Where are womyn artists in history? (14th - 17th century) - An Overview

Ah, the Renaissance (the period between the14^th to 17^th century), it is always the archetypal picture of art and what it means to be an artist; with it's artists creating grand works of realism and development of philosophies such as humanism. The Mona Lisa, alone, is the most well known piece of art in the world. It was the time of  Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Botticelli. These names are so well known, they are almost synonymous with the word artist. Just to give you some idea - from a small questionnaire I conducted in 2014 (a demographic of mostly Australian residents, and mostly between 15-25) I found that 67 out of 67 recognised Leonardo Da Vinci's name, 61/67 for Michelangelo, 38/67 for Raphael, and 27/67 for Botticelli.

So it seems that there are many people who do know Renaissance artists, but it seems we don't know many female artists from around this period. While, there was in fact some female artists working at the time, they have received very little recognition in comparison. 

Artemisia Gentileschi (I know, she is actually considered a Baroque painter ) was one female artist that we do know about, her work is extraordinary, and as my high school art teacher had put it: "It has the bravado of Michelangelo, and more so because of the challenges that she had to overcome in order to create art." Socially and culturally, it would have been a lot easier for female artists to 'toe the line', to marry and have children, then even attempt to pursue a career as an artist. During this time women couldn't be given formal art training, however, if they were, it was usually by a patriarchal family figure. And even then, not being able to form independence of their own, they would often emerge within the 'family business'. Women struggled to have a voice in a society like this, let alone an artistic voice.

For Gentileschi, her father Orazio Gentileschi an already established painter introduced her to many skills of painting and drawing. At the age of 17 she did the incredible 'Susanna and the Elders' (Below), it's a depiction of a biblical story of Susanna, a young woman sexually harassed by elders in her community. While many male artists had painting this scene in a way that conveyed Susana to be flirtatious or coy. But, here Artemisia portrays Susanna to be vulnerable, fearful, and disgusted, and the men to be threatening and menacing. 
The painting shows how much skill she had at such a young age; by the very realism and naturalism, composition, and colour.  

Susanna and the Elders, 1610, Oil on Canvas, 170cm x 119 cm

She also did a painting a couple years later titled 'Judith Slaying Holofernes', another biblical scene, this time of the heroine Judith shown decapitating her Assyrian enemy. It's evident that many of her paintings are depictions of strong or suffering women from mythology or the Bible, often transferring her experiences as a women and from trauma related events on to the canvas.

Sadly, only 3 out of 67 people in my questionnaire mentioned earlier, recognised Artemisia Gentileschi

Judith Slaying Holofernes, 1614-20, Oil on Canvas, 199 x162cm

Sofonisba Anguissola (1532-1625) was an italian painter during the Renaissance, while she wasn't born as a daughter to an artist she was born to a noble family. This allowed her the privilege of a well-rounded education including fine arts, she then went on to become quite an accomplished painter. Although as a woman she was restricted from studying anatomy or drawing from life -  which male artists of this time used to develop more complex paintings. This led to her portraits often depicting her siblings, or creating self-portraits.

Self Portrait (c. 1556), Miniture

At the age of 22, Sofonisba traveled to rome where she practiced her drawing, she was introduced to Michelangelo. This meeting would develop into an ongoing exchange of letters and drawings, he gave her guidance and encouragement.

By 1559 at the 26 years old Sofonisba began her 14-year residence at the Spanish Court as a lady-in-waiting and painting teacher to the new queen. Many of these court paintings were unsigned and for some time often attributed to other artists.

In my questionnaire, only 3 out of 67 people recognised Sofonisba Anguissola.

Elisabeth of Spain (c.1599)