The roles of women have in fact
developed over time; this change and shift in society has allowed for the
growth and progress of women all over the world. However, women in Europe
during the Middle Ages were treated like bottom tier human beings, and seen as
nothing more than their husband’s property. Women during these times had one of
two choices either become a wife or you become a nun. Nonetheless, various
women chose the path of the church and become nuns. This allowed for them to further
their education and write books on whichever subject they were interested in.
Unfortunately, the women who could not follow the path of the church were
limited even more. They were married at an early age and could be killed if
they married someone who has not chosen for them, if they committed adultery
they could be buried alive, it was impossible to divorce their husbands,
anything they worked for belonged to any men in their life, and a woman must
obey her husband if he did not she could be punished with a beating. The act of
a woman speaking for herself was obscene because "it was a courageous act
for a woman to be an outspoken intellectual in an era when females were thought
to be morally inferior and incapable of reason or logic" (Guerrilla Girls
23).
Throughout the Renaissance and into
the 19th century the roles of women gradually changed. Although women were
still chained to the social norm of the time period the change of the
Renaissance and the 19th century allowed for women to have more choices than
they did before. They were allowed to dive into the art world than they could
ever before allowing some of the most famous women artists to emerge during
this time period. In the course of the renaissance women were allowed to
"divorce their husbands if she could prove him to be impotent, salvage her
reputation by marrying any man who raped her, get a legal abortion sanctioned
by the catholic church, but the primitive procedure could kill her, wear
underwear if she was an aristocrat actress, prostitute or window wash, and she
could attend or teach in a university if she moved to Bologna" (Guerrilla Girls 32). The city of Bologna
paved the way for women artists due to its attitudes towards women. The city
allowed women as early as the 13th century into its universities and were also
allowed to lecture there. These movements paved along the way for women of the
19th century to enforce their talents and showcase it to the world.
 |
| Rosa Bonheur, The Horse Fair, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Cornelius Vanderbilt, 1887 |
An example of this is Rosa Bonheur; she
cross-dressed with her lift partner in order to travel alone freely. She was
very involved in the early women's movements; Bonheur belonged to the Union of
Woman Painters and Sculptors she encouraged the involvement of women in the art
world by stating "Let women establish their claims by great and good works
and not by conventions" (Guerilla
Girls 49). Bonheur's "The Horse Fair" is a representation of women
being held on a leash by men in the society; always driven by them and tamed
like animals. Her ability to cross-dress and experience life as a man allowed
her the freedom to experience what other women could not and do things only men
could do; this gave her paintings a different perspective since she was able to
grasp the lift of both being a man and a woman.
 |
The Seamstress, Anna Blunden
|
Anna Blunden a female artist from the 19th century tackled issues such
as women's labor in the workforce. The painting depicts conditions of women in
the 1840's and 1850's which proved to be rather unkind. Chadwick tackled the
theme of labor by stating "The theme of women's labor intersects with that
of female sexuality and men's control over the bodies of women. It has been argued
that the stability of the Victorian household rested in part on the existence
of prostitutes; domesticated middle-class femininity was secured through
constant contrast with the perils of unregulated female sexuality"
(Chadwick 188). Her painting tackled issues such as prostitution.
 |
| Edomina Lewis, Forever Free, 1867 |
Edmonia Lewis was an African-American and
Chippewa artist due to her race she faced quite a few setbacks. During her time
in Oberlin she was accused of poisoning her two roommates; because she was
defended by a great lawyer she was acquitted. But, she would not be able to
redeem her reputation as a sculptor at Oberlin. Because of her intellect she
was able to travel to Rome and continue her studies as well as work on her
sculptures. Race was a major factor in her sculpture "Forever Free".
It depicts a man and a woman, with the man's hand on the woman's shoulder. It
depicts the emancipation of African-American slaves after the civil war. She
wanted to break stereotypes of African-American women with her sculpture.
Having the women dress took away from her being sexualized and she was seen as
more than just a sexual object. Her sculpture symbolizes freedoms and the
chains show restrictions on these freedoms.
All of the artists overcame these struggles
by displaying them in their work and embodying the movements they believed in.
Two Links:
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hi/te_index.asp?i=15
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hi/te_index.asp?i=16
Works cited:
Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and
Society. 5th ed. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson,1990. Print.
The Guerilla Girls’. Bedside
Companion to the History of Western Art. New York: Penguin, 1998. Print.
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