Gender Roles, Subject and Power

During the Middle ages in Europe, The social environment changes a lot and women's roles and power changes a lot.  Before the Middle Age, women don't have the rights to choose what they can do. They are accessory of their husband and their further.  Alone with the development of the middle classes, people have more leisure time, so they can pay more attention on the art.  Then the first Middle Age female painter developed.  Most of the painter were influenced by their father.  Their father are also painter or well educated.  They want their children have a better education level. The education background also pushes more and more women have strong power in all kinds of areas. Moreover, their roles changes a lot both in family and in society.women held the positions of wife, mother, peasant, artisan, and nun, as well as some important leadership roles, such as abbess or queen regnant. The very concept of "woman" changed in a number of ways during the Middle Ages^[1] and several forces influenced women's roles during their period.( That's a conclusion about the role's change in Middle Age period)

We both know that the main artists before the Middle Age are male painters, so most of the painting pay a lot attention on the male gaze.  However, the alone with the increase of the female power, the topic of the painting changes a lot. There were some women who exercised power, providing a challenge to the stereotypical image of medieval women as oppressed and subservient. (The change of power pushes a lot to the topic of the art.) such as the Gentileschi's earliest work in Susanna and the Elders displays.  As before, the male gaze highlight the power of male, because they paint the female on their own standpoint and focus on the naked women's body.  However, in this painting,  we can see that the women feel really uncomfortable about the male's gaze, and she uses her body language to revolt the gaze from the males.  From the painting, we can find the changes that the painter focus on the feminist.  The painter didn't just show the body of female, she wanted to show the relationship between the roles.  From the painting, we can see that the women have more power than before.  The painting not only embodies the increase of the female's power, but also showed more female that they should do something to improve their own status.

Artemisia Gentileschi, Susanna and the Elders 1610
The painting embodies the changes from the formal male gaze

There is another painting called Judith with her Maidservant which is also embodies the power of the women. Chadwick states in his work that:" 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."(1) From the author's words, we can know that the painting wants to highlight the two females' action and their calm, even they just killed the man.  The painting looks like depict a story, not only the "gaze" painting anymore.

                 Artemisia Gentileschi Judith with her Maidservant c.1618

      The painting depicts a story which embodies the power of female

 After the Renaissance, there are more choices for the subject of the painting.  People especially female have more time and rights to work.  There are more and more paintings portray their daily life.  For example,  Judith Leyster's A Women Sewing by Candlelight portrays a women doing the sewing.  As Chadwick states in his work:"this period was a focus on woman's sexuality as an object of exchange for money.  Representations of women spanning, embroidering, and making lace often conveyed ambiguous and sexualized meanings."(2) From the author's word, we can know that the author the women get started to use their own hands to make money. Their roles has changed a lot than before, and they have more roles for the family and the society.

Judith Leyster A woman Sewing by Candlelight
The painting portrays the women's new role for the family and society.

Citation: (1) comes from "Women, Art, and Society" Whitney Chadwick pg 110
              (2) comes from "Women, Art, and Society" Whitney Chadwick pg 124