Women and Western Art

For more information, see the article by Robin Givhan in The Washington Post, September 13, C1.

How might we summarize our discussion of art patronage in early modern Italy? Certainly, negotiation and mediation continue to be themes in our examination of women and Western art, as Heather’s discussion of Vittoria Colonna demonstrated. Joanna explored with us how some women, namely Isabella d’Este, could take on a type of art patronage (mythological painting) that was characteristic of male patrons and develop a strategy for presentation of self through art. In both cases, the female patron’s family is important — an earlier thread returns.

What models did women artists and patrons have as examples?  Lavinia was clearly aware of Sofonisba;  Properzia likely recognized Michelangelo as a model to follow in art.  But who did women patrons look to as models?  Isabella could easily look to contemporary male patrons…she clearly understood that art collecting = identity formation and power.  What else might art collecting mean to Isabella?  And what did art collecting mean to someone such as Vittoria Colonna?

Summary thoughts?

A day late…but I found one last Mona Frida.

What a delight it was to come to duPont Monday morning and discover Mona Frida on my office door…

then Mona Frida everywhere in

Melchers!  Just yesterday Mona Frida was everywhere…

The following is from Martha Burtis, UMW’s Director of Instructional Technology:

How do women negotiate within the art world in early modern Italy? Can we make any generalizations? Keeping in mind that generalizations can be too broad!

In Vasari’s Life of Properzia de’ Rossi, he writes that Properzia, “through her husband as intermediary,” applied to the cathedral committee for an opportunity to work on the facade of the cathedral of Bologna. But was Properzia married? How do we connect what we know of the “facts” of Properzia’s life (the court records), with the “life” Vasari writes for her? Could Vasari not “imagine” — and therefore not “write” — about an unattached woman artist?

When we look at Lavinia Fontana — also an artist of Bologna — we’ll discover that there are many more “facts” known about this artist, and that Lavinia “negotiated” in a very particular manner in the art world of patrons and commissions just a few decades after Properzia.

What language do we, as art historians, use to describe, interpret, and analyze the many and varied ways artists survive as artists?

Blog Directory for Prof Och’s Art 460 Fall 2007

Women and Western art is the study of…