Kruti Patel
Art and Women Fall 2017
Professor Cacoilo
October 16, 2017
During the time period of the Middle Ages, the expected roles for women in Europe were to stay home and take care of the family. Women were “the virtual prisoners of the men in their lives”(Guerrilla Girls 19). Women were not able to read or write because they were not allowed to go tos chol or gain any kind of Education. They couldn’t speak their minds and even if they did, their opinions didn’t matter. They were entrusted with the charge of the castle when their lord went away. They were only set to be housewives and were “required to be faithful to her husband, and adult could be punished by flogging or being buried alive” (Guerrilla Girls 22).
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| Hildegard of Bingen, Scivas |
The only women who had a sense of freedom was a nun, although it was not a privileged life either. Women’s “social roles remained circumscribed by a Christian ethic that stresses obedience and chastity”(Chadwick 44). The church told the nuns what to do and what they are allowed to learn. “Nuns wrote books on medicine, science, and sacred music”(Guerrilla Girls 22). But they were still controlled by the church.
Moving on to the Renaissance period, the focus shifted more towards “what women could do”(Chadwick 87). During this time period women were beginning to develop more sense of freedom and having a role in society but it wasn’t easy and thus they still had to remain silent most of the time. This was also when men “began to obsess over and objectify the naked female body as never before”(Guerrilla Girls 47). One of the most famous artist from this time period was Artemisia Gentileschi. In her painting of Susanna and the Elders,
the women are not just giving out herself to the men, but instead, she is opposing it and also trying to cover her body with the cloth. This was the drastic change during the Renaissance because now the women are avoiding the male gaze. Susanna is also not looking at the men, but she is trying to avoid any sort of interaction with the elders. Men still had a role during this time because by looking at this painting we can clearly say that they knew they were doing wrong, but still giving a message to remain silent.
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| Artemisia Gentileschi, Susanna and the Elders |
The 19th century is portrayed as the period in the U.S of political changes. This was the period during the Industrial Revolution which created major advancements in society, not only in technology and transportation but also for women.During this period, women started working for wages even though men still earned more than women. “The 19th century saw the war to abolish slavery in the U.S. and the beginning of women’s long struggle for equality” (Guerrilla Girls 47). Women experienced great technological advances which allowed them to leave home. One of the well-known artist from this time period was Rosa Bonheur.
She was an admired animal painter. One of her works, The Horse Fair, was her main source of fame and recognition. It is important to realize that the “same images which expose helplessness of animals were used to reinforce the subordinate and powerless position of women in relation to the institutions of male power and privilege” (Chadwick 195). This painting had a significant impact on women and their position in society.
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| Rosa Bonheur, The Horse Fair |
Overall, women were faced with multiple challenges over the centuries. Although they were given some freedom over time, they were still controlled by men at some part. From the Middle Ages through the 19th century, women’s roles changed from being strictly religious to have some freedom of expression. The struggle towards equality between men and women in the art world had moved extremely slow, but they did make progress from not being allowed to do anything to become a painter.Women artists began painting without men. Women should be considered as potential as men no matter what.
WORK CITED
The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York: Penguin, 1998. Print.
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson, 2002.
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