Some illustrations may be clicked in order to see enlarged or to get more information
Emmanuel Croise, France (1859-?)
The Girls of Sparta, circa 1903
Lithography
The example of gender replacement.
Popular topic of 1920s - men's wrestling drawn on a on the postcard. Compare it with the Croise's artwork.
August Rodin, France (1840-1917)
Fighting women
Rodin Museum, Philadelphia
Outdoor pugilism
Early 20th century painting
Jeffrey Carr, USA (1952)
Wrestling Women, 1993
Oil, 180 x 120cm
Paul Ballurian, Germany
Duel of prostitutes, 1900s.
Water color
"The Female Regency in the History of Humanity" (translation of the German title), Vol. 4.
Reprinted from "Lust for fight" by Werner Sonntag
Kim Dingle, USA (1951)
Guess who
From the cicle "Never In School", 2000
Oil on vellum, 61 x 48 cm
Private Collection
Kim Dingle, USA (1951)
Takedowns and Pinnings (red pony), 1999
From the cicle ”Nelson"
Oil on vellum, 122 x 152 cm
Private Collection
Kim Dingle, USA (1951)
Punch, 1992
Oil on canvas, 122 х 152 cm
Private Collection
Judith Raphael, USA
Uppity, 1998
Gouache, 35 х 58 cm
Susan Bee
Fighting Women, 1994.
Collage on wood, 30 x 30cm
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In the first part, we discussed artistic representations of battles, men's fighting and violent actions. If not to consider a couple of female warriors and duelists, it was particularly the male world (a stag) with its uncontrollable cruelty. Until the 20thcentury very few artworks representing women's fighting occurred (just because they rarely occurred in the real life). The stormy emancipation of women and democratization of societies and customs at the edge of 19th and 20th centuries shifted the topic of women's fighting from mythology to the real life and therefore to the arts.
We will try to consider all artworks available to us dedicated to this (and related) topic. First, we will discuss representations of women's wrestling and then will move to women's fighting (for me the difference between the two activities is related to presence or absence of hostility). Once my especially personal interest  appeared to artistic depictions of fighting, particularly, if women somehow are involved. The reason is that once in my youth a female friend of mine provoked me for a wrestling match for fun in front of witnesses. Certainly, the event was insignificant but somehow it stroke imagination of those around us, that for a long time after that familiar and little-familiar people obtrusively exasperated me with questions (and my husband has even written the story "We wrestled with you at sunset"). Willy-nilly, an interest was born to this subject and since I am connected to fine arts, I started paying a special attention to artworks depicting combative activities (especially if women are presented). In fact, there are not too many such works as far as real art is considered.
I just remember how I got literally frozen in the Fine Art museum in San Francisco when noticed the small sketch by 19th century French sculptor Jean-Batiste Carpeaux "Two wrestling figures" where two huge human carcasses were represented by a coal on the brown cloth. Despite the work was not outstanding, I was standing quite a long trying to comprehend the subject matter (I read the caption just later). At first, it seemed to be a peculiar erotic scene, then a rape, and then nude wrestling. After all, a conjecture struck my mind that two buxom women wrestled there and I realized that our match with the girl friend might look similarly. It's simply horrible! The sketch represents a fierce skirmish of two naked bodies of fighters uncompromisingly and realistically struggling. The scene is really dynamic. Of course, this etude was to polishing the technique for representation of motions, that's why the details are not worked over, so even a gender of the wrestlers is not clear. However, these asexual figures induce thick eroticism.
In the first part, we talked about the artistic method of gender replacing. From that position, the print by Croise "The Girls of Sparta" is interesting for consideration. Spartan girls represent another Ancient Greek myth about strong women. The 19th century artist, however, was unable to imagine how trained bodies of the old female athletes looked liked. Instead, he placed pampered female bodies in Rubens' style in the real male wrestling scene (compare to the old postcard under the Croise's print). Looking at these soft girls you can barely imagine them in a real tough physical combat. This artwork reminds me the lampoon with a giant Sumo wrestler wearing a ballerina's tutu. Women's wrestling for spectators' fun becomes wide spread over Europe at the end of the 19th century. Wrestling match between nude women in front of cheap tavern visitors is depicted on Jean Veber's print "Women's wrestling in Devonshire".
Austrian expressionist Alfons Walde depicted an event in a ladies club. On the ring, two ladies wearing just fashion shoes are wrestling surrounding the female audience. This work has been already commented in the "Female single combat club". The principal idea is that wrestling and erotic are closely related. However, it's difficult to say how women's wrestling attracts other women, may be it's a Lesbian club? That what expressionism is about - just to puzzle. To complete the picture let's consider the early 20th century artwork depicting a prize fight between female boxers for spectators - "Outdoor pugilism". Wide spreading lately in the 20th century, female athletic and professional wrestling inspires artists. Unfortunately, the artistic level of the vast majority of artworks dedicated to women's wrestling and catfighting is very low. I'd like to bring just one example, the work of American Jeffrey Carr who represented wrestling women under red heart raining. Perhaps, the author meant peculiar protest, something of the sort of cat Leopold (from the Russian animated cartoon) appeals, "Girls, let's live in concern!"
Now, let's talk about women's fights in old times. I don't think it was a frequent occurrence but since artists sometimes touched the topic, it probably sometimes happened in the real life. The name of the 16th century print is self-explanatory: "Seven women fight over a pair of pants". Another print made in the 18th century, "A brawl begins as dark falls" depicts female brawl on a dark street: two women attack the third one while the fourth woman ether watch or is about interfering. Now it's time to represent two paired genre paintings by the 18th century artist Leonard Defrance exposing in the Hermitage: "Men fighting" and "Women fighting". Even if women happened to fight before the 20th century, however, unlike our times, it was against the social rules. Each canvas depicts a mass brawl in which both men and women participate. The scene of "Women fighting" is disposed in a bedroom of noble people. Two women in the middle of the scene are locked in a skirmish - a younger and an older one. A man tries to unlock them while the rest of persons present are undecided around. Two other women fell down on the floor, one of them - with her chair (it's undefined who knocked them down, maybe they have fought each other). What does really happen? Probably it's a fighting between in-laws, mother and daughter. It's quite difficult to imagine such a rough brawl in the 18th century between noble women squeezed tight by corsets, but the artist should know better. On the second painting, the brawl happens in a poorer room where women attack men. A dispute has happened in the group of men and it comes to swords between two of them; women arriving in time try to prevent the bloodshed. This canvas doesn't surprise as much as the first one - the job of pulling apart fighting men falls to their lot much more frequently than fighting each other. However, such scenes in fine arts are rarity; after all, for artists those women were just contemporaries rather than ancient Amazons.
Another category of women who are sometimes depicted fighting is prostitutes. One of the reasons why prostitutes fight each other is simple - over a client. The 19th century Japanese artwork is just called, "Amateur prostitutes fighting over a client". The 1900s German watercolor painting "Duel of prostitutes" a serious fight (duel?) occurs before the curious audience. More refined courtesans didn't fight like that but sometimes wrestled, probably for relaxation after a hard working or for other reasons (which we will discussed in the third part of the essay).
Since the early 20th century, more and more artworks with fighting and wrestling women appeared and some of them deserve to be mentioned. Although the number of such artworks is incalculable, we will limit ourselves by the works, which may be considered as artistic. It's first of all, bright and expressive painting by George Tooker "Men and Women Fighting". By the revolutionary primitivism and brightness, it reminds paintings of Petrov-Vodkin. Mexican left-oriented artist Jose Orozco depicted with the great expression an impromptu women's fight. In fact, the topic of fighting inspired all leftist artists because it was in tune with their bloody times and their bloody dreams.
Let's see how contemporary female artists depict the topic of fighting women. American Kim Dingle draws "bad girls". Little delicate girls, who willingly fight, wrestle and box, reflect dualism of the contemporary feminism. Girls wearing dresses act exactly as pugnacious boys but the Dingl's canvases also demonstrate absurdity of such mixing of gender behavior. In the Dingl's series which name is self-explanatory, "Never in school", young girls fight. Kim Dingle has another series "Nelson" with wrestling topless girls. Probably, none of the artist represents the topic of fighting girls as diverse as Dingle does. In the first part, we talked gender replacement as an artistic method, which is used by another American female artist, Judith Raphael depiction ancient heroes in images of contemporary girls. One of her favorite subjects - wrestling between Hercules and Antaeus. The third American female artist, Susan Bee elegantly layered over the 19th-century imagery to bring the background into the foreground; she cast a net of spun and dripped enamel paint over the surface to reflect the conflict of the two women. The result is a ladies dispute in the romantic-decorative style. Actually, the women fight very elegantly, men wouldn't act like that. That's what the artist said in her interview (she considers herself as a feminist), "I am attracted to the images of the strong, sexy, and somewhat dangerous dames... These bad girls/women seem to represent the underside of the innocence of my childhood toys and they as well exert an endless fascination for me."
One more example of artistic gender replacement: the drawing "Duel" by artist Splish represents a skillful fighting of two well-dressed girls who are quite experienced in combat. This method is one of the most productive in depiction female fights.
Finally, I am bringing the sketch by Lilllie Lefort: the tender women of Tamara Lempicka are brought together in the close quarters.
Lilllie Lefort. Allegory
A few more illustration by unidentified authors
In the third part, we will discuss artistic representations of "soft" forms of wrestling (including erotic wrestling).
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Some illustrations may be clicked in order to see enlarged or to get more information
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, France (1827 - 1875)
Two Figures Wrestling, circa 1864 - 1870
Black charcoal on brown wove paper, 10.5 x 12.1 cm
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Jean Veber (1868-1928)
Women's wrestling in Devonshire, circa 1898
"Catalogue Illustre du Salon de 1899 Societe Nationale des Beaux-arts", Paris.
Reprinted from "Lust for fight" by Werner Sonntag
Alfons Walde, Austria (1891-1958)
Wrestling Match
Early 20th century painting
George Tooker, USA (1920)
Men and Women Fighting,1958
Franz Brun, Netherlands (1588 - 1629)
Seven women fight for a pair of pants
Print on copper
"Illustrated History of Morality" by Edward Fuchs.
Reprinted from "Lust for Fight" by Werner Sonntag
Domenico Maggiotto, Italy (1712-1794)
A brawl begins as dark falls
Italian copper according to a painting by F. Majotto, about 1775.
"The Woman Regency in the History of Humanity" (translation of the German title)
Reprinted from "Lust for Fight" by Werner Sonntag.
Leonard Defrance, Belgium (1735-1805)
Men fighting
Oil on panel. 37 x 52 cm
Hermitage Museum
Leonard Defrance, Belgium, 1735-1805
Women fighting
Oil on panel. 37 x 52 cm
Hermitage Museum
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Japan (1839-1892)
Amateur Prostitutes Fighting over a Client, 1875
Color woodblock print, 35 x 23 cm
Herbert R. Cole Collection
Splish. Duel
Somo Ballerinas
The two illustrations demonstrate the reverse of gender behavior stereotypes
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