The expected roles of women in Europe in the Middle Ages were not much different from our understanding of a patriarchal society where women were essentially homemakers, most were even illiterate at this time. They were not even allowed to necessarily make their own money, therefore were reliant on a male figure, as in father or husband, to support them. With that being said, women making a life for themselves was rare, thus women artists during this time were just as few and far between because they were not recognized as capable of being artists. One of the few woman artists of the Middle ages was Christine de Pizan, who had once been married, but upon her husbands death had to support herself in some way, and at this time she ended up becoming a writer and poet. With most women being illiterate at this time, it was a great accomplishment for her to make a living off her writing, along with being a respected artist. The subjects of her writing pertained to arguments against sexist scholars and their ideologies and the text expresses her frustration in that “men write so scathingly about women when they owe their very existence to them...how can women's lives be known when men write all the books?" (Chadwick 36). Pizan had a valid point that can still be translated today and through the 19th century where men feel like they are able to illustrate women's experiences, when in reality it cannot surpass a woman's perspective.
The renaissance was a more explorative time in the arts, which is what the time period is most famous for. People were able to gain more access to literature once books became cheaper, therefore the majority were hungry for knowledge and exploration of artistic expression. Women in this time were still highly unrecognized as artists, but they did produce paintings that had complex meanings and made statements. One that really stood out was Artemisia Gentileschi's 'Susanna and the Elders' piece. Upon looking at the painting, you can clearly see the woman is upset, and her body language indicates she is not trying to entertain the two men glaring over her. The painting itself is depicting rape, which from a woman's perspective is where the true emotion behind the painting could be reflected. In class we contrasted the painting with a male's version of this scene (Tintoretto) and its intriguing how he made the woman in the painting appear relaxed and vulnerable even though a horrific act was about to occur. In this way, the renaissance was a gateway for women artists to reflect their own understanding of these experiences through art, even though these were still sort of privileged women at the time.
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| Artemisia Gentileschi, Susanna and the Elders, 1610, depicts a woman about to be raped and it is powerful because Gentileschi clearly conveys the woman's fear in the painting and she looks like she wants to get away, but the men are holding her by her hair to imply she is trapped. |
In the 19th century, the role of women was still similar in that they were expected to be homemakers and not work, but there was a slight shift in what they could do. Many women artists of this time came from educated backgrounds and their fathers were most likely supporting their ambition and even deeming them good enough to further their art. It was stated that "One of the few ways a woman could work as an artist was to be born into a family of artists that needed assistance in the family workshop” (Guerilla Girls 29), which at this time was true but, again, was also if their father had gave them permission in a way. There are several examples given in the text, but one woman who stood out in this era was Rosa Bonheur because she made her artistic career based off men. Although she was a woman, she embodied the identity of a man by even having a permit to cross-dress, which was complete taboo in this era. Like previously stated her father played a large part, for he was well educated but also believed in the education of women which still was not common from a male perspective. She painted very realistic paintings of animals, which is a subject not many women had even depicted. Through the horses she brought out symbolic aspects to represent women's rights as the animals rather than men being the focus of her art.
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| Rosa Bonheur, Plowing in the Nivernais, 1848, depicts a realism painting that she really focuses the eye on the animals by making them extremely detailed and almost at an eye-level perspective, and while she does put men in the image as sort of cattle keepers they almost disappear in the background which lends to her symbolism. |
There can be a lot said for the individual artists mentioned throughout the eras, but they all have in common their will to depict experiences that were from intellectual, beautiful, or everyday perspective of women, that men could just not convey. Women artists continuously struggled throughout the centuries to be recognized or even considered, but through education and wealth some women were able to breakthrough, but still were not widely accepted.
Works Cited:
The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. Penguin, 1998.
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. Langara College, 2016.
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