The Upcoming Strength of Women

As Bell Hooks states, “Patriarchy is a political-social system that insists 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 statement ties very well into the expected roles of Women in Europe in the Middle Ages. The women were expected to be docile, submissive creatures to men, and only work around the house to cook, clean, and care for the children. Women were not seen as strong or independent creatures, regardless of class. Women during that era did not know how to read and were not educated in any manner compared to the men. Women were owned by either their husband or by the head of their household(brother, father, etc). The only way that women were allowed to read, do art, or contain some sort of power was if they were nuns, or were born into a high class. But, going into the Renaissance Age and into the 19C, things took a drastic change.

Women were starting to take more control through art-showcasing the femininity of women through needle working or gracefully posing.

One artist during this time period named Lavinia Fontana showcased the strength of women in her art. This famous picture above, Self Portrait of the Virginal with a servant, Showcases her playing the piano with another female servant helping her in the background. With her being the centerpiece of this picture, it showcases intelligence and wealth of the woman in the photo. Although shows this sense of accomplishment in the photo, she is also staying feminine, gentle, and in a relaxed pose.  She was known to be on the same level as her male counterpart artists, which only began happening after the Middle Ages as women began to break out of their stereotypical roles they were bound into. This picture showcases a good medium between the ideals that men have for women and the upcoming of women. Her art was well renowned and was admired by people such as Pope Paul V, who adored her still life portraits. People like Lavinia encouraged other women to follow in her footsteps and demand a voice, which has never happened before. Although this did not happen for all women, and in fact, many women were still in the same position and had the same expectations as women in the middle ages, strong women taking charge and showcasing strength began in the Renaissance, and slowly picked up traction into the 19C.

Personally, I really enjoy this piece created by Elisabetta Sirani in 1664. This incredible piece is named Portia Wounding Her Thigh. Clearly, we see a woman stabbing her thigh with a needle or dagger, and this symbolizes the immense strength that women were hiding from the men in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Women were forced to hide any sign of strength, even though they showcased it in so many subliminal ways, such as childbirth and taking care of the whole household. This picture also depicts the woman with her leg out, and dress falling, making it still admirable by the male gaze. The best way to describe this sexualizing of women is through this quote by John Berger,  “Women are depicted in quite a different way from men-not because the feminine is different from the masculine-but because the ‘ideal’ spectator is always assumed to be male and the image of the woman is designed to flatter him”(Berger,64). That is exactly why portraits of women for years have showcased them naked, in a vulnerable position, to be gawked at by men.

Women in the 19C severely struggled with truly breaking out of this stigma, and to do this, they took many strong and creative artistic approaches. For example, this photo created by Alice Barber Stephens in 1879.

This photo titled The Female Life Class showcases a naked Woman standing while other women artists paint her likeness. Notice how there is not one male figure in this picture, it is purely women. This showcases women not only being artists, which is considered taboo but also taking the power of the female naked body back. Women who understand the same biological issues as her, and understand the pure struggles that the model deals with every day of her life being a woman. This picture also showcases how the gap between men and women are slowly closing, and depicting women to have the same artistic capacities as men. Stephens also broke a cardinal rule during this time period, which is that women were forbidden to paint the female nude body. This picture alone showcases the progress women have made since the Middle Ages and is truly a beautiful piece that stuck with me personally when I saw it.

Citations:

Hessel, Katy. “8 Women Artists Who Influenced the Renaissance and Baroque.” Artsy, 20 Dec. 2016, www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-these-women-artists-influenced-the-renaissance-and-baroque.

“Lavinia Fontana.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Oct. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavinia_Fontana.

Brett, David. “Art of the Day.” Elisabetta Sirani, Portia Wounding Her Thigh, 1 Jan. 1970, davidsartoftheday.blogspot.com/2015/03/elisabetta-sirani-portia-wounding-her.html.

rhettbaynes. “Alice Barber Stephens, The Female Life Class.” Rhettbaynes, 15 Nov. 2014, rhettbaynes.wordpress.com/2014/11/15/alice-barber-stephens-the-female-life-class/.