Ajibola Martins

10/14/17

Post 2

       Gender Roles, Subjects and Power.

In the Medieval Era, similar to the Renaissance, women were not allowed to partake in any political activities.They were considered legally subjects to their husbands. Regardless of what class they were in, they were expected to perform the duties of only a housewife, mother or peasants. A woman’s life is controlled mostly by her parents throughout her childhood. She is then handed to her husband, who was chosen for her, and who now has dominion over her life till death. Women who were of the higher class had servants to help with their chores, but did other things like became queen regnant or an abbess. For the women that did not marry, they entered into a religious institution as a nun in a convent.  “Within the convent women had access to learning even though they were prohibited from teaching”(Chadick, 45). The nuns, from a higher background, were educated in different areas, from science to music and literature; however, they were not allowed to be teachers because it appeared as if they would have domineer over men. “They operated business, farmed, made tapestried, copied and illustrated manuscripts, composed and performed music”(Guerrilla Girls, 22). Nuns were very disciplined. Their lives were dedicated to their God and their faith.

The Medieval Era lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. Middle Age art was mainly restricted to the production of Pietistic paintings, religious art, in forms of illuminated manuscripts, mosaic, and fresco paintings in churches. Many of the women who became Nuns were the the ones that did the illuminated manuscripts. Illuminated manuscripts had texts added on it, along with decorations, and bright-coloured pigments.  Because they were given a new

name after entering the convent, their work, during the Middle Ages, had to remain anonymous.

Women are already seen as the weak ones in society. A woman must abide to regulations in order for her to continue living as a wife. It is a sign of power or authority when a woman has skills to show. “Although the names of number of powerful women who were the patrons and benefactors of suck representation are known today, we know little of the authors”(Chadwick,43). With all these expectation, and restrictions, it was difficult for a woman to showcase her artwork or any sort of talent due to the fact that men were the only ones allowed to exhibit these kind of power.

AElfgyva and the Cleric, from The Bayeux Tapestry, 1984

   The Bayeux Tapestry has been called the “most important monument of secular art of the Middle Ages”(Chadwick 48). According the chadwick, the inability to identify the meaning of this artwork, AElfgyva and the Cleric, is the lack of “female figures situate women” in the Middle Ages, under Feudalism.

The Beatus Apocalypse of Gerona 975

The Renaissance was the time of intellectual and economic change.The Renaissance was still not a great time for a female artist to come up. Similar to the Middle Ages, women were still expected to marry and have children. However, some women managed to appear in the society. They were privately taught, often by their fathers, in their workshops. Some women were able to make a successful living as an artist. During the Renaissance, art was a social necessity mainly because majority of the popularity was illiterate and relied on visual representation for guidance. With the social limitations and all, women during the Renaissance period were able to do a lot more than in the Middle Ages. Nuns who learned how to paint had “unorthodox training”.

Self Portrait, Sofonisba Anguissola, 1556.

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Sofonisba Anguissola, for example, was known to have been the most successful female artist during the Renaissance. She did not have a father that was an artist, nor did she become a nun. She was, however, influenced by her father to develop her talents in arts, alongside with her siblings. Her talent was recognized by well-known artist of that period, including Michelangelo and Vasari. She became the court painter in spain. Unlike other female artist during the Renaissance, Anguissola was given the privilege to have a career.

Work Cited:

• http://www.lordsandladies.org/middle-ages-women-artists.htm
• The Guerrilla Girls’ Bedside Companion of the HIstory of Western Art, Penguin Books, 1998.
• Whitney Chadwick’s “Women, Art, And Society,” Fourth Edition.
• https://news.artnet.com/market/women-painters-during-the-italian-renaissance-35656