Renaissance, as a word, means “rebirth,” symbolic of the rebirth of intellectual activity. Some of the most notable applications of the label “Renaissance” are the developments in art. The Renaissance, from 1450 to 1650, an era rich with culture, gave way to some of the most recognized artists to this day, such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Brunelleschi, Titian, Caravaggio, and Hans Holbein. These esteemed artists have been accredited for the creation of iconic pieces, like the School of Athens, Statue of David, The Birth of Venus, and the famous Mona Lisa. We all bear witness, in some shape or form, to the effect of the Renaissance.
However one group’s creations was undervalued, in spite of the fact that they starred in many magnificent works of art themselves, the female artists themselves.
During the Renaissance, a woman’s role in society was determined by their social class. Upper-class, rich women were occasionally allowed to match men on an intellectual level, like Christine de Pizan and Diane de Poitiers. Although respected, they were not welcomed into all male-dominated spaces, including art at the time, with both of those examples being accredited thinkers or writers, with their influence also being attributed to their fathers or husbands.
In contrast, women from poor backgrounds remained in the status quo, with the majority taking jobs as peasant farmers. The rest found work in manual labor fields, also becoming barmaids, weavers, and bakers.
When men sought to depict a woman artistically, their art was meant to capture the ideal beauty. The idolized woman was the subject, rather than real women.
But despite the trends, the women of the Renaissance sought to bring change to the art world and made confident strides, starting with Artemisia Gentileschi.
Born in 1593, Artemisia Gentileschi was an Italian painter considered an anomaly, being one of the only widely recognized female artists of her time. Many modern-day scholars view her as a pioneer for her work in which she introduces the female perspective through her presence in a male-dominated field by depicting a more accurate form of the emotions of women.
Gentileschi worked across Europe, with jobs ranging from portraiture for the king of Spain to painting biblical stories in Rome as her father, fellow artist Orazio Gentileschi, mentored her The latter refers to her earliest confirmed work, her version of the story of “Susanna and the Elders” from 1610, a staple of her career that is currently in the Schloss Weißenstein collection in Germany.
However, she is not a success story without tragedy.
Just one year later, she was raped by fellow painter and friend of her father, Agostino Tassi. The court trial lasted a year, and Tassi was subsequently exiled from Rome, although his punishment was not enforced.
Despite how some may consider her experience a personal trauma rather than a factor in her career, many have regarded it as something that helped make her art unique. Her take on the scenes that were popular in art at the time differed from those around her because of what she had endured – not just her rape, but her life as a woman.
Relating to ‘Susanna and the Elders,’ the vision of the anecdote from the Book of Daniel sets itself apart from the same scene by Tintoretto, Rembrandt, Sir Peter Lely, Caracci, Cavaliere d’Arpino, and many others due to its understanding of the female perspective. In Rebecca Mead’s article in The New Yorker, entitled ‘A Fuller Picture of Artemisia Gentileschi,’ Mead felt that the position of Susanna in relation to her assailants shows a greater psychological understanding of a woman in shame, danger, and distress than other depictions of the same scene by men.
Moreover, Gentileschi continuously empowers women through her art by choosing to paint the rare scenes where the woman is in a position of power. One famous example is her painting of the Biblical story ‘Jael and Sisera.’ In this story, Sisera, a commander of the Canaanite army, flees and takes shelter with Jael (alternatively Yael), a woman of the Kenite Tribe. She treats him well, providing sustenance and shelter despite the disagreement between their backgrounds. But while Sisera sleeps, Jael strikes him in the head with a tent peg.
Gentileschi’s painting of Jael and Sisera differs from others as well. In the paintings by artists like Jacopo Amigoni, Giuseppe Vermiglio, James Northcote, and Simon Vouet, the composition focuses on either Jael or Sisera, with one being the main focus over the other. However, Gentileschi uses the iconic darkened background associated with the chiaroscuro painting style to put both Jael and Sisera on the same plane, each equally important.
There are essays upon essays dedicated to the intricacies of Artemisia Gentileschi’s work. However, there are a countless number of other female artists who deserve to be credited for their efforts, both in the brilliance of their artistic technique, but also in the ways in which they normalized the female figure as more than an object or afterthought. One notable figure is Fede Galizia.
Fede Galizia is by no means an unrecognized artist, but more so an unexpected addition when speaking about the depiction of women in the art world. Galizia is recognized for her pioneering work in the genre of still-lifes depicting fruits.
While it may not sound as captivating, still-life is a dominant genre of art that has persevered for centuries. The still-life of fruit remains especially important, as seen by the fact that it is still taught to many beginners to this day. It has yielded works from prominent figures like the famous impressionist Cézanne and Caravaggio. That within itself makes her a defining artist of the period, and her prominence helped boost the presence of women within the field.
Her works are technical and visual wonders, with each brushstroke creating paintings that almost perfectly mimic real life. They are dainty, feminine, and appeal to the common person, yet also display enough artistic prowess to make her pieces noteworthy to the trained eye.
Although Fede Galizia was not directly on the path of redirecting people toward representing women in art, her significant contributions should not go unnoticed. She helped normalize the recognition of women in the art sphere. At that point in time, she was one of the only women who took commissions, which she began at the age of 17. She also painted important people, similarly to Artemisia Gentileschi who did as well, despite that not serving as her main genre of painting.
Considering how small the existing community of women in art was during the Renaissance, Galizia’s efforts were vital to building a female community of artists.
Even after her passing, she continues to have an impact in the modern day. After being overlooked for four centuries, she has come to be recognized for her naturalism and technique in the modern day.
Lavinia Fontana is yet another painter renowned for her masterful portraiture.
Lavinia Fontana lived from 1552 to 1614, towards the end of the Renaissance. Although the culture had already grown and evolved long before she came along, she helped develop the art world and is heralded as the first professional woman artist.
She has an impressive portfolio that she grew while serving as a court painter for Roman, Bolognese, and Spanish nobility, including the king of Spain. She is lauded for her detailed work and relentless ability to paint masterpieces through 11 pregnancies, as well as being the first to be awarded the honor of joining the esteemed Roman painters’ guild Accademia di San Luca, and being the first woman to achieve such. Besides her talent, she was unique in the way that she made strides in normalizing the use of artistic practices that had previously been withheld from women.
A major example of this is how Fontana is considered to be the first female artist to paint nudes. Although it is unlikely she was the first ever, by technicality, it is still notable that at her level of practice, she defied what society considered “inappropriate” for a woman to do, and has been assumed to have used live models for her nude pieces.
In addition to that, Fontana’s works have modern-day uses that go beyond simple artistic analysis. Her detail work to chronicle the textiles and jewelry worn by her companions is a resource to fashion historians, and her portraits capturing tradition and culture serve to authenticate history.
The Renaissance was a time of change, of new thinkers, of innovation, the pinnacle of which was the women who created a path for themselves in an environment hostile to them. Alongside Artemisia Gentileschi, Fede Galizia, and Lavinia Fontana, and countless others like Judith Leyster Giovanna Garzoni, Mary Beale, Sofonisba Anguissola, Marietta Robusti, these female painters persevered through an era not made to accommodate them.
The Renaissance was a time of change, of new thinkers, of innovation, the pinnacle of which was the women who created a path for themselves in an environment hostile to them.