In the Middle ages, women were in a difficult position in the social world. They were labeled and used simply as tools of production. For women in the middle ages, they were given very little freedom in determining their own destiny. Their future was inevitably decided by the men around them. Women of the Middle ages had the job of maintaining a household. This included cleaning, cooking and birthing and raising children. Often, women were not allowed to get educated. With lack of education and freedom, women knew very little about the outside world and were limited in their creativity. As women began to turn to religion, they saw their freedoms appear through a commitment to the church. As the catholic church expands in Europe, women take advantage of the privileges that come to nuns of the religion. Nuns have the ability to learn how to read and write to learn about the bible. Nuns are also allowed to practice a variety of arts and also the opportunity to create their own writings. Along with the privilege of reading and writing, women are creating art and pottery. This is because women were allowed to make religious pieces and also weaving tapestry. The tapestry tells many stories and provides many opportunities for the women to express what they are seeing in the world. A Lot of this work took place in Bolonia. In Bolonia, women were finding opportunities to find women art spaces. These spaces were abbes. In the abbes, the art of the time was different for women. Credibility was given to the women of the abbey while women in this time have incomplete stories. Often their artwork will not be given the credit of their name rather that of a man which made it impossible to truly account for all of the women artists of the renaissance. While the style at the time was elegance, artists were expected to display fine lines and detailed images. An example of this is Diana Scultori Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery (1575)
This painting shows the type of work that was being created at the time. An extremely detailed gathering, the columns are emphasized to help us understand the architecture at the time. The clothing also reveals to you the time and place of Italy in the Renaissance like the hanging and lose robes with the draping curtains, for example. This gathering shows a woman talking to a christ like figure. She is in the midst of an entire crowd. However, the crowd is paying her no attention. This is because the crowd already looks troubled as if they are experiencing their own hardship. Despite the crowd not paying attention to the woman in the middle, it is clear that she is the center of attention in the photo as she talks to “christ” in the middle of chaos. Women were catering their paintings to upper class and noble families. The elite were seen as capable of appreciating art. With Bologna thriving and presenting an opportunity for women artists, the abbey was the choice of freedom while marriage was seen as the choice of sacrifice. Many women were expected to give up their art for marriage. Not doing so would jeopardize your marriage. So you were either married or an artist. This lifestyle caused many artists to stop early in their career.
While in the 19th century women begin to find different ways of expressing themselves, in the United States one in ten of the artist are women at the time. This allows for women to begin making women artist inclusive spaces. These spaces allow for women to begin meeting with each other and exchanging ideas and techniques. An example of this space is the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876. The exposition raised $150,000. The building has been a discussion within the art community. The director of grounds to the building said “ be in every respect better for them to occupy a building exclusively their own and devoted to women's work alone”.(Chadwick) Many were upset with the woman only building and thought that it harmed women’s ability to not simply be women artist. However, many of the women benefited from the building and had the opportunity to produce amazing pieces and gave women an opportunity to show their male counterparts they were just as capable of contributing to the art community. In the painting by Mary Cassatt “Mother and Child” (1905) we see true impressionism. This is a literal reflection of a reflection which brings to life the details and characteristics of the subject. Cassatt is extremely important to the 19th century art scene for women because of all her different pieces.More By Cassatt
Women, like Mary Cassatt for example, were part of this time and she was capable of finding herself in male artist scenes. Despite women making gains in the art world, men still expressed their dismay for women presence. An example of this is when Renoir says “ I consider women writers, lawyers and politicians as monsters and nothing but five -legged calves”.(chadwick) Statements like this let women know that they were not welcome in the art world. Despite that kind of expression, women artist still made strives.
By:Nicole D. Nave
By:Nicole D. Nave
Works Cited
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. 4th 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.
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