Uprising of Women from the Middles Ages to the 19th Century

The Middle Ages for women are not as glamorous as some might make them out to be like in well known fables, they "weren't all damsels in distress, waiting for their knights in shining armor" (Guerilla Girls 19). Women were basically prisoners of men, whether they it be of their husband or fathers, women had little to no control over their own lives and what they can/cannot do. The ones that were able to illustrate their artistic ability were working for or under men, and could not escape that black cloud hanging over them. The Middle Ages were a trying time for women, but slowly they began to pick up momentum.

Although a vast majority of women were forced into household jobs, bare children, or hold job that were under the authority of a male figure, there were women artist in the Middle Ages. However, most art from that time period were unsigned or credit taken by males, making it hard to fully give credentials to the creator of the pieces, "Few of these artists signed their work, so it's not easy to attribute specific works to individual artist. Instead it is the patrons, whose names were recorded, who get the credit" (Guerilla Girls 20). Those women artist who were never attributed for their works, will forever remain lost in history or claimed by someone else, which is ultimately disappointing because it could have potentially sped up the movement for women.

Also, it was very difficult for women in the Middle Ages to obtain a proper education, while most remained in the household or working under men. But they were able to turn to one thing that opened the door for them: religion. Religion and church had gave women a second opportunity to become more than just an illiterate house wife, it gave them a chance to break the cycle. From children to adult women, they turned to religious orders and nunnery which helped them expand their own knowledge. Life was much different in the nunnery, "There nuns had an autonomy unknown to their sisters on the outside. They operated businesses, farmed, made tapestries, copied and illustrated manuscripts, composed and performed music. And they educated one another" (Guerilla Girls 22). Being a nun had helped women get the knowledge they would not have received outside the church, they even "wrote books on medicine, science, and scared music" (Guerilla Girls 22). It went against the grain of the thought the education would interfere with their ability to be a good mother and wife. It was that little wedge that began to break the cycle, and would be pushed further by Christine de Pizan, who was "the first known woman to have made her living as a writer in the Middles Ages and a single mom to boot" which is incredible when put into the context that almost most women were never thought how to read or write. She was also outspoken, which during her time is something that was very rare for a woman to do, and "To be anything even approaching a feminist was unheard of in Christine's time, but she was not afraid to attack well-known men who belittled women" (GG 23). Her last piece was a poem about another women who fought the system at this time, Joan of Arc. Joan of Arc was known for saving France, and "crossed dressed as a knight and rallied to the armies of France to expel the English pretender to the throne" and was seen as a "redeemer of womanhood" (GG 27). These women are glorious for the Middle Ages as time were hard for women. Joan of Arc was eventually named a witch and heretic, and burned due to those accusations and refusing to wearing men clothing. This can be viewed as the beginning of the door starting to crack for women, as the Renaissance the follows opens it even wider.

Christine de Pizan

Portrait of Joan of Arc

Self Portrait of Sofonisba Anguissola

However there was progress as time began to move out of the Middle Ages into the Renaissance. In Florance during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the fabrics of silk and wool industries was on the up rise, and "Moralist then might have argued about whether education was a good thing for girls, but a literate wife becoming essential to the mercantile families that formed the new Florentine middle class" (Chadwick 68). This is showing that in Florance, the women were moving from just the ordinary house wife to becoming more essential to the family and the husband himself, and as Giovanni Villani reported, "eight to ten thousand Florentine children, male and female, were both attending elementary school to learn their letter" (Chadwick 68), but yet heading into the fifteenth century the progress for women was still slow moving. With the artistic side, artist during this time period usually had to go through some type of training or apprenticeship with another known artist and go to an art academy. As long and difficult as this sounds, it was even more difficult for women, who were not even allowed to this. The only essentially the only way for a woman to become an artist was "to be born into a family of artist that needed assistance in the family workshop" (Guerilla Girls 29). But there happened to be a once in a blue moon exception of this and she was Sofonisba Anguissola, whose father was a noble and one that believed that women should be educated. He father had sent on of her drawings to Michelangelo, which had led way to create many pieces of arts and portraits in which she was not able to collect profit, as "Anguiossola's social status prohibited her from selling her work , and her paintings circulated within elevated social circles in which they were given as gifts. Thus the first woman painter to achieve fame and respect did so within a set of constraints that removed her from competing for commissions with her male contemporaries and that effectively placed her within a critical category of her own" (Chadwick 79). While she could not collect any commission, she did leave her mark on the history of art and helped widen the door for women artist.


Another development that further more pushed women artist was the city of Bologna. Lavinia Fontana worked in a studio in Bologna, and was allowed to marry another painter, and was asked by the Pope to come to Rome, but her and her husband lived with the father and because "she was such a good daughter, she waited until her father died before she went" (Guerilla Girls 30). Also another artist from Bologna, Elisabetta Sirani was a painter and "she was accused of signing work her father had done"

Map of Bologna

(Guerilla Girls 30), and to prove other wise she painted publicly and opened a school for women artist.  Propezia de Rossi was "the only known Renaissance woman to have sculpted in marble.... In 1520, she won a commission to produce marble sculptures for the Church for San Petronio in Bologna" (Guerilla Girls 31). Eventually she was accused of being a prostitute, which had ruined her and she ended up dying broke. While all these women had great success, they all had struggled to attain or hold it (in the case of de Rossi) and were held back a man or most likely sabotage by a man who was either jealous or just did not like the shift in the ways, which is ultimately disappointing for these women.

Minnehaha Marble by Edmonia Lewis

Ultimately the nineteenth century is where women began to pick up the most momentum; for in the United States there was a push towards the rights and equality of women. After being falsely accused of poisoning her roommates and nearly beaten to death, African American Edmonia Lewis had left to Rome determined to become a sculptor, where "she was taken under the wing of a group of well-to-do American women artist, writers, and intellectuals-many of them lesbians" (GG51). Many had gone to see her create, as seeing a black woman create art was a rarity back then. Sadly after neoclassicism was out of style, she fell off the Earth and most of her works has been lost.

Another presence during the nineteenth century was Rosa Bonheur, an animal lover, lesbian, and cross-dresser who had much success. Her father was a director of an art school where she had learned her trait, and he also believed in gender equality and was also an artist. Similar to Joan of Arc who cross-dressed to serve country, Bonheur did to facilitate her work. Instead of being declared a heretic like Joan of Arc, Bonheur did however "had to get a permit from the French police, signed by her doctor and renewable every six month" (Guerilla Girls 48). Bonheur's Horse Fair was one of the most loved and made her a fan favorite in Europe. She went against the grain, when she was proposed to marriage by Sir Edwin Landseer, and even offered to change HIS name to Bonheur but Rosa considered herself married to her lover, Nathalie. Usually during and prior to these times women were supposed to jump at a marriage proposal, and be a loving mother and a great housewife. But times were changing, and Bonheur encouraged women to be rebellious, saying "Let women establish their claims by great and good works and not by conventions" (GG 49). Although her reputation went down after her death, her artwork is still displayed till this day.

Horse Fair by Rosa Bonheur

 While there is still distance between men and women today, it is hard to ignore how far women and society has really come. There is respect due to those women had to deal being a housewife and never receiving an education from youth for their lives, and those women who had been abused and even died for what they believed in. It is because of them that we have been able to narrow the gap till this day. They started from the bottom and now they are here, and to keep moving forward and progressing will be the best way to honor the accomplishments and sacrifices they women had made.

Bibliography:

1. Girls, Guerrila. "The Middle Ages, The Renaissance, and The 19th Century." The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. New York: Penguin, 1998. 18+. Print.
2. Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. London: Thames & Hudson, 2007. Print.