Gender Roles and Art by Leslie Fontanez

Gender Roles and Society (Middle Ages to 19C)

Shows How Women went to work and Men began to help with the household

Women's roles in society have been ever changing as our society evolves. Women did not always enjoy some of the luxuries we do today. If we go back to the Middle Ages we see that women were basically seen as property, not meant to be educated and only looked forward to marrying into a family. At this time in the Middle Ages the Church was a vert powerful influence on how women were treated. Chadwick states "it's patriarchal dogma included a full set of theories on the natural inferiority of women which can be tracked back to Ancient Greece and the Old Testament. (44)" Many people at this time saw the church as all knowing, so it would be obvious that if the Church had a stance on how women should be treated it would influence the day to day life of those following. For many women avoiding marriage and joining a convent was one way to get their education since women were not formally allowed to do so. Women remained as property for their husband's to obtain and were force to take domestic roles. They were to take care of the home and the children. They were bound to remain dutiful, faithful and obedient to their husbands. Any other way of being was not approved of during the Middle Ages.

When we begin to move from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance we see that gender roles begin to slightly change. The Renaissance a marker or push towards equality, decline in the power of religion and rise in the persons thought. This allows some female artists to prosper during this time. During this time women are not allowed to be involved in the public state but they were able to move about in the "private" state. The public space was "associated with the arts of painting, sculpture and architecture (74)". Thus women were not accepted into those areas at this time. So women began embroidery and knitting since it was seen as feminine. During this time women still take on motherly roles and obedience. The rise of portraiture was during this time and women portraits were done so people could see how wealthy the woman's husband is. They were used to convey wealth and honor. We also see that women are getting minor educations still in the convent and at home. What we do also see though is a change in some male ideals. Some fathers believed that their daughters should be educated and went against the norm. This is where we see emergent of Sofonsiba Anguissola. She opened up the possibility of painting for women as a socially acceptable profession. She was seen as remarkable and sometimes she was criticized that her work was not good enough or was compared to other artists at the times such as Titan. However, many of her works were credited to male artists. She overcame the stereotypes she was supposed to fit in by doing work that was beyond exceptional, we can see this because her work was so good they could not believe a woman did it. Is it odd that if she was criticized for not being good enough then why were these men so okay with being credited for her work? Her work must have been decent enough that a man accepted it being a part of "his work." She was the first woman painter to "achieve fame and respect" and "did so within a set of constraints that removed her from competing for commissions with her male contemporaries (Chadwick, 79)". She was not allowed to sell her work due to her social class, but she is still seen as one of the most influential women artists of her time.

Tintoretto's Depiction of Susanna and the Elders

Artemisia Gentileschi depiction of Susanna and the Elders

Women are still seen in certain constraints and the male gaze is still dominating but we see some artist who look to fight that stigma. If we look at the two renditions of "Susanna and the Elders" done by Artemisia Gentileschi and the other by Tintoretto. We can see Artemisia Gentileschi looked to depicted the story in a women's sense instead of Tintoretto's. While Tintoretto's shows Susanna busying herself with the mirror while two old men watch her not really showing an resistance. Gentileschi's shows Susanna actively fighting against the elders, not allowing the rape to happen. We can see that she is trying to overcome the stereotype that a woman is there for a man's pleasure and not letting herself be used. This reference in her work is important because it highlights a very important issue of rape and whether the victim is a participant in the act. Tintoretto seems to show that she is submissive which is the complete opposite of Gentileschi's. I believe these two are important to show because it shows us the different mindset of gender roles for males and females at this time and their beliefs on strong social issues.

Elizabeth Thompson's Painter of Battle and Soldiers; Shows her refusal to conform and make a painting of non-feminine subjects

We also see that other women stepped out of their traditional roles and evolved to bring about different art depictions. We see them using subjects that may have been controversial for women artists. I want to specifically highlight Elizabeth Thompson who refused to be restricted to feminine subjects and decided instead to paint war and soldier's lives, which was more male subjects. Also during this time Rosa Bonheur completely flipped gender roles as she lived as a cross dresser and had a life partner that was a female. She focused on animals rights and thus lower class rights as well. When we see these women artists and how they put themselves in other directions mostly meant for men we can see that the gender roles have changed. We can see that even today our gender roles are ever changing as more women go to work, hear more about those shifts in "Changing Gender Roles at Home." We can see also today that women are still fighting for equal rights such as equal pay, so even though we have come a long way, there is still battles women are fighting. One that is especially fought is the wage gap between genders, a very valid argument is put forth in "Pay Equity and Discrimination."

Citation:
Chadwick, Whitney, Women, art and society. Thames and Hudson, 2015.