Evonny Portilla
The Middle Ages was a period of European history that lasted from around the 5th century to the 15th century. During this time, women held roles that varied from being wives, mothers, peasants, artisans, and nuns. They would therefore have roles that were very insignificant to the advancement of society. There were hints of hope for women as some managed to work at home with their husbands or even close to home and their life expectancy increased because of improved nutrition (if they didn’t die giving birth). Although a lot of religious roles opened up for some women, and few did manage to become of high church status, the overall concept of being a woman would be pale in comparison to that of being a man. Their gender would automatically, by default, set them up to be inferior to men and society.
Some more hints of improvements can be seen during the Renaissance period, but it still wasn’t nearly enough, at all. This Renaissance period was a time for cultural flourishment but mainly only for males, and not so much for woman as they were seen as too weak to rule over a community or make their own life decisions. Women were still legally dependent on men as their fathers would force them into a marriage that was not of their decision, they were disadvantaged educationally in comparison to men, and the judicial system heavily favored men. Society would be structured in a way that placed men in a dominating position, and women remained in an inferior place in the hierarchy. There were some women during this time period that had some wealth and fortunately managed to break through this pattern, and shine some light on the future of women. One such woman is Isabella d’Este who was perhaps the most influential and the most intelligent woman in the Renaissance period. She managed to spread awareness and influence several other women with her public appearances where she showed off her skills in writing, in dancing, and in playing musical instruments. Her husband, Francesco Gonzaga, was the duke of Mantua and when he was captured, she ruled mantua by herself. At last, a woman was capable of influencing the economic development of this region, increasing the development of the textile and clothing industry which became the backbone of Mantua’s economy. She would collect a lot of paintings, manuscripts, and other artistic things and influenced her people to also take interest in these forms of art. Isabella managed to break through this social barrier that always existed for women, and she did it because of her skill and talent and dedication. Not only did she prove to be artistically and culturally gifted, but also talented in the realm of economics and politics. Her influence for a woman in this era was out of this world and the praise and respect she received and still received is very deserving. To be considered as equal to her husband is remarkable, to say the least. In Chadwick it demonstrates a series of female artist’s successes and achievements as time progresses. Much like the next paintings below, they have managed to push through shoulders of men and make themselves worth what they are which is a work of art. Women have man a name for themselves, although the war for equality is still going on as we speak there has at least been progression in the way female artists are perceived and the intentions they bring.
Lorenzo Costa the Elder. Crowning of Isabella d’Este, (detail), 1505–06. Musée du Louvre, Paris. (Image: © Kathleen Cohen, courtesy of World Images Kiosk, California State University)
Continuing on to the 19th century, we begin to see a shift in the everyday lives and roles of women. This change can be attributed to a number of things such as the undeniable nature of modernism and the change that comes with it but also heavily to the actions of women themselves who were craving to escape the limits that were placed on them because of their sex. During this century, access to art increased a lot more for women all over the world. The Society of Female Artists was founded in London in 1855 (which is now known as The Society of Women Artists) and it has held exhibitions every year since 1857. Although women still had several issues and were still being treated unequally to men, the artistic push for women increased as well as their determination to achieve more equality with men. At this point, we have several female artists that can be used to highlight the struggles for equal right during the 19th century. Amongst this list of female artists, Harriet Hosmer stands out for being the first professional woman sculptor. She ended up moving to Rome from America at the age of 22 to join a community of writers and artists.
A prime style of sculpture from Harriet Hosmer; Beatrice Cenci.
Another female artist around this time that really reflects women's ideas and really illuminates the fact that Women are starting to be able to express more of their ideas is Harriet Powers. She was born a slave and throughout her lifetime she would translate stories and myths from the Bible and turned them into beautiful quilts using piecework technique. The fact that Harriet Powers was able to express her own belief into a quilt must mean that Women were able to convey what they believed through to society a lot more potently. It was becoming more common for Women to be freely able to express themselves and there was clearly less of a strain on them in general
In conclusion, women have always faced troubles relating to equality with men. Even today, women are still facing the same dilemma, but it has greatly gotten from what it used to be. A lot of the things that applied back then are very crazy to imagine to have occurred.
Works Cited
The Guerrilla Girls’ Bedside Companion of the History of Western Art, Penguin Books, 1998.
Chadwick, Whitney. “Women, Art, And Society,” Fourth Edition. World of Art. 2007.
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