In today’s day and age, women are finally being seen as more than just sexual beings who are objectified strictly due to their physical features. Women have seemingly been predestined to take on the weight of society’s faults but - magically - still remain mentally strong enough to overcome their restraints and live up to their true potential. Women are more valued, appreciated, seen, heard and respected - to some degree - than they were in the past. Time and again, women have had to prove themselves worthy to a patriarchal society and continue to showcase their capabilities and competencies, but why is that still the case? The manner in which women are thought of today has not always been the norm but such a drastic change, in my opinion, was necessary to the growth of American society as a whole.
Throughout the Middle Ages, women were known to be second class citizens to men. Women were expected to be nothing more than wives, mothers, nuns, caretakers or peasants. They lacked position and voice, and were nothing more than property to their husbands or other men in the community. All in all, women were to be submissive to their male counterparts. In Guerrilla Girls’ Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art, it is mentioned that, “For most of history, women have, by law, been considered the property of their fathers, husbands, or brothers, who almost always believed women were put on earth to serve them and bear children” (Guerilla Girls’ 8). As stated previously, women during those times were viewed as simple objects, conditioned to be submissive and quiet, seen but not heard and birthed solely for the purpose, pleasure and enjoyment of men.
As limited in scope as these expectations and views for women were during the middle ages, they began to change rather drastically into the 19th century. Women no longer passively accepted the roles they blindly and historically assumed but instead, they became more diligent and proactive about speaking out against these unfortunate circumstances. With such limitations and the lack of enthusiasm for progression in feminine communities, including thoughts about being a commonality amongst society, it is a wonder that some women were able to become artists and accomplish more than what was expected of them, especially since they “. . . were rarely allowed to attend art schools, join artists’ guilds or academies, or own an atelier” (Guerilla Girls’ 8).
In the Middle Ages, women’s freedoms were restricted and caused them to not to be able to live their lives fulfilling their own desires. In the eyes of many, females were meant to be inferior to men and any move toward personal success or accomplishment was immediately squelched. The idea of a woman being more successful than a man was downright far-fetched. Yet from protests to political disturbances, women quickly began to organize and rally amongst themselves to create progressive change in their local communities. Their fearlessness paved the way for a number of heavy-hitters to hit the scene and leave their marks on future generations. Specifically for women artists and their work, this sudden shift in perspective followed them. Their work became a mouthpiece for them in many ways.
The potential and range of female artists into the 19th century was remarkable and so were the various challenges they faced. Since women were expected to stay home - or if they wanted to be out in public, they needed to be accompanied by a male chaperone - the experiences they had to draw from were limited. This included their desire to pursue educational opportunities. Those social restrictions hindered them from living their best lives and if anything, caused women who were curious about a robust societal social scene to be seen as “loose.” In turn, women depicting such images was a challenge. As much as many women desired to paint and draw experiences outside of the home, much of their work was relegated to behind closed doors.
Furthermore, since women also faced the challenge of being boxed-in to one role, childbearing and childrearing, much of their work depicted maternal images of women and children in loving, modest scenes. More often than not, those images rarely - if ever - included men. Ironically, the children depicted in these images tend to look just as innocent, young and curious as the artists who drew them. There existed a clear distinction between fantasy and reality in their eyes.
In order to overcome these challenges, women began to push back against their prescribed gender roles during the late 19th century. They demanded more liberty, independence, autonomy and inclusion. While many men were surprised and weary of this “New Woman” this did not stop such brave women from pushing barriers and breaking glass ceilings. Their voices, skill and emotional strength were always a forced to be reckoned with, and they were determined to prove just that in art, society and the state of the culture.
No longer did women submit to producing safe art, such as that of delicate flowers and still paintings of fully clothed subjects. They wanted execute larger more distinct pieces and essentially compete fairly with their male counterparts. This deliberate attempt to silence or drown out their potential shows a subtle fear that men may have possessed in those days - as it related to women artists and their abilities to create just as well as men could. If women could compete on this level with all things made equal, it would certainly put them in a position of authority and power which their male counterparts refused to freely share. This selfishness nearly stole these women’s opportunity but at the same token, blazed new paths for them as well.
Eventually, the sphere of art and gender roles shifted and became more open to female artists. Their visions erupted and their artistic expression blossomed in a way that was not only creative, but also, very telling of the times. Perhaps now that the playing fields became more open to women, men would consider partnering with them and gaining perspective and inspiration from a group they formerly kept drowned out? On the other hand, this it could have just incited more rage from men but still impacted the world of art in a major way.
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| Portrait of a Woman With a Black Hood, Mary Beale |
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Works Cited
Whitney Chadwick. Women, Art, and Society: Fifth Edition. Thames and Hudson, 2012.
The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. Penguin Books, 2006.
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. Langara College, 2016.
Links:
http://www.arttrav.com/art-history-tools/being-a-renaissance-woman/
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/w/women-in-the-renaissance/
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