, biblical references have been attached to specific flowers, such as white lilies, largely regarding spiritual and sexual purity. Flowers have also been used to represent love, a lack of knowledge, fertility, and beauty. Traditionally, femininity was defined in terms of passivity, beauty, and was given an overall more ornamental social role. In an attempt to defuse any growing power women were gaining at the time, as well as reassert a more traditional definition of femininity, floral-female painting portrayed women in delicate and passive terms (Stott).

Pertaining to Curran's The Amber Necklace (1907) specifically, he appears to have applied floral-female painting, in a sense, to an upper-class woman, revealed by her flawless complexion and refined appearance. Taking the concept of floral-female painting into consideration once again, moss-roses have been used to portray women in a more fragile manner. Moss-roses were thought to be most beautiful when half unfolded, contributing to a concealment aspect. Similarly, women were often depicted standing or sitting silently peering off, creating an atmosphere of mystery and apprehension (Stott). In this painting, Curran creates a moment in time, an impression, of a woman's gaze enveloped in the confines of her necklace. Anglo-Americans of that time often defined femininity in terms of females' modest and soothing nature, and largely highlighted their pure beauty.

Similar to a flower's inspirational role in floral-female painting, it is possible that the amber necklace depicted in this work serves both decorative and symbolic purposes as well. It has been interpreted in various times and places as having both spiritual and curative powers (Rice). Additionally, the amber necklace reinforces the woman's pure beauty. Even though Curran's definition of femininity in The Amber Necklace may be considered stereotypical according to today's standards, chiefly focusing on a woman's beauty as well as her pure and reserved nature, it is important to keep in mind that the paintings of these women were depicted according to the traditional manner of the time.