Gender and Art in the 17th Century

Gender and Art in the 17th Century is a large and growing theme in art historical research, as aspects of the lives of men and women in that Golden Age are routinely revealing more information and prompting additional questions of gender’s relationship to art—production, patronage, purchase, viewing, placement, and subject matter. And each of these spheres is also multifaceted. The subject of gender is not the same as the topic of women and art, but in the 17th century, a number of women artists altered the arena and women indeed are the focal point of a study of gender and art in the 17th century. A major consideration, and the one frequently dealt with in this bibliography, is that of the lives of women and specifically women artists, as this was still an unusual profession for women (who weren’t expected to have any) in the 17th century. Although there were known women artists in the Renaissance and before, these numbers swell considerably throughout the 17th century. This distinguishes it from the centuries before. We don’t know if any of these women actually knew of each other or had any contact with each other, yet in city after city, many became members of their respective guilds or academies and achieved professional status—to sign their works, sell them, and have students. Seventeenth-century women artists regularly confronted gender issues and bias: that of workshop and/or family training and the limitations placed on a female. Patronage, subject matter, and reputation of these perseverant women often pivoted on questions of gender. At a time when the status of an artist was still a value in flux, self-portraiture, which emphasized the class and wealth of an artist, was important—for men. For women artists, the image and goals were quite different; showing themselves as painters, confidently working at an easel would have raised curiosity and also their status. With the introduction of each woman artist we catch a glimpse of a new perspective into their lives and impediments to their careers from their emergence to their possible marriage, later life, and the question of the continuation of their careers. Their relationship to male artists, who were teachers, fathers, husbands, fellow members of a guild or academy, and competitors, provides another facet of their complex lives. The subject of men and women in paintings and prints exposes some of the actual relationships, the ideal ones, and those reflected for comic spirit. The patronage of wealthy women, especially by those in Italy from important families as well as by nuns (who themselves were sometimes also from wealthy families), in art and architecture is a form of agency and impact, which is considered here in terms of gender.