Art and Women
Prof. Cacoilo
March 3rd, 2019
Gender Roles, Subject, & Power
During the Middle Ages in Europe, it was a very oppressive time for the women. The women had to follow strict gender roles in a patriarchal culture. As the women were growing up they were trained to get married at a young age. According to the Guerilla Girls, “women were usually engaged to be married at age 12 and were married by age 15” (Guerrilla 22). Women were expected to be submissive of men because the man always had to be the ones who hold the role of being superior. Around this time women were expected to be housewives. As we all know when a woman is expected to be a housewife that means she has to cook for her husband, clean for her husband, along as taking care of the kids all day. If the women didn’t follow the rules they could be held accountable for their actions. According to the Guerilla Girls, “A woman had to obey her husband, and he could beat her if she didn’t” (Guerrilla 22). This lead to women not being able to get an education because it was seen back then that if a woman was to gain an education then it would take time away from being able to care of her husband. Due to that fact, a lot of the women had to rely on their husbands and did not know how to become successful without them.
A better time for the women was going into the Renaissance period because the women roles were changed for the better. The Renaissance period allowed women to become artists and allowed them to gain more freedom. According to the Guerilla Girls, “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 city of Bologna was a very dynamic city. In the Whitney Chadwick reading “Women, Art, and Society”, Chadwick says, “Bologna was unique among Italian cities for having both a University which had educated women since the Middle Ages” (Chadwick,87). Many artist women who wanted to make sure their work was known went to Bologna but only the women who were raised into rich families were allowed to do so. Chadwick says “Not until the sixteenth century did a few women manage to turn the new Renaissance emphasis on virtue and gentility into positive attributes to the women artist. Their careers were made possible by birth into artist families and the training that accompanied it, or into the upper class where the spread of Renaissance ideas about the desirability of education opened new possibilities for women" (Chadwick,76). The school of Bologna allowed women to learn philosophy, art, and law.
To continue on, going into the 19th century was one of the most dynamic time for the women. At the time women were interested in photography. There was an interest for women to work outside their homes which made women appreciate more opportunity and different chances. The 19th century was the beginning of an era for the women to fight towards equality. Rosa Bonheur had a father who believed in education for women and believed in gender equality. Her father was a director of an art school for girls which was where Rosa learned to paint. Rosa was very successful at her time. Rosa Bonheur was one of the women artists who encouraged women to be rebellious. Rosa says “Let women establish their claims by great and good works and not by conventions” (Guerrilla Girls,49). Rosa Bonheur artwork was to demonstrate the women’s battles against men. Rosa became one of the best-loved artists in Europe after her remarkable and outstanding painting called The Horse Fair. In order to paint the image, Rosa had to dress up like a man in order for her to sketch the horses because women were not allowed to attend the horse show. The image below of The Horse Fair shows us how the horses are battling back with the end goal for them to not be restrained by the men. This is an example of what women were trying to prove. Chadwick says, "Images of animals frequently symbolized the vices and virtues of women. Constantly exhorted to rise above their 'animal' natures, women were pursued by animal exemplars” (Chadwick,192).
Just like Rosa Bonheur tried to show women's power through her artwork there were many other women artist who tried to do the same. For example, Harriet Powers was born in slavery. Being born a slave comes with a lot of struggles. She was an African American who faced a lot of racism. Because she was a slave it left her no choice but to be illiterate since slaves were forbidden to learn, read or write. Harriet Powers was one of the most famous women to have her quilts in a museum. Her quilt was called the “Pictorial Quilt” that was made in the year 1895. The quilt was first discovered by a schoolteacher who’s name was Jennie B. Smith at a local fair. When Jenni saw the quilt she offered Harriet five dollars for it but Harriet did not want to give it up so she allowed Jennie to see it whenever she wanted too. Jennie then entered the quilt in the Cotton States Exposition where a group of women saw it and appointed Harriet to do another one.
Notwithstanding their difficulties, these roles influenced women in many ways. For example, during medieval times, women were getting married at a young age and were seen as the second rate compared to men. Women were very limited at this time. The women role was only seen as a housewife who had to cook, clean, as well as take care of her husband and children. The only way a woman was able to get an education was if she became a nun. Entering into the Renaissance era, although women were still secondary to men, the women were able to gain more rights by allowing them to gain more freedom and to become an artist.
Harriet Powers, Pictorial Quilt, 1895
The Guerrilla Girls, The Guerrilla Girls’ Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art (New York, Penguin Books, 1998)
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