At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the earlier patriarchal cultural dominant changed, with a decisive role being played by the rapid emancipation and modernisation of the society. Despite the initially ambivalent attitudes, the image of woman gradually gained stature in public space (in illustrated magazines, works of art and elsewhere), at first being constructed as the embodiment of innocent femininity, but gradually undergoing change and revealing the dynamics of contemporary life. Women were the affected the most by societal transformations. Their status changed and their image began to embody the spirit of the new era.