Gender Roles, Subject and Power

During the Middle Ages in Europe, women and men were expected to fill separate spheres of society. Women were usually expected to be housewives. They were responsible for taking care of cooking, cleaning, and child rearing. They were also the provider of their homes. So they held other positions including peasant, artisan, and nun. Other women held some other leadership roles such as queen regnant. Women were “the virtual prisoners of the men in their lives” (Guerrilla Girls, 19). They were perceived as being inferior to men. Moreover, Chadwick emphasized that "women's social roles remained circumscribed by a Christian ethic that stressed obedience and chastity…maternal and domestic responsibility... feudal legal system...[and] control of property" (Chadwick, 44). They were denied the right for education, freedom of speech, the right to vote and the right to inherit properties. According to the Guerrilla Girls, women were “required to be faithful to her husband and adultery could be punished by flogging or being buried alive” (P.22). In general, women were entirely shut out of the public sphere of 19th-century society. Though, most men were drafted as soldiers during the war so women were given the right to take on their jobs at home such as managing a property. According to Chadwick, "the eleventh and twelfth centuries encouraged large numbers of women to take up religious lives" (P.53). Women were seeking to escape harsh treatment and their only way was to become nuns. In the portrait below, Hortus Deliciarum (Gardens of Delight) was a medieval manuscript that was put together by Herrad of Landsberg to “praise the Christ and the Church, (Chadwick, 56)

Moving forward into the Renaissance, it was a better period for women compared to the middle ages period. Women’s roles have changed though they were still secondary to men’s roles. Most of the women remained uneducated housewives. However, “one of the few ways a woman could work as an artist was to be born into a family of artists that needed assistance in the family workshop” (Guerrilla Girls, 29). The Renaissance allowed women to become independent artists. Moreover, women could be educated if they were born into artistic families. So some women artists were taught in their father’s workshop. They were able to learn advanced ways to paint. For example, they painted other women in a way that gave them power and freedom. Chadwick also mentioned that “Bologna was unique among Italian cities for having both a University which had educated women since the Middle Ages” (87). For example, the school of Bologna was a huge achievement for women where they learned art, law and, philosophy. Artemisia Gentileschi and Elisabetta Siriani were some of the famous women artists during that period.

Artemisia Gentileschi. Judith Slaying Holofernes

The 19th century by far was the most progressive era in the study of women in art. Chadwick stated that "Modern feminist campaigns emerged out of complex nineteenth-century reform movements in Western Europe and America. Nineteenth-century reforms movements were part of a growing middle-class response to widespread social and economic changes following the Industrial Revolution" (175). Women in the period of time enjoyed more freedom and various opportunities, especially in the art field. There was a demand for women to work outside of their homes. Women were also interested in the art of photography. Rosa Bonheur was one of the women artists who “encouraged women to be rebellious."  (Guerrilla Girls, 49). She had a father who believed in the education of women and was a director of an art school. The “Horse Fair” shown below is one of her most recognized work. It depicts a horse sale that women generally were not permitted to attend. She dressed up as a man so that she could sketch horses at the fair without being bothered.

Rosa Bonheur. The Horse Fair. 1887. Oil on canvas.

Other women were trying to convey women’s power through their artwork. For example, Elizabeth Thompson showed that the struggles women faced didn’t stop them. She painted topics such as wars and fighting. One of her famous paintings is” Return from the Inkerman” which shows weak men returning from the war. Women also began doing needle and quilt work. Further, Quilting was used to highlight many of the social issues such as Women's Rights Movement and the Abolition of Slavery. For instance, Harriet Powers was one of the most famous women to have her quilts in a museum. She used the applique style in her quilting. Also, Edmonia Lewis was very famous for her marble sculptures. Overall, all of these women had to step out of their comfort zones to overcome all the barriers and become successful.

Harriet Powers Quilt

These roles influenced women in many ways. For instance, during the middle ages, women were perceived as inferior to men. Their roles were limited to being housewives. Though the possible way to change this was to become nuns. Further, men and women worked together in guilds but women weren’t allowed to put their names on that work. Through the Renaissance era, women had few more rights. However, their roles were still secondary to men’s roles. Moreover, education was more convenient for the wealthy and high-class families. The 19^th century was a great leap for women artists. They enjoyed more rights such as freedom, education, some equality and slavery abolition. So from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance until today, women in art have been fighting for their rights. Many women have become successful artists and created famous pieces of art and sculptures that are well known in today’s culture. For instance, Florence Freeman who created the “Stonewall Jackson” which was the first Confederate Civil War monument in America. Also, Vinnie Hoxie who created the Abraham Lincoln statue which can be found in Statuary Hall in the Capitol in Washington. 

In the links below illustrate how women artists struggled through the 19th century have.
https://france-amerique.com/en/the-struggle-of-19th-century-women-artists-in-paris/

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history-basics/tools-understanding-art/a/a-brief-history-of-women-in-art

Work cited:
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson, 1990. Print.
The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York: Penguin, 1998. Print.