Post 2

Bianca Lopes
Art and Women
March 7th, 2017

Middle Ages:

The role of women in the Middle Ages depended on the moral rules and regulations set before the fall of the Roman Catholic Church. Women of all classes, occupations and social status were considered to be inferior to their male counterpart in the world of Ancient Greece.

The role of women in the Middle Ages remained largely related to the private, domesticated sphere of the family. She was responsible for maintaining the class and grace of the family by upholding a virtuous reputation. Sexism and patriarchy stabilized radical prejudice and ideals towards the role of women in society.

"Art in the Middle Ages became a didactic tool of the Church." (Guerilla Girls, Page 19)

Women were deprived of duties and occupations within the public sphere because they were still considered inferior due to their innate sexual structure. They were expected to grow up in preparation for marriage and reproduction because it was considered their sole purpose. Patriarchy designed sexism as a beneficial function for every male in society by utilizing women for reproduction, marriage, housekeeping, and organizing tasks.

Women were "freed" by covenants and guilds because they were not subjected to the moral majority's idea of the female role in society. The covenants and guilds created a channel for women who did not want to participate in the moral majority’s idea of the female role within the class structure. Women maintained passive roles that sustained household duties within their supported clerical and organizational tasks. Specialized guilds sparked various intrigue among sewing and embroidery within the female population.

The Sin of Wages (Guerilla Girls, Page 21):

“In 12^th Century England, men were embroiderers too, and naturally, they got paid more: women earned only 83 percent of what men earned per day. Believe it or not, this was better than it is today in the U.S: women average less than 70 cents for every dollar earned by men.”  

Herrad of Landsberg, Hortus Deliciarum, 1170

Renaissance:

The Renaissance began in Italy in 1375 but continued until 1660.

Women were barred from art guilds and academies because they were still considered inferior to their male counterparts. Sofonisba Anguissola and Artemisia Gentileschi were granted better opportunities to fulfill their creative desires because of who their male caregivers were.  Having a father who was a painter, gave the females the ability to deter from the framework of the common female role during the Renaissance.

Bologna, Italy:

There were more female artists in Bologna than in any part of Italy during the Renaissance. In the beginning of the 13^th century, women who had the privilege to work and lecture at the University in Bologna were able to apply their acquired education to independent creative projects. i.e. Elisabetta Siriani, Caterina Vigri (Saint Catherine of Bologna)

Elisabetta Siriani, Portia Wounding Her Thigh, 1664 

Artemisia Gentileschi used her artwork to portray the difficulties women faced against the “Renaissance Man.” The concept of ‘the Renaissance Man’ was engulfed by the following ideals:

•         Considered the seduction of a virgin a horrible crime, but the rape of a widow no big deal.
•         Women were destructive to the creative process
•         Thought it would be dangerous for women to learn to read or write

(Guerilla Girls, Page 31)

Artemisia Gentileschi’s past influenced many of her primary works. She completely reversed Tintoretto’s Susanna and the Elders in order to shift the painting into a more awkward and uncomfortable (real) setting. She depicted these real life scenarios and circumstances that women dealt with at the expense of the Renaissance Man, aka patriarchy. Men were fearful of women excelling academically and creatively in the public sphere because it was considered beyond the responsibilities of their gender role.

Tintoretto, Susanna and the Elders 1555

Artemisia Gentileschi, Susanna and the Elders, 1610

17^th and 18^th Century

Painters like Judith Leyster and Rachel Ruysch depicted delicacy and elegance of the female role in both the private and public sphere. A Woman Sewing by Candlelight showcases a woman in her leisure at home, sewing lace.

The Victorian Era and the 19^th Century redefined the subjects of female painters. Women were painting historical and agricultural settings not typically associated with femininity. Rosa Bonheur’s most famous paintings are related to animals and agriculture. Rather than painting the typical scenes and landscapes attributed to femininity, she painted her interests outside of the private sphere. Edith Haylar painted Feeding the Swans in 1889 to exemplify the stages of life endured by the average Victorian female. She uses the grandmother widow engaging with the mother and her newborn child at the top of the stairs to show the beginning of the woman’s purpose and the end. She bears the delicate, nurturing role throughout each stage of her life. The young lady on the stairs feeding the swans with her older sister is being taught proper etiquette. 

Edith Haylar, Feeding the Swans, 1889

Lily Martin Spencer uses War Spirit at Home to develop the female’s role within her realm of responsibilities in the private sphere. The mother is seen reading a newspaper during a time that primarily looked down on women educating themselves.

Post U.S Civil War, women were expected to take on new responsibilities and occupations both agricultural and non-agricultural. Widowed by their husbands and male counterparts from the war – women were forced to become the head of the household. The Feminist Movement began in France in 1866 and extinguished the ideal female role of delicate norms and standards. Appropriation and elegance were no longer binding women to specific duties and conservation. Female painters, sculptors and artists alike began to emerge through a surge of confidence and civil disobedience. (Chadwick, Page 234) With nearly three million women employed in non-agricultural jobs in France, the Feminist movement emerged to unify women against the sexism and reinforced patriarchal obedience of everyday life.