Gender Roles, Subject and Power

Throughout history, we as societies constantly change, evolve and adapt to our surroundings. The role of women through the last centuries has changed dramatically. From them being unable of owning any property of their own and complete dependence on men to them founding their own to Alice Barber Stephens “The Female Life Class” a lot of change and progress has occurred.

During the middle ages, communities where mainly occupied working, farm work to be more exact. The economic structure relied on feudalism during this time period, which meant that wealthy lords would “rent” their land to knights. The knight would then “rent” it to farmers, who would work the land, pay taxes and in return enjoy protection from any plunderers or invaders. The world view of most commoners was limited to the next few towns, as the age of exploring has not yet begun. The church was the most powerful institution in people's lives. They had a tight grip on what people believed, as they educated them, and because they owned vast amounts of land, they where able to accumulate an extreme amount of wealth through tax collection. For many women the church was an escape rout, as they chose to become nuns. This would allow them to escape the every day violence women were subjected to. Additionally, they were educated, which back then meant learning how to read and write and they enjoyed an elevated status in society.

Hildegard of Bingen was one of the first women to record her paintings and receive credit for them. “Yet Hildegards sphere of influence was not confined to the cloistered world of women and she played significant public role as one of many voices raised in support of the Gregorian Reform.”(Chadwick, 58) This illustrates the opportunity and possibility the church gave women during the middle ages.

Hildegard of Bingen "Scivias" 1142-52

“Scivias”, by Hildegard further displays the significance of her role within society. Even tough the painting appears to be highly simplistic, with an almost cartoonish feel to it and no depth at all, what it displays is what we have to focus on. Hildegard appears to be writing, which illustrates her level of education. By her side stands the monk Volmar,. Between the two, Hildegard seems to be the person of authority, she appearts to be the person he is waiting for. This might not seem unusual today, but in the 1100's it was highly unusual to have an educated woman in a role power.

During the renaissance, peoples view of the world changes drastically. Through the advancing and breakthroughs in technology, the first stages of early capitalism are starting to emerge. Adventurers and colonalisation leads to people expanding their knowledge of how the world is built and through the age of enlightenment, the church loses a vast amount of influence and sciences start to emerge. Although all this progress is happening, the world of art and its creation, was still almost exclusively reserved for men. “Nuns actively commissioned works for foundations, such as, for example, the splendid polyptych ordered by the Benedictine nuns of San Pier Maggiore in Florence for their high altar. Outside the convent walls, however, women were barred from participating in the government patronage that created the public face of Renaissance Italy, and they played no part in guild commissions. Catherine King has shown that women participated only in restricted areas of patronage outside the convent: as middle-class widows commissioning funerary altarpieces and as the consorts of rulers, the most important of whom during the fifteenth century was Isabella d'Este of Mantua.”(Chadwick, 68) This illustrates how the church still remained one of the easiest places for women to pursue art. During the renaissance, artists rarely came from money, which made them dependent on guilds for support. If they were highly successful and gained some fame, it wasn't unlikely for a wealthy noble family to become a patron to that artist. Women, however, were excluded from guilds. They had no support structure surrounding them in order to pursue art, and during this time women were in general prohibited from owning property. During this time period, one of the few ways women could pursue art is when their fathers were artists and supported them. “A rare exception to this was Sofonisba Anguissola, a noble whos father believed women should be educated. He sent one of her drawings to Michelangelo. The ateliers of the great “masters” were filled with their wives, sisters, and daughters, grinding out the masters' oeuvre. Some of these women, including those who follow, figured out how to establish themselves as independent artists.”(Guerrilla Girls, 29)

Sofonisba Anguissola "Self-Portait" 1561

This iconic painting by Anguissola, shows the artist while actually painting. This was unheard of at the time. Women were viewed as objects, whos purpose was to appeal to men. There is nothing sexual at how she depicts herself, it is simply a reflection of her painting. Sofonisba Anguissola was in the unique situation which her allowed and supported her to pursue her art career. 

Work Cited:

Whitney Chadwick, Women, Art and Society. London: Thames & Hudson, 2007.

Guerrilla Girls, The Guerrilla Girls’ Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 1998.