Guarding hand Symbolism

Gesture of refusal and control—access is conditional, not freely granted.

Common Themes

Mimesis vs. abstraction (truth vs. artifice)Lasting vs. fleeting (ephemerality)Medium reflexivity (art about art)Colonial encounter & empireThe gaze & being looked atCapital, commodity, and consumptionSpectacle & commodity fetishismThe double/doppelgängerSexuality & desireRace & representationDomestic labor & invisible workPublic space vs. private space

Artworks Featuring This Symbol

Olympia by Édouard Manet

Olympia

Édouard Manet (1863 (Salon 1865))

A defiantly contemporary nude confronts the viewer with a steady gaze and a guarded pose, framed by crisp light and luxury trappings. In Olympia, <strong>Édouard Manet</strong> strips myth from the female nude to expose the <strong>modern economy of desire</strong>, power, and looking <sup>[1]</sup><sup>[3]</sup>.