Roles of women

Emily Mary Osborn,
Nameless and Friendless, 1857

    During the Middle Ages, women in Europe had little to no role within the country. They were expected to care for children, prepare food, and tend to daily work. Women that lived within the village did tasks men did on land but they were paid much less than the men. If a man was paid eight pence a day, a women would get paid five pence a day, even though they both did the same job. Women from poor families started to work as soon as possible and were treated as adults from a young age. They did not get married until their twenties, unlike women from rich families who married earlier. Women that came from rich families did not get to choose who they married but instead it was chosen by her family. The family picked men that were just or more wealthy than them. Since women were not taken seriously during the Middle Ages this affected how men saw women artists. They neglected them and did not give women the credit they deserved, even if their work was better than men artist. In the painting Nameless and Friendless, it is a clear example of how women artist passionately tried to get their work published and known but over and over again got turned down because men did not appreciate women. During the time, education was not prevalent and assessable for women. Peasant women received little to no education, they were able to learn the alphabet but no farther than that. Middle class women were taught how to read and write by their mother or nurse and some were able to get educated at a nunnery supervised by educated women. But that was only for those who came from a wealthy businessman. Upper class women knew how to read and write because were all educated at nunneries and were also taught spiritual education. 

Middle Ages- shows examples of paintings that represent the Middle Ages. It gives us an idea of how people saw the world back then and the amount of unfairness in the world. 

     The Renaissance period was similar to the Middle ages. Women were still denied rights and were subjects to their husbands. Their role was to take care of the family and do the daily work around the house. During the 17th century, education was offered for more women. Boarding schools for girls were founded in many towns and women were slowly getting accepted by men through their art and work. Women have always been fighting for their rights and for their abilities to be noticed. Since women were shown no respect or value towards during the Middle Ages, women artists used their frustration to the world and incorporated that into their paintings. They painted images that showed how men downgraded women and only saw them as objects or painted images that showed men that women are strong and independent. It took women a long time to overcome these challenges but throughout time they continued to show men that they are going to fight for themselves. There started to become tension between husband and wife because women started to realized they needed to rebel to get rights. 

Sofonisba Anguissola,
Self Portrait, 1561

Sofonisba Anguissola,
Boy Bitten by a Crayfish, before 1559

     Sofonisba Anguissola is one of the first known women artists and was established an international reputation during the late Renaissance period. She is best known for her self portraits. Her talent was evident since an early age and thrived as a professional painter during a male dominated time period. Female artists usually came from families where a father or brother was an artist so that they could revive training, "On of the few ways a woman could work as an artist was to be born into a family of artists that needed assistance in the family workshop" (Guerilla Girls 25). She is so amazing because her father was not in fact a painter. She came from a none artists household into a famous artist during the Renaissance time. She studied with Michelangelo and met other Renaissance painters. Sofonisba's fame grew during the feminist movement of the 1970's and she is one of the most important painters of the early modern period. The two paintings I included show her fine technique, the use of colors and detail. She is an inspiration because she was able to deny what other said and continued to work hard to achieve her fame. 

Sofanisba's paintings - This link shows and explains many of Sofonisba's paintings. It is important for people to know who she is because she rose up at time where almost no women could. She has inspired so many women to fight for themselves and see inspiration wherever you look. 

Works Cited 

Kuiper, Kathleen. “Sofonisba Anguissola.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 12 Feb. 2013, www.britannica.com/biography/Sofonisba-Anguissola.
The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. Penguin Books, 2006.