Gender Roles, Subject, and Power

The role of women in Europe in the middle ages was seen as a second-class role. They had to listen to their husbands, take care of their children, and keep the household in order. The women at this time were married young and it was often arranged by their parents. This role was mainly dictated by the catholic church which held jurisdiction over the social norms at this time. Ironically, the church also provided women with the only way they could live their life as a single free woman, as a nun. In this sense women are never actually alone and free, they always have to be governed by someone or something. In relation to women in fields of art, it was difficult for them to make breakthrough work since they had no platform to create through. Women were not taught, apprenticed, or able to be educated unless they had wealth and so those who created artwork were often overlooked. This was seen especially in both the regular every day, and religious space. Although women usually held important roles in the church they were still seen as inferior and less educated in comparison to the male authority.

Women in the religious world were even seen as lower class although they may have held high positions. They were often not given the opportunity to contribute to the debates surrounding the church. During this medieval pe

riod, Hildegard of Bingen and Herrad of Landsburg both defied their roles as women in the church by creating breakthrough work. Hildegard made The Scivas while Herrad made the Hortus Deliciarum. They are described as “two of the most remarkable religious compilations by women in western history” (Chadwick 55). Herrad, who dedicated the Hortus Deliciarum to the women in her convent, addresses each of them by name in one of her illustrations. As women were often looked over, Herrad makes each of them known and has permanently etched them into the history of the church so that they may be seen for the significance and service they actually provided instead of being disregarded. Hildegard does the same, in her religious texts she provides insight to the religious experiences that she has had in her lifetime. Although both of these women created powerful works that gave rise to the importance of women in medieval society, it did not challenge the ideas of women in the church: men have control over knowledge since they do not separate the body of a woman from her thoughts. Rather, these works provided a “strong sense of female otherness in relation to male authority and a vision of woman as complementary to a man” (Chadwick). Hildegard and Herrad’s work did not undercut the education and capability of women and women in convent, while the works of male writers and artists during this time period did. Both artists also redefine what it means to be a female in the church and present female power as a natural order in a way that doesn’t combat the competency and institution of male authority – they demonstrate that both female and male authority can go hand in hand.

As time moves on eventually in the 19^th century the roles of women have changed, women are now starting to make their way into professionalism in art through education. The education reform for women during this time period was quite drastic. Several art schools popped up in America around the 19^th century which taught painting, drawing, and skills like embroidery, lace making, dancing, and music (Chadwick 178). All women art schools which were slowly starting to pop up were a great benefit to women who were often segregated by a male dominated field where they would have normally had to attend a school with all males to get any type of education whatsoever. The effect that this had on the artwork of women was obvious, as it gave them a platform to create work to express themselves.

As women move into different professions in the 19^th century, new problems for them arise and are addressed and reflected through the artwork of women. For example, The Seamstress by Anna Blunden depicts the struggle of a woman trying to earn her own living. This idea goes against the way women were thought of and portrayed in the artwork of the medieval times, its “quasi-religious tone, as a woman who has been laboring throughout the night clasps her hands and gazes heavenward at the light of day, contrasts sharply with the reality of laboring for hours over the tiny stitches of a mans dress shirt” (Chadwick 188). It is also evident that women are starting to become more independent during this time period as their work started to reflect their want for freedom and release of male authority. Rosa Bonhheur often illustrated animals and her work The Horse Fair can be equated to the freedom she wished for herself as a female. She was an artist who had to obtain legal permission to cross-dress in order for her to travel the world and find places of inspiration and make her artwork. Although the platform for women in art was slightly raised, it is obviously still very difficult for them to make any breakthroughs without the help of wealth or a male. The small amount of freedom that women were able to achieve had a full impact on the political front at this time as the first United States National Women’s Rights Movement emerged which ignites a new spirit within woman that wasn’t there before. Although the 19^th century provided grounds for many important breakthroughs not only in art for women, but in the workforce, politics, household, and more, women were still very restricted in comparison to men. Men are still seen as the figure of authority largely because of the institution of this law by the church so long ago, and because of the societal norms of patriarchy and the glaring male gaze. Women are unfortunately left still questioning their role in a gender segregated space.

Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. Langara College, 2016.

The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. Penguin Books, 2006.