Raid Valencia-Alicante-Valencia

Gender stereotypes: subject of history / allegory

Gender stereotypes: subject / object

From time immemorial, female depictions, containing varying degrees of fantasy and nudity, have frequently been placed on the front of ships. In keeping with this tradition, the artist positions a woman as the central element of the composition. However, this is a different woman, one associated with the modernity deriving from the 1909 Valencia Regional Exposition (repeated as a national exposition in 1910). She is presented in the context of festivities, joy, novelty, etc. and fully fleshed out, with features that even resemble a portrait. The poster demonstrates the option of another form of public presence and exhibition for Valencian women, which would have to coexist with the traditional mantilla and modesty. It constitutes a step forward in constructing the modern woman of the consumer society, reflected in the graphic works of illustrator Rafael de Penagos (1889–1954).