in the Nineteenth Century
Training and Working Conditions of Women Artists in the Nineteenth Century
Whenever Arts becomes the subject of conversation, the first thing that comes to mind is painting. Some of the famous painters we know while growing up are the likes of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Goh, and Pablo Picasso. Notice that these painters are only men. Certainly, the masterpiece of daVinci, Mona Lisa, is a woman. However, we have yet to come up with at least an example of a woman painter.
Here, we find an interesting point of discussion. At first, it would seem a matter of gender equality. However, the subject is the Arts and we must uphold creativity and freedom. Creativity gives rise to something new and revolutionary. With this, we argue that women artists are creative in their pursuit of the Arts in that they thrive despite the lack of societal recognition.
In this paper, we would specifically look back to the history of Arts during the nineteenth century and obtain knowledge on the whereabouts of women in general. From here, we would deduce what the women artists had undergone at the time. Most importantly, we would look into the artistic achievements of these women artists and relate their training background and working conditions, which enabled them to produce artworks.
Consequently, we would also perceive how society responded to these women and their works at the time. This is to create a parallel with the circumstances of such famous painters as van Goh and Picasso. Moreover, we would be utilizing the studies in the American and European regions, particularly in Britain and France. The sources include journal articles and online articles from art museums.
Let’s begin in the 19th century Victorian Britain. This was basically the domain of gender role distinction that followed a patriarchal model. The power and privileges were bestowed to men while the women had been finding their way in to society. As years passed, gender notion was changing from the natural and traditional supremacy of man towards the modern thought of gender equality.
In the beginning of the Victorian era, masculine values were of courage. Thus, men strived to belong in military campaigns and commercial expansion. Feminine values, on the other hand, were those of patience and self-sacrifice. With these, women assumed a subordinate role. Although both motherhood and singlehood were glamorized, women were still subject to prevalent defamation. It was likely due to the level of education available to them. It was only in the 1860s that women began to reach the university level in their studies.
With regards to employment, jobs were still based on gender. Women were at par with men in business and professional careers in the 1830s, but it was in the 1890s that most work and domestic duties were separated. Men, in response to urbanization, left responsibilities at home solely to women. Women also worked in other industries such as agriculture and clothing while getting contractual or part time jobs such as laundering. The aristocratic women had only supported their men, who were managing estates and taking positions in the government, by managing the household and serving as entertainment in politics. However, majority of the upper and middle class women never worked away from home,.
Traditionally, women were the ones who took care of the elderly and the sickly in their homes. The ladies of houses would oppose having others care for the people who were a part of their homes. They saw it as a failure on their part. But as women got more opportunities and autonomy, the supremacy of men was certainly lessened. At the very least, men financially providing for their family became a legal obligation.
Having described one of the significant societies of the 19th century, we would have a better idea of the women artists’ artistic endeavor. It was likely that they would not be as recognized as their male counterparts because of the role expectations. True enough, according to Jo An Wein, there was an overabundance of amateur women painters in the Victorian era. The medium they used the most was watercolor. Furthermore, their artworks were submitted anonymously to exhibitions in the United States, Britain, and France. This was due to the perception of women being less physically and mentally capable. It is important to note that these were the times when people believed in the male supremacy. Thus, it hindered opportunities, especially the access to academies that limited women artists’ growth towards a grander showcase.
This was further supported through the study of Tyler Cowen where he introduced four hypotheses behind the differences in the achievements of male and female artists. The first hypothesis is what he called the genetic hypothesis. It indicates that the abilities of men and women are different at an innate biological level. This is basically another take on the masculine supremacy that existed in the beginning of the Victorian era where men were perceived to be smarter. This extended to the being considered more artistically gifted.
The second hypothesis is the discrimination hypothesis. It assumes that it is not that women are less artistic than men, but that women had not been given the chance to develop their artistic skills. Women may have received only second-rate training. Other times, family and societal support may have been lacking, resulting in a negative self-image. Also, the marketplace may have been very unwelcoming that they found it difficult to break into.
The third hypothesis is the maternal obstacle hypothesis. Its claims are almost the same as those of the previous hypothesis. The only difference is that this highlights the reasons that are innate to the biological tendencies of women such as pregnancy. Since women bear children and have to take care of them, they have less time to focus in the Arts and may have lost the desire to pursue artistic achievements.
The fourth hypothesis is the parity hypothesis. This assumes that the achievements of women artists were not inferior to men artists. It may be that their achievements were more impressive than the individuals recognized.
Given these hypotheses, Cowen thought that anybody has the potential to pursue the career they would like. It is just that most of the people have no opportunity to develop their skills, especially the women during these times. Honing the quality of one’s skills depends on one’s initial conditions such as having a favorable environment and education.
Most of the famous artists usually came from an artistic climate. The ones with artists in the family had the chance to receive immediate training, expert criticisms, necessary materials, and access to an art studio. In the event that they did not have such a home environment, training could be sought outside the home .
However, sending females for outside training would mean having them train with an unfamiliar male teacher. This was socially unaccepted and hardly ever done, as there would be a possibility of abuse. There was one case of a female Renaissance painter Artemisia Gentileschi who was raped by her teacher and was tortured when she attempted to file for a case in court.
So far, the most common factor in women artists’ challenge in their artistic pursuit is education. However, this did not stop the women in Paris from learning. Women looked to the studios or private academies for instruction even though their curriculum was reduced and wa costly. It was only in 1897 that École des Beaux-Arts provided free training since it was state-sponsored and even before this time, no women were admitted. These institutions patterned the curriculum on the academic system. That was why the mastery of the human anatomy was prioritized. The classical training involved studying live nude models. This was key in succeeding in the most lucrative art category, history painting,.
Certainly, this did not come easy for women. It was regarded inappropriate to the customs of a decent lady. With this, women artists would not be able to receive training for producing the relevant artworks. Thus, they would be excluded from the state commissions and other showcases, especially from the Prix de Rome. Here, participants were offered a chance to obtain a scholarship for pursuing their studies at the French Academy.
There were other institutions aside from École. However, only a few ever became famous regardless of the gender. The most notable aspect of artistic education in 19th century Paris was that even if historians tried to record a list of women artists, they would find it difficult to track these women due to their miniscule number.
With such standard, together with the emerging appeal of the French academic art tradition, American women artists and other nationalities also sought training in Paris in the 1890s.The American women particularly made an assertive choice to move to France and learn the Arts despite the artistic profession in American society being perceived as dubious. Women made a living out of still life, portraiture, landscape, and genre painting even though these subjects were not highly regarded. Marie Bracquemond, a student of the honored Jean Ingres, indicated this kind of lifestyle while she was in training
The experiences of these women artists were immortalized through their works. Marie Bashkirtseff, for example, illustrated her busy day in the studio with her colleagues. She entitled it In the Studio. It was showcased in 1881. The depiction is closer to a realist style as opposed to an impressionist one. To elaborate on the difference, let’s discuss these two art movement perspectives.
The realist movement emerged in the 1840s after the end of Louis-Philippe’s monarchy, with a vision to express an objective and truthful interpretation of life. At the time, society strived for democratic reform. With this, the inspiration sprung from the daily lives of the working class. The impressionist movement, on the other hand, was founded through a circle of artists called the Anonymous Society in the 1870s. Critics were divided into thinking that the impressionist style was either an unfinished work or an innovative depiction. The critic Louis Leroy first coined the term from the artworks being a mere sketch or an impression.
Based on these characteristics, the work of Bashkirtseff used the realist style of painting. Although In the Studio was completed in 1881 during the time of Impressionism, it neither looked sketchy nor unfinished. Instead, the figures were in full details, which captured the daily living in the studio just like the inspiration of the realist style.
In conclusion, women in the 19th century pursued the Arts creatively and had thrived in their attempt despite the lack of societal recognition. The conditions for any person to grow as an artist required a favorable environment and quality education.
Since society at the time expected differently from women, they sought trainings in Paris studios and academies even though the curriculum was reduced and costly. Women across countries even flew to France just to get educated despite the perception that the Arts was dubious. Furthermore, they had to make a living to continue their artistic journey. With this, they participated in exhibits and sold their works.
In the beginning, women used anonymous identities in their pieces and sold them. As time passed, society became more accepting. With this, more women were able to pursue the Arts and began naming their works such as in the case of Marie Bashkirtseff on her In the Studio. Realism was used in the piece, as Bashkirtseff wanted to depict the actual events in their class while learning the Arts.
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