Whilst women have always been an essential topic in the visual arts they have historically been excluded from the entire artistic canon. That is not to say that women have not participated in the creation of Art, rather that the Western canon solely includes the work of men. To be more specific, the Western artistic canon includes and values the works of Western men only.
One might think that it makes perfect sense the Western Art canon is inclusive of male artists considering the fact that the first wave of feminism only begun around the late 19th century. So, before that, women werenโt really a part of many industries. Also, as stated in the name, the western Art canon is in fact โwesternโ and does not proclaim to be the โglobalโ art canon.



