Women have always been thought of as property but these ideas were much more
prevalent in the Middle Ages. Defined by inferiority and lack of autonomy,
women were bound to their domestic responsibilities as caretakers and essentially
maids to their husbands and family. The Guerilla Girls wrote, “…education was thought
to interfere with a woman's ability to be a good wife and mother. Almost no women
were taught to read and write,” (Guerrilla Girls, 22). Presumably, the only
education a young woman was receiving in this time was how to care for a home.
In a time of poverty and instability, medieval society was greatly influenced
by religion and biblical texts so that people would have hope. Chadwick writes,
“The Church’s hierarchical organization reinforced the class distinctions in society;
its patriarchal dogma included a full set of theories on the natural inferiority of
women” (Chadwick 44). These beliefs of the church and larger society then worked
to limit the autonomy of women, essentially giving them two options, caretaker or nun.
prevalent in the Middle Ages. Defined by inferiority and lack of autonomy,
women were bound to their domestic responsibilities as caretakers and essentially
maids to their husbands and family. The Guerilla Girls wrote, “…education was thought
to interfere with a woman's ability to be a good wife and mother. Almost no women
were taught to read and write,” (Guerrilla Girls, 22). Presumably, the only
education a young woman was receiving in this time was how to care for a home.
In a time of poverty and instability, medieval society was greatly influenced
by religion and biblical texts so that people would have hope. Chadwick writes,
“The Church’s hierarchical organization reinforced the class distinctions in society;
its patriarchal dogma included a full set of theories on the natural inferiority of
women” (Chadwick 44). These beliefs of the church and larger society then worked
to limit the autonomy of women, essentially giving them two options, caretaker or nun.
 |
| Giotto, Nativity, 1304–1306 |
Not only did religion influence the society in which people lived, but also the artwork
in which people (mostly the elites) commissioned. The Middle Ages encompassed numerous
art periods: early Christian and Byzantine, Anglo-Saxon and Viking, Insular, Carolingian,
Ottonian, Romanesque, and Gothic, all influenced by the Christian church.
Continuing on into the Renaissance, (aristocratic) women slowly began to gain
more freedom, commonly encouraged by their educated fathers. Nonetheless, these
women were still legally dependent on the men in their life, husband, father or brother,
and were still expected to be bound to a life of domesticity. Overall, women were
continually denied education and lived in a society where everything favored men.
Bell Hooks defined patriarchy as “a political-social system that insists that males
are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak,
especially females, and endowed with the right to dominate and rule over the weak
and to maintain that dominance through various forms of psychological terrorism
and violence” (Hooks, 18). This system was much more stringent during this time
and limited women’s options. However, there were few women who’s families believed
in educating them and thus they were able to protest for women’s rights.
The Renaissance did, however, produce more notable works from women and from
these works they were able to illustrate and address the struggles they faced.
It is not surprising that the Italian Baroque painter, Artemisia Gentileschi,
mostly created paintings that encompassed hard working, suffering women from numerous
outlets of stories, highlighting women who were victims, warriors, and overall
martyrs. This was a life she yearned for. Freedom. In comparison to Rachel Ryusch
who painted still life flowers, Gentileschi’s works are much more active and it can be
assumed that she is painting the strong women she, herself, aspires to be.
in which people (mostly the elites) commissioned. The Middle Ages encompassed numerous
art periods: early Christian and Byzantine, Anglo-Saxon and Viking, Insular, Carolingian,
Ottonian, Romanesque, and Gothic, all influenced by the Christian church.
Continuing on into the Renaissance, (aristocratic) women slowly began to gain
more freedom, commonly encouraged by their educated fathers. Nonetheless, these
women were still legally dependent on the men in their life, husband, father or brother,
and were still expected to be bound to a life of domesticity. Overall, women were
continually denied education and lived in a society where everything favored men.
Bell Hooks defined patriarchy as “a political-social system that insists that males
are inherently dominating, superior to everything and everyone deemed weak,
especially females, and endowed with the right to dominate and rule over the weak
and to maintain that dominance through various forms of psychological terrorism
and violence” (Hooks, 18). This system was much more stringent during this time
and limited women’s options. However, there were few women who’s families believed
in educating them and thus they were able to protest for women’s rights.
The Renaissance did, however, produce more notable works from women and from
these works they were able to illustrate and address the struggles they faced.
It is not surprising that the Italian Baroque painter, Artemisia Gentileschi,
mostly created paintings that encompassed hard working, suffering women from numerous
outlets of stories, highlighting women who were victims, warriors, and overall
martyrs. This was a life she yearned for. Freedom. In comparison to Rachel Ryusch
who painted still life flowers, Gentileschi’s works are much more active and it can be
assumed that she is painting the strong women she, herself, aspires to be.
 |
| Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes, c. 1614–20 |
This painting depicts a classic scene from the bible, but Gentileschi drew herself as Judith and Agostino Tassi, who was tried in court for her rape, as Holofernes. Here she literally inserts herself into the role of an active woman. Later on Tassi was only tried because he reneged his offer to marry her and he took her virginity when he raped her. In the end, he escaped his punishment, so this piece and Judith and her Maidservant, which was painted several years later was cathartic for her. This gruesome piece also emphasized that women were not dainty and were capable of bloodshed.
Gentileschi’s own father created works that depicted women in this ethereal manner.
 |
| Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith and her Maidservant, 1612–1613 |
 |
| Orazio Gentileschi, Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes, 1621 - 1624 |
This link compares the two pieces in depth.
The two pieces by the Gentileschis portray the same scene, but in her father's piece the headless man draws much more attention than the patriotic women. Small details such as how Judith is hold the sword and how the women look clueless enforce the negative commonly accepted ideals of women. Artemisia Gentileschi, however, captures the risk of this high stakes venture, portraying the tense moment when the two women hear a sound off frame that might lead to their demise. Chadwick further analyzes, “she emphasizes the psychological complicity of the two figures by squeezing them into the same space, mirroring their bodies, and repeating the direction of the two, in this case female, gazes. The focused intensity of Judith action, reinforced by the clenched hand that clutches the sword hilt” (Chadwick 110). In Artemisia Gentileschi’s piece, the women’s facial features can be characterized as cautious rather than fearful or confused.
The ideas that women existed to take care of men and for men’s overall pleasure was fundamentally ingrained in society and represented numerous art movements. As John Berger wrote in Ways of Seeing, “You painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her, put a mirror in her hand and you called the painting “Vanity,” thus morally condemning the woman whose nakedness you had depicted for you own pleasure” (Berger 51).
 |
| Hans Memling, Vanity, c. 1485 |
Women of the 19th century lead much different lives than the women before them. This shift resulted from numerous factors, especially having to do with the fact that women were finally beginning to become regularly educated and thus understood the accepted notion of male heteronomy was biased and discriminatory. Women became more determined to be treated equally. With the support of their sister before them, artists of the 19th century had more courage and freedom than before to create.
Harriet Hosmer was the first professional female sculpture who followed Horatio Greenough to Rome after 1825 and live with fellow creators. She was known to be apart of the “strange sisterhood of American ‘lady sculptors.’
 |
| Harriet Hosmer, Beatrice Cenci, 1857 |
Hosmer’s work, like other female artists, addressed the struggles they faced. This sculptor of Beatrice Cenci tells the story of a brave woman standing up to her abuser. Despite her eminent death the woman --the prisoner -- is detailed with a calm, relieved look on her face, and yet her arm, with its position and muscle, juxtapose her physical strength as well as hinting towards sexual prowess.
Works Cited
“Beatrice Cenci - Harriet Hosmer - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google,
artsandculture.google.com/asset/beatrice-cenci/LQFznHJQxzbp_w?hl=en. Chadwick, Whitney.
Women, Art, and Society. Langara College, 2016.
“Gender in Nineteenth-Century Art.” Art History Teaching Resources, 23
Dec. 2016, arthistoryteachingresources.org/lessons/gender-in-nineteenth-century-art/.
“Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy,
www.khanacademy.org/humanities/monarchy-enlightenment/baroque-art1/baroque-italy/a/gentileschi-judith-slaying-holofernes.
The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. Penguin Books, 2006.
Hooks, Bell. Understanding Patriarchy. Louisville Anarchist Federation Federation, 2010.
“National Museum of Women in the Arts.” 18th–19th Century | National Museum of Women in the Arts,
1 Jan. 1970, nmwa.org/explore/collection-highlights/18th%E2%80%9319th-century#B.
No. 17 Scenes from the Life of Christ: 1. Nativity: Birth of Jesus (before Restoration)
by GIOTTO Di Bondone, www.wga.hu/html_m/g/giotto/padova/old/chris01.html.
“Obo.” Gender and Art in the Renaissance - Art History - Oxford Bibliographies, 19 Sept. 2018,
www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199920105/obo-9780199920105-0104.xml.
Renaissance, "Women in the, and Reformation.". “Women in the Renaissance and Reformation.”
Renaissance and Reformation Reference Library, Encyclopedia.com, 2018,
www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/women-renaissance-and-reformation.
“Roles of Women In The Middle Ages.” Roles of Women in The Middle Ages,
www.medieval-spell.com/Roles-Of-Women-In-The-Middle-Ages.html.
“Sex, Society and Medieval Women by N. M. Heckel.”
Sex, Society and Medieval Women by N. M. Heckel | River Campus Libraries,
www.library.rochester.edu/robbins/sex-society.
Stanska, ByZuzanna. “Artemisia Gentileschi: The Rape Survivor And Her Revenge.”
DailyArtMagazine.com - Art History Stories, 7 Feb. 2018,
www.dailyartmagazine.com/artemisia-gentileschi-rape-survivor-revenge/.
Web Gallery of Art, Searchable Fine Arts Image Database,
www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?%2Fhtml%2Fm%2Fmemling%2F3mature4%2F26vani11.html.
Welz, Stefan. Ways of Seeing - Limits of Telling: Sehen Und Erzählen in Den Romanen
John Bergers. Edition Isele, 1996.
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