ReNae,
Just a question, are we talking about all art, or just portraits? Are we talking about the current gallery climate, or centuries of painting? And I don't quite understand your reference to icon art, which has a very specific meaning to me, they are highly structured religious depiction's from the life of Christ.
There are very gentle paintings by men, Bouguereau, Waterhouse, Leighton for example. As well as violent paintings by women. If you go to ARC,
Art Renewal Center you will see vast numbers of nurturing art, mostly painted by men.
The most famous paintings that I can recall off the top of my head are the Mona Lisa, Whistler's Mother, Venus Raising for the Sea, Vermeer 's "Woman with a Pearl Earring".
I'm not trying to be petulant, I am just not understanding.
Peggy