Jacobs: questions and issues for consideration
Sep 17th, 2007 by maoch
“Approximately half of the forty women artists discussed in this book survive only as a name on a printed page.” (F. Jacobs, Defining the Renaissance Virtuosa…, 1997/1999, 1)
How can we write (or study) a history of works that no longer exist, and likely haven’t existed for centuries?
Why have Sofonisba Anguissola’s and Lavinia Fontana’s works survived in greater number than the work of other women artists, such as Irene di Spilimbergo?
Exactly what are the critical differences between male and female artists identified by writers in the early modern period?
Exercise:
Define the terms as we use them today.
Define the terms as used by Jacobs; consider the visual and literary sources used by Jacobs.
Present visual examples from Jacobs that help explain the terms.
Present visual examples other than those from Jacobs.
The terms:
virtuosa/virtuoso
creativity
melancholia
la donnesca mano
grazia
donna donnesco
invenzione
These are some of my thoughts on the reading :
Jacobs points out that since antiquity, the creation of children “has been employed as a metaphor for the creation of images.” In Aristotelian terms, “although matter is essential to form in the creative process as is the female to the male in procreation,” matter, like a woman, is viewed as the “passive partner.” But over time society has progressed and become more accepting of sexual interactions between man and woman for reasons other than procreation. Let’s face it; in present day society procreation is not the sole purpose of sex. Women are no longer just the passive receivers, waiting around to “submit to man’s will,” but they are active participants in sexual intercourse. Completely opposite of Cornelius a Lapide’s statement (in Defining the Renaissance Virtuosa) that a woman is “granted to man…to help him procreate children,” a woman can have sex and achieve orgasm without the societal pressure to bear a child; she can also reach orgasm without the participation of a man, just as she can create a well-received work of art without man’s thought or will. So to draw a parallel, the development and acceptance of a female artist who creates her own identity has progressed along with the idea of a woman’s sexual power and sexual freedom. “Womanhouse” is a perfect example of this progression, as it deals with the issues of women’s artistic and sexual freedom.