Roles of Women

Christine de Pizan "City of Ladies"

During the Middle Ages, women started to slowly break away from the norms and started working.  "Despite biblical teachings against them, they became writers, artists, merchants, and nuns, and ran the kingdom when their husbands were away at war" (Guerilla girls, 19). Some women were starting to become members of the guild where they were allowed to create art if they had a way of getting accepted. However, many women were still excluded from schools so they were unable to be taught to read or write.  "Access to education and the convent, the center of a women's intellectual and artistic life from the sixth to the sixteenth centuries, was often determined by noble birth" (Chadwick, 44-45). If a woman was accepted into a convent then she was able to be educated but could not teach others.  "A woman must be a learner, listening quietly with due submission.  I do not permit a woman to be a teacher, nor must a woman domineer over a man; she should be quiet" (Chadwick, 45).  Everything within the Middle Ages focused on the church and women were told what to do. The picture above is by Christine de Pizan who wrote a book called the "City of Ladies".  The picture shows women doing manual labor which was unusual during the Middle Ages.  Christine de Pizan was trying to get the point across that women can work and be successful too. The Bayeux Tapestry was an embroidered piece that represented the Battle of Hastings.  It tells a story about what happened and William the Conqueror's reasoning behind starting the war.  The embroidery was created by Aelfgyva and the Cleric in 1086.

Artemisia Gentileschi "Judith Slaying Holofernes"

During the Renaissance, if a woman was born into a family of artists then that was her way in.  Most of the women artists of this time period had father's who were artists and allowed their daughters to work in their atelier's alongside them.  If a woman's father was not an artist the only other ways to gain access was to marry an artist, become a nun, or be wealthy. During this time period even though a woman could work in her father's atelier it could lead to risks. For example, Artemisia Gentileschi worked at her father's atelier with some of her father's other colleague's who were males.  Artemisia was alone with a man named Agostino and he pushed her into a room and raped her.  During the Renaissance, "she could salvage her reputation by marrying any man who raped her" (Guerilla girls, 32).  So even though Agostino took advantage of Artemisia she was the one who looked bad and the only way for her to fix herself was to marry the jerk who raped her.  It is said that her painting of Judith Slaying Holofernes was inspired by the anger that Artemisia had towards Agostino for raping her. The painting is posted to the left and shows Judith having no shame in cutting the man's head off.  During the Renaissance no one would have ever thought that a woman would be able to be in charge of something so serious as that.  However, if you do disrespect a woman she will do what she can to protect herself.  From being raped, Artemisia had a lot of anger that resulted in the painting of this portrait and it had a lot to do with the scene that she created. A lot of women's paintings during this time period reflected events that they had gone through.  Women had to go through so many bad life experiences just to be recognized and given the opportunity to do something that they loved.


Coming into the 19th Century, women started really breaking the norms and fighting for their freedom.  The invention of the camera started to come about where it allowed women the right to start figuring out what we call today, photography.  "Until the founding of specialized art schools for women in Britain and American during the second quarter of the century, the teaching of drawing and painting to women was included with skills like embroidery, lace making, dance, and music.  Beginning in the 1840s, schools were founded to provide training in design for women who were forced to support themselves" (Chadwick, 178).  Women were left in charge of their homes in terms of decorating and making sure everything was taken care of for when the man came home.  Also during this period, anything that had to do with wars and soldiers was off limits to women. Two major women artists who made a breakthrough during this time period I believe are Rosa Bonheur and Elizabeth Thompson.  Rosa Bonheur was a lesbian painter who became a cross dresser in order to travel around to do her paintings.  She enjoyed painting animals and was very successful at it.  However, in order for her to be a cross dresser which allowed her easier access she had to get a permit from the police and her doctor.  An interesting quote from Rosa Bonheur is "I have no patience for women who ask permission to think" (Guerilla girls, 48).  I think this is so strong because it is showing how determined she was to make women aware that they are equal to men and are able to think and speak for themselves.  You don't need someone to tell you what to do every second of the day.  Elizabeth Thompson painted war themes which was very controversial because that's something only men were allowed to do since men were the one's involved with war anyway.  She had her father standing by her side because he believed that woman should be educated.  Pictured below is one of Elizabeth Thompson's war themed paintings.  This painting was of the Charge of the Light Brigade. This just shows how successful she ended up becoming of painting different wars even though it wasn't allowed for a woman at the time. During this time period you also start to see women making magnificent sculptures about the abolishment of slavery as well as quilts that tell a story.  Harriet Powers Pictorial Quilt was a magnificent piece of art by a black woman who was illiterate but she understood what she was taught in church about the Bible and she created what she believed the images would have looked like.  This link breaks down each square of the quilt and tells you what Bible story each image represents.

Elizabeth Thompson "Balaclava"

Overall with each new time period little improvements were being made towards women's roles in society.  They had to fight for what they believed in and potentially harm themselves in order for someone to realize they were doing it for a good reason.  Their artwork was a way for them to overcome these challenges and get it out into the public to inform people.

Works Cited:
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. 4th ed. New York, N.Y.: Thames and Hudson, 1990. Print.
The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York: Penguin, 1998. Print.