During the Middle Ages, women in Europe were expected to play their roles at home. People (men) expected women to cook, clean, care for the house, and the children. People saw women as "the virtual prisoners of the men in their lives" (The Guerrilla Girls, 19). Women did not have the pleasure of reading or writing, and their opinions meant absolutely nothing to those they tried to share them with. The Guerrilla Girls mentioned that "education was thought to interfere with a woman's ability to be a good wife and mother" (The Guerrilla Girls, 22). Not only were they not permitted to speak their minds, but they could not even inherit land or hold fiefs. They only thing women were allowed to do is look after the house and the children while their husbands were away on critical man business. Women were set to be housewives before they even became familiar with the term and were "required to be faithful to her husband, and adultery could be punished by flogging or being buried alive" (The Guerrilla Girls, 22). However, of course, "Husbands were allowed to commit adultery, unless it was another man's wife" (The Guerrilla Girls, 22). Women were not allowed to defend themselves or question anything they were told. They were seen merely as property, something belonging to someone, nothing more and nothing less.
The only way a woman could get a sense of freedom, and that term is used very lightly, was by becoming a nun. However, this was not the ideal life for women either. Women's "social roles remained circumscribed by a Christian ethic that stressed obedience and Chasity" (Chadwick, 44). Faith had kept these women back from their full potential also. The church told women to be obedient, to dress a certain way, act a certain way, and even told them how to feel. No matter what, never disobey your husband. Luckily, as mentioned by the Guerilla Girls, "Nuns wrote books on medicine, science, and sacred music" (The Guerrilla Girls, 22). The women who decided to become nuns, saw this as an opportunity for a platform, a chance to let their voices be heard. And so, they did, and women finally were given a piece of privilege.
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| Rosa Bonheur and her life partner Natalie Micas |
The Renaissance, fortunately, was a way more bearable time for women compared to the Middle Ages. During this period, women were beginning to develop a greater sense of freedom and self-worth. This new sense of self was not easily attainable for women, and they had to undergo so much. Men also "began to obsess over and objectify the naked female body as never before" (The Guerrilla Girls, 47). Clearly, women were still being objectified and were only known to be "stay at home moms" whose purpose was to take care of the house and the children. However, women began to partake in the art of photography. Photography was a new venture for women, and they would not allow themselves to be excluded from this. This newly discovered art form allowed women to express themselves and to be heard finally. Rosa Bonheur, a woman painter, became prosperous from the exposure most of her paintings received. She loved women, and she loved animals. Rosa Bonheur was recognized in Europe as the best artist for one of her famous paintings, titled The Horse Fair. "[Her] animals, although full of life and breed, have no pretensions to culture," this was quoted from a critic who worked for the Daily News in 1855 (The Guerrilla Girls, 48).
Aside from her famous paintings, and being recognized as the best artist, she also made women reflect on their lives and demand change. Rosa advocated for women by stating things such as, "Let women establish their claims by great and good works and not by conventions" and "I have no patience for women who ask permission to think" (The Guerrilla Girls, 48). Women realized how they were living and started to make a change; they began by doing similar work to the work that men do.
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| Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World |
During the 19th century and the Middle Ages, the roles of women, and how they had been living changed their perspective on life, and this was reflected in what and how they painted. Referring back to Rosa Bonheur, she is an example of how people could be pushed to rebellion. Rosa didn't care how people viewed her, and she would smoke and wear what she wanted without thinking twice about it. Bonheur even painted her work as if she was no different than a man. The textures on her pieces when she painted reflected those of a man's work. Rosa even dressed in men's clothing and ensured everyone she did it "not for originality's sake, as too many women do, but simply to facilitate my work" (The Guerrilla Girls, 48). Rosa was brave enough to paint and live her truth, as unconventional as it may have seemed from the outside looking in. She showed women how gender roles were no longer based on only the male gaze, but the female gaze as well. She made to world look at what/ and how women saw things for a change.
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| Thamar paints a picture as her male assistant mixes the colors |
Links for thought
Work Citied
- Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society. New York, NY: Thames and Hudson, 1990. Print.
- The Guerrilla Girls. The Guerrilla Girls Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art. Penguin Books, 2006.Books, 2006.
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