Italian Women Artists
Prior to the fifteenth century, very few works of art were signed and virtually no information on their artists, male or female, was recorded. However, beginning in the early Renaissance, the identities of artists and their stories begin to be preserved. Any study of the art of this period will undoubtedly include the study of the lives and works of the great masters such as Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci, but rarely is there any mention of their female contemporaries. While these men were unquestionably some of the greatest artists who ever lived, no study could be complete without an examination of the lives and influence of women during this period. Fourteenth Century Italy was the first area to show a shift in culture from the feudal system of the Middle Ages to an urban economy based on commerce and the accumulation of wealth. This new cultural system was very conducive to the development of wide spread interest in the fine arts. While this increasing interest in the arts and the development of capitalism opened many new possibilities for Renaissance men, it often left women with less power than they had had under the feudal system (Kelly-Gadol, 1974). Beginning in the Middle Ages and continuing thr
Once women were able to develop the skills they need to be successful artists, they still encountered many barriers to their career. Women were expected to get married and stay at home to raise children. Running family and home left little time for artistic endeavors. Due to this fact, most of the famous women artists either never married or, like Gentileschi, had failed marriages. A few notable exceptions-Sofonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fontana-had very successful marriages and husband who were supportive of their careers. One final note on the drawback of marriage for a woman artist was the lower life expectancy for married women due to death in childbirth. Marietta Tintoretto (1554-1584), daughter of famous painter Jacopo Tintoretto, died in childbirth when she was only 30 years old. Chadwick, Whitney, Women, Art and Society London, England: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1990 If women artist had a Renaissance, it surely took place in Bologna, rather than Florence or Rome, and in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries rather than the fifteenth (Chadwick, 1990, p.78). Bologna was unique among the Italian city-states of the Renaissance period. Not only did it provide many opportunities for all women by allowing women to attend its university since the Middle Ages, but it was especially supportive of its women artists due to the fact that it had taken as one of its patron saints a female artist--St. Catherine of Bologna. Bologna overflowed with artistic talent during the Renaissance. Following Caterina, Bologna produced Properzia de' Rossi (1490-1463), Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614) and Elisabetta Sirani (1638-1665), three of the most accomplished women artists of their day. Perlingieri, Ilya Sandra, Sofonisba Anguissola: The First Great Woman Artist of the Renaissance. New York: Rizzoli International Publishers, 1992. Tinagl
Some common words found in the essay are:
Elisabetta Sirani, Middle Ages, Plautilla Nelli, Artemisia Gentileschi, Jacopo Tintoretto, , Sofonisba Anguissola, Florence Rome, Lavinia Fontana-had, Bologna Unfortunately, women artists, fifteenth century, artistic training, century florence, fifteenth century florence, middle ages, daughters established artists, italian city-states, artemisia gentileschi, century cremona, daughters established, sixteenth century, sixteenth century cremona,
Approximate Word count = 1240
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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