Female Artists in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
The middle ages lasted between the 5th and 15th centuries and are often called the “Dark Ages” since historians do not know much from this era, but what is known but sadly overlooked, is the presence of women and their contributions to society at this time. Gender roles during the middle ages were centered around both men and women around labor. In physical labor they were equal but women's social roles are where the difference was clear, “Women's social roles remained circumscribed by the Christian ethic that stressed obedience and chastity, by the demands of maternal and domestic responsibility” (Chadwick, 44). Naturally, not all women subscribed to this narrative and went out to create some of the most famous pieces from the middle ages. For example, the Bayeux Tapestry was a 200 feet long banner centered around the story of the conquest of England in 1066 by the Norman King William the conqueror. The Tapestry is revered as the most important object from the middle ages and yet is believed to be made by women with exceptional needlework skills. How can the most important object of this time made by women be so undercut of its value?
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| "Bayeux Tapestry", Artist Unknown, 1066 |
This is because of the introduction of feudalism in England, although women did not lose all their rights like economic power and their status the encouragement of learning and artistic expression was on a decline. The church did so by taking away the monasteries that fostered women of intellect and art “Most art during this period was produced in monasteries… within the covent women had access to learning even though they were prohibited from teaching” (Chadwick, 44-45). Convents and monasteries were places women could go to hone in on their crafts and create the same, if not better work than the men at the time, but since these places of creativity and knowledge were targetted to put women back in a place of domesticity it was increasingly becoming difficult from these women to thrive and receive the credit for the work they did. Historically the first known Christian woman who dealt with ideas like femininity is Hildegard of Bingen. She explored images of beautified women that personified Christian ideas like Holy wisdom and love. Hildegard faced criticism and outright denial of her work from men, “Churchmen who wrote about mystics tended to emphasize their inspiration and minimize their education” (Chadwich, 61). Hildegard’s manuscript Scivias was seen as a very contemporary style of work compared to others at its time. Instead of giving Hildegard the credit she deserves for innovation manuscripts by adding color and line work, she was dismissed as an illiterate woman with odd dreams.
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| "Scivias" Hildegard of Bingen, 1152 |
Another example of women in the middle ages that proceeded to live her life despite these obstacles and the extreme sexism in the middle ages was Christine De Pizan. De Pizan is the first known woman who after being widowed at 25 years old worked as a writer. During this time women could not advocate for themselves even after being widowed and left to fend for themselves. De Pizan was creating feminist work before feminism was even identified, women were seen as a burden for women for their “sexual” nature and viewed as inherently lesser than men in intellect, strength, and incapable of being logical and levelheaded. De Pizan challenged these notions through her written work that even targeted men that upheld these views. “ In 1405, she let it rip in the notorious debate over The Romance of the Rose, a popular poem about love written a century earlier by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meung” (Guerrilla Girls, 23). Writers and artists like Hildegard and De Pizan could not have fully be appreciated their contribution during the middle ages since the Church and domestic life had a very strong hold on society and the roles given to women still believed by God.
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| Portrait of Christine de Pizan (British Library, Harley MS 4431 |
In the Renaissance, the sentiment toward women of being illiterate and less intellectually capable of men survived from the middle ages. Only women born into noble families of artists could even be presented with the chance of working in painters academies, it was even illegal for women to own atelier. Women who were nuns learned to work around this by using their position in the church to encourage art. “Nuns actively commissioned works for foundations, such as, for example, the splendid polyptych ordered by the Benedictine nuns of San Pier Maggiore in Florence for their high altar” (Chadwick, 67), still women were looked down upon by men in higher positions, “ However women were barred from participation in the governmental patronage that created the public face of the Renaissance Italy” (Chadwick, 67). Nuns during the fifteenth century like Maria Ormani is among the only female artists to have work made by them and contributed to them (Chadwick, 68). Around the same time, women who weren’t nun were beginning to see the fruits of the women before them that fought for the rights to be artists and create work.
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| "Self-Portrait as Allegory of Painting" Elisabetta Sirani, 1658 |
Bologna, Italy was a crucial city during the renaissance for the progress of women artists. Women were able to attend school for female artists founded by a female artist, Elisabetta Sirani who had to prove her work was hers by painting in public (Chadwick, 30), “ There were more women artists in Bologna during this time than anywhere else in Italy. If all Italian cities had been open, imagine what a difference Renassaince there might have been” ( Guerrilla Girls, 30). If cities like Bologna could exist during the renaissance that points to the possibility of the rest of the world learning to also respect women artists, but this was not the case, and there was still push back from male artists to dismiss female artists. Properzia de Rossi was an amazing artist during the renaissance who was the only known female artist to have marble as her chosen medium. One of her most famous works is her sculptor of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. As far as female artists were getting in the renaissance the absence of a man while being a successful woman was still an absurd idea to society at the same. “ Her situation was unusual: she lived on her own with no man to look after her. This gave people plenty to talk about, and eventually, she was accused of being a prostitute” (Chadwick, 31). De Rossi was the straw the broke the people back at the time in terms of women defying the societal norms, people destroyed her reputation and she died being accused as a prostitute instead of the artist she was.
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| "Joseph and Potiphar's Wife" Properzia de Rossi 1520 |
Every female artist during the middle ages and the renaissance have very different experiences navigating a space built for powerful men. But each woman who fought for inclusion through simply continuing creating their work in societies where religion, status, and gender roles suffocating their work built the path female artists walk on today.
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, And Society. Thames & Hudson, 2007.
The Guerrilla Girls Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. Penguin Books, 2006.
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