Gender Roles, Subject, and Power

Throughout history, women have been expected to comply with the rules and roles that a patriarchal society has deemed appropriate. Being taught to be submissive from birth, it has been difficult for women to be able to vocalize and fight for control of their lives. Because of this, women artists in particular have had such difficulty expressing and advocating for their rights in a world that is uncomfortable with confronting the issues of gender inequality that are still relevant, though less extreme, today.

Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias, c1142-52

Throughout the Middle Ages, women were deprived of rights and voice. A woman of this time was expected to be ready for marriage at the young age of 12, and could be beaten, flogged, or buried alive if she committed adultery or failed to obey her husband, despite there being no repercussions for men if they did the same (Guerrilla Girls, 22). In addition, education “was thought to interfere with a woman’s ability to be a good wife and mother,” and thus the majority of women were illiterate and denied the privilege of being able to read and write (Guerrilla Girls, 22). During the beginning of the Middle Ages, both men and women labored as the economy was based on feudalism, or land ownership. However, if a woman worked it was under the business of a male family member. Perhaps the only real freedom a woman could have during this time was when she became a nun. Religion was extremely powerful in the Middle Ages, and while, “The Church’s hierarchal organization reinforced the class distinctions in society; its patriarchal dogma included a full set of theories on the natural inferiority of women,” “the convent provided and alternative to marriage, offering a haven for nonconformists and female intellectuals” (Chadwick, 44, 45). Joining a convent meant independence, the ability to be educated, performing music, making tapestries, farming, and operating businesses. Among these nuns was a woman known as Hildegard Von Bingen. Her work, Scivas, reflects the visions in which she claimed God spoke to her and revealed truths about the Christian faith, and is important because she received recognition from the Pope himself. Hildegard Von Bingen, as a nun, was given the opportunity to be educated. However, when she spoke out on her independent ideas, the Church placed her on house arrest and took away her voice and power, as they did to all women of the time.

As the Renaissance emerged, women were arguably even more excluded and certainly not credited for their art. In the words of Whitney Chadwick from her book Women, Art, and Society, “Art history’s conception of the Renaissance as an historically, geographically, and culturally unique period is based on the lives and achievements of men” (87). The system of art was closed to women, with the exception of lace and silkmakers guild. Women could not receive commissions, many were illiterate, and they could not legally own an atelier. The only way a woman was permitted to be an artist was if she was born into a family with an artist that needed help in a workshop. For instance, Maria Robusti was the daughter of Jacopo Tintoretto and worked for him for fifteen years, declining invitations to work for the King of Spain and the Emperor of Austria because her father did not give her permission to go. It is believed that she was the artists behind many works that he signed, and this discrediting and control over women artists can also be seen in artists Lavinia Fontana and Elisabetta Sirani. Even if women were to produce exceptional art work, they were insulted and their success was minimized by a society that deemed these women miracles or visionaries of the sort, rather than accepting that a woman could simply create an impressive piece of art. During the Renaissance, if a man raped a woman, the woman could save her reputation if that man asked to marry her (Guerrilla Girls, 32). This was true for Artemisia Gentileschi, who was raped by Agostino Tassi, a colleague of Artemisia’s father. Unheard of at the time, Artemisia’s father took the case to court. Artemisia most famous work, Judith Slaying Holfernes, depicts a Jewish woman killing an Assyrian general by first seducing him and then cutting of his head. In contrast to other artists, Gentileschi portrays Judith staring at Holfernes’ head as she slays him, expressing female strength and courage in a time when women were seen as weak, inferior, and were taken advantage of as she was.

Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Decapitating Holfernes, 1618

Caravaggio, Judith Beheading Holfernes, 1599

Rachel Ruysch, Flowerpiece, after 1700

During the 17^th and 18^th centuries, there was a stress on women and domesticity, as seen in Elisabeth Vigee-Le Brun’s Portrait of Marie Antoinette with Her Children. In England, France, and Italy artists focused on neoclassicism, which focused on themes from history. However, women could not join the royal academies that taught this type of art, because nude painting was a pre-requisite and women were not allowed to view men naked for the purpose of art. While women were inhibited from participating in these academies, the Netherlands introduced a subject of art that did attract women. This subject was material possessions and focused more on every day life. Artists such as Rachel Ruysch, who was paid more than famous male artist Rembrandt, adopted this subject of painting as depicted in her work, The Flowerpiece.

Approaching the 19^th Century, the topics of abolition and women’s suffrage had influence on women of the time. Fighting for the emancipation of slaves, women identified with a lack of rights and freedom and therefore were advocates of independence and basic rights. Edmonia Lewis’ work, Forever Free, speaks to this subject of emancipation and the oppression of slavery. During the 19^th century, technological advances also lead to photography, something women have been included in since the beginning of its uses, as conveyed with the work of Julia Margaret Cameron. The 19^th century also propels the world into Impressionism, which uses smaller brush strokes, the illusion of movement of light, and odd angles. This art, highly criticized for the time, was practiced by Mary Cassatt. Her pieces, Mother and Child and A Cup of Tea “brings an incisive eye to bear on the rituals and gestures through which femininity is constructed and signified:…attending children, taking tea, visiting” (Chadwick, 238).

Mary Cassatt, Mother and Child, 1905

Mary Cassatt A Cup of Tea, 1880

From the Middle Ages through the 19^th century and even to today, women have fought for a voice in society. Women artists express life through the point of view of a woman, and we need to continue to communicate this to the world to reach gender equality.

-Nicole Arena

Works Cited

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. 4^th ed. New York, N.Y.: Thames and Hudson, 1990. Print.

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