Challenges Women Faced

  The Middle Ages was known as a Period of European history from about the fifth century to the fifth-teen century. The expected roles of women in Europe in the Middle Ages were the same from the beginning of time all the way to the 1970s.  In the middle ages and renaissance women held roles such as wife and mother of course, but other positions like peasants doing much labor or framing under feudalism. Also divided into classes according to personal status: slave, serf, or free tenant. Artisan other knowns as a skilled craft worker who makes items by hands. During this era, a woman’s purpose consisted of caring for their children, husband, cooking, and cleaning, meanwhile their husbands were able to go to work. Women were also required to teach their daughters to do the same and were not able to hold any other roles in the public’s eyes other than wives and mothers. 

During the early middle ages, the Roman Catholic church was a significant influence to the change of roles for women for instant with the establishment of Christian Monasticism, other parts within the church became available to women. In the Guerilla Girls text it was stated, “ Art in the Middle Ages became a didactic took of the church[...] most art history surveys concentrate on these awesome cathedrals, giving that they are the most important of their time” (Guerilla Girls 19). Providing opportunities to escape the very common marriage, childbearing or housewife like life.  But to acquire and equip literacy plus learning ability, with an active religious role. Also, women were expected to help out their husbands in business for most of the middle ages like beer, usually brewed was primarily done by women. However, in high middle ages, there were examples of women engaging in different businesses other than what their husbands were in. As stated in the Guerilla Girls, “ Many of these artist were women either working in businesses owned by male family members or living as nuns in convents” (Guerilla Girls 19).  Art allowed women to display their greatness, centuries before women were just viewed as housewives, mothers, assistant in their husbands s’ work, maybe at most nuns or its essential roles. To now women who are significant in England, or ruled a combined kingdom with their husbands. Even a famous writer. These women found ways to overcome these situations like the participation of midwifery to extend the lifespan of women after childing-bearing years. Due to better nutrition, it was a success. 

 A nun is another role a woman held during this period. According to the Guerilla Girls,  during the middle ages era women A nun is a member of a religious community of women. Lives under vows and can be found in multiple religious traditions. Some even had leadership roles such as abbess, the female superior of the community of nuns or queen regnant, a female monarch, equal rank to a king instead of a queen consort who is just the wife of the king. Only some portions were open and all together for a woman to have an occupation they would need to approach their spouses for authorization. Women were not to stand out in public and were not able to socialize. The men were always in control and dictated everything.

In any case, as one progressed into the nineteenth century women began to explore other areas of life and started to work, yet sexists stereotypes were still common. Women began to take charge and began to do things that were seen as unladylike and unusual this was called the Women's Movement. This started in the 1960s and 70s where they touched on the topics family, sexuality, and work.

Women Artists in the Renaissance were not welcome. The word ‘’ Renaissance’’is acquired from
France where it means rebirth. People thought women had roles which were to get married and have kids. In Whitney Chadwick book “Women, Art, and Society: Fourth edition” she asserts, “Women were relegated to unskilled activities in the guilds at an historical moment when the demand was growing for “designers” who could plan patterns for figured clothes and style finished pieces” (Chadwick 69). Art back then was considered a man's job, so for the woman who worked could not be an artist. Even so, women couldn't even get art training and the only art training a woman can get is if it was privately taught. The real artists were men. This is the world in which women lived, but in the early sixteenth century there was one Italian lady '' Properzia De Rossi'' determined to break that tradition. In this manner, she turned into the specific first extraordinary female artist of the Renaissance. Female sculptors workers were uncommon, for sculpting was viewed as manly because of the quality, strength, and stamina the medium expected of the artists.

To complete a man's work in a world populated by men, one must be exceptionally determined to
realize what you need to do and particularly to be extremely talented. There was still discrimination against women; it was hard for a female artist to make it big. Their fathers usually taught private lessons. Noblewoman had more of an advantage in life, so they could learn and make art without the backlash.  In the 19th century, more women artists started to come out because of the women's movement. In women's movement period female artists and art historians tried to find a different artist from the past and found out that there were some in the Renaissance ages. These women served as role models for women in the 19th century and now. Women shouldn’t be used or looked at as property. Both genders should be able to bring some beauty into the world.



Citations:

The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. Penguin Books, 2006.
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, art, and society. Londres: Thames & Hudson, 2012. Print.


Burkett, Elinor. “Women's Movement.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2 Aug. 2016, www.britannica.com/topic/womens-movement.