The year 1867 saw the first-unsuccessful - attempt at persuading Parliament to extend the vote to women. In the same year, Frederick (later Lord) Leighton painted his first significant neo-classical work - Venus Disrobing for the Bath.
Fraser Harrison , author of a forthcoming book on Victorian sexuality, argues that by idealising the female figure Leighton helped reinforce the late-Victorian status quo by gratifying the masculine thirst for superiority.