One of Castaglione's tenets praised the merits of an educated woman and advocated basic instruction for women in music, reading and needle arts. Because of the liberating influence of modern social view, women had more social freedom to pursue an education and, consequently, a possible career. (Deborah, pp. 28) However, academic training in the arts was still unavailable to them, and studying anatomy and the nude were unacceptable for women who were expected to be modest and chaste.
In order for a woman to have the opportunity to learn to paint, she had to exhibit artistic talent at a very early age. It was also helpful to have a father or relative who could teach her. One economic advantage for women who learned the craft of painting--and a benefit also for their fathers--was the ability to earn money and, thus, be able to provide for their own dowries. However, careers of women artists often ended when they married.
Though long time in world history women were restricted from working at the professional level of most occupations and could not work free of male relatives. The few documented female Renaissance artists were either the daughter of artists who trained in their fathers' workshops or who were expected to have fairly accomplished literary, musical, and artistic skills because they were of a higher class. Although records indicate that they were talented, these women frequently ended their artistic careers when they married, concentrating their work on subjects considered suitable for women artists settings.
Feminists from an assortment of disciplines began to reconsider the long-held conviction that early on modern women were on an equal par with men. We know that the roles of women in social, political, economic, and cultural life were greatly inhibited during this period. Due to the absence of women's stories in many areas of Renaissance studies has led to little discussion of the social and political regulation that caused it, and of how transgressions of female boundaries might have been achieved (Wallach, pp. 12). However, a growing number of feminist scholars have shown that women in the Renaissance did not merely internalize the roles urged on them, but rather constructed positions for themselves in everyday life, as well as in the other elite pursuits of literature, music, and art. Art in particular was a powerful method of controlling women, through a number of visual examples and social pressures.
One example of a renaissance woman was Caterina van Hemessen who received her artistic training in her father's studio. She has ten surviving pictures, eight include portrait of women shown at domestic pursuits, such as playing the spinet or chess. She married a musician and appeared to have ended her career as an artist. Another was the Bolognese artist Lavinia Fontana, who was also the daughter of a painter, and was recognized in her day for her portraiture talent. She was never married and only later received the respect for her work. One of the most talented female Renaissance artists was Sofonisba Anguissola who was the daughter of a Cremonese nobleman. (Barrel, pp. 128) As a sophisticated woman she was expected to train in the arts and music. She had exceptional artistic talent praised even by Michelangelo, and with her father's encouragement, she produced a large number of portraits. However, instead of renouncing her artistic career, she became a lady in waiting and court painter to Queen Isabella of Valois in Spain (King, pp. 381).
Although these skilled artists were well-known in the Renaissance, they received much more praise in contemporary times because they contended with many diminutions and stereotypes of their talent and skill.Contemporaries praised them as exceptions to their gender and acknowledged their independence and drive towards their talent. These previously neglected women's lives and art works have been remembered in recent years by art historians seeking to acknowledge women artists in the Renaissance. Women were also active artistic patrons and commissioned art in their roles as religious, royal and noble women. Often, agreements with artists were arranged for women by a male family member, a monk, or a priest. In the case of more independent and especially highborn women, there is clear evidence of women acting for themselves.
?uropean queens and royalty often had their portraits painted and noblewomen sometimes commissioned works of art for their villas. One example is the noblewoman Isabella d'?ste, who commissioned a substantial amount of art by famous painters to decorate her private studiolo quarters. Art was often used by female members of royalty to establish and strengthen their power. (Lippard, pp. 94)
After ?leanora of Toledo married Cosimo I de'Medici, a portrait of ?leanora and her son was painted by Bronzino. Cosimo, who had married her to strengthen his dynastic claim to power in Tuscany, and ?leanora used this image to remind the viewer that the Medici had married into high nobility and that the children of this union were born of royalty. Catherine de'Medici, the Italian-born widow of Henry of France, wanted to strengthen her position as the rightful ruler of the kingdom as regentess of the future king of France while at court her husband's mistress, Diane de Poitiers, was recognized and had her own power base. To establish support for herself, she created her own iconography of virtue and commissioned images of herself as Artemisia, a classical queen who became Catherine's prototype (Wood, pp. 301)
Women were not only the force behind works of art; they were also featured in numerous pictures. Although images of women are plentiful, their meaning is regulated through eroticization or a Neo-Platonic interpretation. Various depictions of ?ve and the Virgin Mary demonstrate the well known dichotomy of the shameful, lustful cause of the expulsion from ?den. In addition, images of women were often considered to be an empty sign that could symbolize various virtues and intangible ideas. Often women were presented in the disguise of famous exemplars, such as Lucretia, a Roman matron who committed suicide rather than bring the shame of her rape upon her family. Popular role models also included the Biblical heroines Judith, who saved her people when she seduced their enemy Holofernes with alcohol and cut off his head after he collapsed, and Susanna, who refused to have sex with two voyeuristic ?lders (Slatkin 121).
These women were seemingly utilized to show female virtues, but were almost without exception eroticized. This was emphasizing the sexual charm these women either used or were accused of using to attract men. Images of women who are naked or somewhat disrobed have also been given a limited number of interpretations. Alternately, these images have often been understood by current art historians as figures with a higher, Neo-Platonic meaning. Because many of the artists who painted these pictures had social or political connections with Neo-Platonic philosopher-scholars, these nude women areinterpreted as representing earthly beauty, who when gazed upon can lead the viewer to the contemplation of the divine. Women were controlled and regulated, whether by community pressure, lack of independence, or manipulation of image and meaning.
Women in the Italian Renaissance were restricted so that their undisciplined and tempting bodies did not intimidate social order and the position of men in the societal hierarchy. However, women were able to transgress these boundaries and roles when they had the means and opportunities to do so. There is not much documentation to determine how female viewers reacted to images or whether they rebelled against what they saw, but it is that certain pictures were intended for female consumption. Also there is some evidence, though limited, that women were not to be controlled as easily as may have been hoped. Women were also not completely conjoined from being successful artists and assertive patrons or from interpreting and understanding art of various subject matters. A story in Vasari's Lives of the Artists describes a painting of St. Sebastien, an image of a mostly nude, sensual man being shot with arrows as he stands bound against a tree. Vasari relates that this picture had to be removed from a church and hung in the monks' chapter house because at confession, large numbers of women said they had lustful thoughts in front of a religious picture of a holy saint (Slatkin 190).
The 19th and 20th centuries were periods of great movement for women in the field of art. The 19th century was considered as the greatest era of female social growth in history. This time period brought about significant changes for women in art. It was the first time that the idea of women artists no longer seemed abnormal. Many of the same obstacles of the earlier eras still existed especially in the first half of the century but by the 1850's changes in the role of women artists become noticeable. Women were becoming accepted and even though they still were not seen as equals they were being known as artists. To fully understand the position of women artists in the 19th century we must explore the traditions of their societies and rules and restrictions positioned upon them. (Arthur, pp. 135) Many women in the 19th century had talents that were worthy of the consideration for being great.
Women artists in the 19th century like their female predecessors in earlier eras were not ever called great artists. This fact is not because they lacked the talent but because they lacked opportunity and faced many prejudices, challenges and restrictions placed on them by the societies they lived in.
In the 16th century an artist named Lavina Fontana, who is now regarded as the first professional women painter in Western ?urope, was known for her paintings of religious and mythological themes. She was able to work within the "same sphere as her male counterparts"; because of her talent she was well known throughout Western ?urope (Karen and Wilson, pp. 224). She was never included in the group of artists that are called the "greats", even though she was held in high regard as an artist and her paintings were very accepted. The title of being great was held for strictly male artists. Gender was the main obstacle that these women had to battle.
Another famous 19th century artist was Rosa Bonheur, who was born in Bordeaux in 1822. She was known for artwork that depicted animals and nature. Rosa Bonheur was a firm believer in gender equality and was strongly involved in the early women's movement. Rosa was one of many women who chose to cross-dress in order to receive permits. By the 1840's her reputation of being a talented artist was growing steadily. Artist Henry Cain recalled that she "was not only an exceedingly intelligent artist, but a very conscientious and hardworking one" (Karen, and Wilson, 263). She displayed her work in the Paris Salon annually from 1841 to 1853 and even won a gold medal and third prize for two of her paintings. In 1865 the ?mpress ?ugenie also awarded her the cross of the Legion of Honor for her painting "A Horse Fair". (Ottesen, pp. 47) Rosa Bonheur was a successful artist who earned many outstanding achievements throughout her lifetime.
These women were just a few of the successful women artists of the 19th century. Like these women many others achieved recognition for their talent and were admired for their works. When these women lived they were known for their skill in painting and exceeded average standards in painting but they never were called great. This lack of use of the word "great" when describing these women is the result of gender prejudices that still exist today. It was hard to except these women artists as being equal to their male counterparts because it was seen as a highly impossible thing for women to do. Women artists faced many challenges and in order to get through them they had to exceed the boundaries set for them, which they did. This resulted in women artists of the 19th century creating new opportunities and fewer obstacles for future female artists. These women artists of the 19th century became role models to women artists of the twentieth century. Western art during the 20th century saw a vast number of changes in art techniques.
There were further changes in art styles between 1900 and 1910 than in the previous five centuries. Many artists of this era are considered great; however, there is a gender bias when discussing who they are. When the general public thinks about the "great" artists of the twentieth century, many can name "the most famous artist of the 20th century," Pablo Picasso (Spanish) (Nochlin, pp.111). They have also heard of others such as ?dvard Munch (Norwegian ?xpressionist) Georges Seurat (French Impressionist/Pointillist), and Henri Matisse (French Fauvist) (Nochlin, pp.145). It is rather remarkable that these artists are so well known that a layperson can recognize their names, and yet it is disappointing that this list does not contain the name of one female artist. Female artists such as Sonia Terk-Delaunay (Ukrainian Simultanist), Georgia O'Keeffe (American), Audrey Flack (American Photo Realist), and Frida Kahlo (Mexican Feminist) should be included in this list, as well. These female artists all had the ability to create unique and individual pieces of art; contribution of significant, impressive, and inspirational ideas to the world of art; and ability to hurdle obstacles that stand in her way.
By not including females in this list of twentieth century artists, we are saying that male artists have had a greater sway on the art world than females which is effectively creating a gender bias. It is not to say that male artists have not had great achievements, but rather to say that all too often we do not recognize the equal or greater achievements of women in the same area. Male artists seem to receive more accolades for their work, so their names are going to be further recognizable than those of female artists (Nochlin 1).
Artists can be considered and are "great" when they are able to create a style of art that is all their own. The fact that they are able to express their emotions in a work of art, while, at the same time, create a long lasting impression/legacy on the art world shows that they are "great" at what they do. Furthermore, women who are able to rise from the shadows of individuals that would normally stand in the front such as males and make themselves known show a tremendous amount of discipline, desire, and dedication to their work.
Bibliography
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2. Cherry Deborah. Painting Women: Victorian Women Artists. London: Routledge, 1993.
3. Catherine King, 'Medieval and Renaissance Matrons, Italian-style,' Zeitschrift fuer Kunstgeschichte, 55 (1992), pp. 372 - 393.
4. Jeryldene Wood, 'Perceptions of Holiness in Italian Painting: Clare of Assissi,' Art History, 14 (1991), pp. 301
5. John Barrell. The Dark Side of the Landscape: The Rural Poor in ?nglish Painting 1730-1840, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980: DSL.
6. Lucy Lippard 'Issue and Taboo', The Pink Glass Swan: Selected ?ssays on Feminist Art, New York: The New Press, 1995
7. ?fland Arthur. "Art and ?ducation for Women in Nineteenth Century Boston." Studies in Art ?ducation 26:3, 1985, 133-140.
8. Garrigan Kristine Ottesen. "Women in Art," in Mitchell Sally, ed., Victorian Britain: An ?ncyclopedia. New York: Garland, 1988.
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10. Peterson Karen, and Wilson J. J. Women Artists: Recognition and Reappraisal from the ?arly Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century. New York: New York University Press, 1976.
