Misano Ishida
Professor Cacoilo
Art and Women
February 19, 2020
Post 2: Due Thur. Feb. 27
Gender Roles, Subject and Power
My research on female artistic
persons and artists between the Middle Ages around 500 A.D. and Impressionism in the 1900s are to trace what they tried to change the world. Men made most societies
created in the past - consequently, everything enacted in men’s favor. Gender
inequalities arose because women were given positions to assist men - women’s
rights as citizens recognized for hundreds of years until the 1900s.
In the Middle Ages (476-1453), under
the patriarchy of Europe, women had to have children, do housework, and raise
children. Women were discriminated against for the reason they were physically
inferior to men. Art historian Whitney Chadwick says, "Access to education
and Covent, the center of women's intellectual and artistic lives from the 6th
to the 16th century, was often determined by the noble birth" (45). His
statement defined that most women had no chance educated because many people
then were peasants, and women’s statues were belonging to their fathers or
husbands. Some nuns made miniatures of the church, but generally, women were
forbidden to become independent artists, so their names were not left. Instead,
in the art of the Bible, what was drawn was more critical. Being an artist was
a limited job for men at the time.
(Image
1: Unknown, Peasant Woman Milking a Cow, 13th Century)
Peasant Woman Milking a Cow by an unknown painter, shows a
woman doing a job that is neither easy nor clean. She must stay outside or in
the barn to keep the same posture while getting milk. Her husband is probably
going out to get cash and sell milk or trade for something else that means a
higher level of work. In this era, it was thought that women could not be as
intelligent as men.
The
Renaissance (1300-1600) gave men the opportunity for wealth from the
development of capitalism and colonialization, not including women. This phenomenon
for women was seen more in the suburbs where social discipline and rules were
less strict than in large cities. Italian-born female painter Sofinisva
Anguissola (c. 1532-1625) was fortunate enough to live in a small town with an
understanding father. Most women could not read or write in this era. Artistic
women were forced to work to help for male artists. In most cases, women were
not yet allowed to leave their names as artists.
(Image 2: Sofonisba Anguissola, Self-Portrait
with Bernardino Campi, 1556)
Sofonisba Angissola's Self-portrait with Bernardino Campi (Image
3) shows her challenge by placing herself in the center of the artwork, which
means the most important person in the painting. It also reflects her pride,
confidence, and desire to live as an independent female artist in a
male-dominated world in all fields, including the art business.
The
17th and 18th centuries (1601-1799) were the days when the Royal Academy ruled
British, French, and Italian artists. Neoclassicism, which drew Greek and
Roman mythology was the primary trend in depiction, but women were banned from
attending school. In contrast, in the Netherlands, the daily life of painting
was more important than creating artwork for the wealthy class. Although women
were banned from the use of male nudity, instead, they painted indoors with
their families and daily objects. As a result, what they produced was
still-life paintings, and it was the beginning of impressionism.
(Image 3: Judith Leyster, The Proposition,
1631)
Judith Reyster's The Proposition shows her strong will to overcome temptation. The appearance of
the walls, how to make hair, the time to spend for sewing will introduce her
class to work as a farmer. The social status of a man seen from his fur hat and
clothes indicates a high level, but his attitude of offering to pay her for the
exchange for satisfying his sexual desire is not appropriate. In this painting,
she tries to teach morals and ethics to viewers so as not to be dominated by
abundance or social power.
Victorian England (1837-1901) was a transitional period in which
the people gained abundance, and the monarchs began to decline. Industrial
capitalism helped working-class people achieve stable work and high incomes,
including women. Also, the Western social movement influenced the economic
independence of middle-class and upper-class women by gaining a career in the
arts. Many middle-class people were able to access a culture where they could
buy artworks. Economic growth pressured husbands with low income, so they
needed another income resource from their wives. This situation raised women to
get a career. In this era, many women entered the school, and the status of
women increased.
(Image
4: Edith Hayllar, Feeding the Swans, 1889)
Feeding the Swans by Edith Hayler's depicts women’s
social system for generations. A house with pillars shows the wealth and
protection of the family. All the females in the painting look happy. However,
they are not free, and each has an obligation. The small child must be trained,
and a young woman needs to marry a man to bring wealth to her family. The
mother is required to raise her children to meet the best partner, and
grandmother is responsible for watching over the whole family to maintain the
cluster. Marriage is a financial deal for the entire family in this era.
For the American Craft era
(1801-1900), immigrants were required to work hard to develop the new land, and
women had a responsibility to help their husbands. While women stayed home,
they created such as paintings, sculptors, needlework, quilts, woodwork, so
that they earned money from home. Enslaved people were accepted as chattel
until emancipation. Those slaves were prohibited from being educated. Instead,
they learned how to create life goods as a hobby. The quilts made by such
individuals contain their historical facts as a victim of slavery. The
Guerrilla girls commented “Why don’t we know more about them? (55)” about the African
American motifs because they were first introduced by Picasso and Matisse, not an
actual creator such as Harriet Powers.
(Image
5: Harriet Powers, Pictorial Quilt, 1888-1895)
Powers’ Pictorial Quilt has many stories
involved the enslaved African Americans that are not in books while they are
bounded to work for free for the lifetime. They spend their time on craft
instead of enjoying free time like having leisure. Picturing their lives and
past events is what they enjoy since they are illiterate. The views of people
owned properties in America on the matters indicated on the quilt are different
from what it tells.
During Impressionism (1870-1880), women tried to gain social rights, while the
skills of such artists flourished. The Philadelphia Centennial Expo in 1876 was
an example of gender discrimination for women to confront. Female artists made
only 10 percent of the exhibitions, and this fact motivated them to become
social activists. Impressionism was artworks created to depict such as family
time and everyday matters. Female artists opened the door to the public to
enjoy culture, and as a result, more works were sold to people. Not only that,
they developed their way of expressing their opinions on the canvas in this
era.
(Image 6: Emily Mary Osborn, Nameless and Friendless, 1857)
Emily Mary Osborn’s Nameless and Friendless shows how the
woman in the art gallery is vulnerable. The color of her clothes tells her that
she is a widow. She looks down and seems depressing or feel a shame to sell the
painting. Her finger is twisting the ribbons from the dress, expressing her
fear. The two men in silk hats stair at her and the young man on the ladder is
curiously taking at the painting that she tries to sell. The store worker or
the owner is perceiving how the item is invaluable. The reactions that those
men surrounding the lady are all negative.
From the fifth century to the eighteenth century, artistic females struggled because
they were banned from working as artists, which was unfair to them. Using
artworks, they tried to amend the norms, rules, and regulations to spread their
opinions. After their attempts for hundreds of years, they were admitted to art
schools and were able to be independent and work as artists. By doing this
research, I gained my knowledge that each painting contains the creators’
belief.
Notes
Chadwick,
Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. Thames & Hudson world of art, 2012 (45l).
Guerrilla Girls.
Harriet Powers: Sew, Sew Modern. Chapter 5. The 19th Century: Girls
Going Places. (55)
Image 1: Unknown. Illustration in a Bodleian Library manuscript Ms 764, f. 41v., (Peasant
Medieval Woman Milking a Cow), England. 13th Century.
Black and white image - Chadwick,
Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. Thames & Hudson world of art, 2012 (42)
Colored image (Peasant Medieval Women Milks a Cow) - http://www.medievalchronicles.com/medieval-people/medieval-women/medieval-women-milking-cow/
Image 2: Sofonisba
Anguissola. Self-Portrait with Bernadino Campi, 1556.
Image 3: Judith Leyster. The Proposition, 1631.
Image 4: Edith Hayllar. Feeding
the Swans, 1889.
Image 5: Pictorial Quilt, 1888-1895.
Museum of Fine Art in Boston,
Massachusetts.
Image 6: Emily Mary Osborn’s Nameless
and Friendless, 1857.
No comments:
Post a Comment