The Role of Women as Patrons during the Renaissance - Essay Example

The Role of Women as Patrons during the Renaissance Renaissance was a cultural movement that affected European intellectual life, beginning in Italy and spreading to the rest of the world by the 16th century. Renaissance had its effects on literature, art, philosophy, music, Religion, science where scholars strove to incorporate human emotions and realism (Thomson 1984). Examples of Renaissance humanist were Poggio Bracciolini, who was a specialist in monastic libraries, Latin literature and oratorical texts of antiquity. The Renaissance humanists embraced Christianity and, therefore, the church was at the forefront in patronizing many artistic works of Renaissance (Conelli 2004). The Renaissance was largely marked by the return to classical ideas that brought about the age of awakening in Italy and northern Europe between 1400AD and 1600AD (Thomson 1984). During Renaissance, or born anew in French, artist were exploring new ideas and, this lead to a wide discovery of talent and innovation. During and before Renaissance, men ruled over everything from political to social. A woman at these times was supposed to get married, give birth to boys and stay loyal to her husband (Trager 1994). A Renaissance man was expected to be well educated in a way that he understood proficiently art and science and have cultural grace. Women of all classes were expected to perform the duties of a housewife, or work in the fields if they were peasantry women. For middle class women, they helped run their husbands businesses while women of the noble class engaged in sewing, cooking and entertainment. However, since the explosion of art and architecture presented opportunities individual’s growth, there were wealthy women who broke the mold of subjugation and achieved fame and independence (Chambers 1970). Most of these women learned how to paint in their father’s workshops while women of the high class had the opportunity to learn the art and practice architecture. Against this background, this essay examines the role of women as patrons of art and architecture during the Renaissance. Artistic Patronage Patrons of art had a significant role in the development of art in the Renaissance Europe. Patrons were not only customers of art, but were also initiators of the same, and they often dictated on the art form and content (Chambers 1970). In most cases, art patronage was carried out by wealthy families of status, and it acted as a show of power. Art patronage was relevant for religious purposes, entertainment and as a source of political propaganda. As a result, the influence of the art was essential to the wellbeing of any artist. Artistic patronage was a formal undertaking with contracts defining the cost materials and dimensions of the project (Chambers 1970). For architectural works, the sketch of the project and the timeline as well as content of the piece was contained in the contract form. A Patron of art or architecture offered a lot of support that placed him or her beyond the position of a mere customer. Art patronage originated from religious practices as noted by Tuscan merchant Francesco di Marco Datini of the 14th century that pictures moved ones spirit to devotion (Ciletti 1984). Therefore, the intention of any patron to any painting or curving was to devote such an art for religious purposes. Most portraits, placed at alter for a chapel, were meant to earn grace for the patron in redeeming her souls from the torments of purgatory (Ciletti 1984). This was the theme and the form that Medici family in the early Florence artistic and architectural patronage undertook. Moreover, patrons were portrayed in paintings of religious subjects like in the work of Jan Van Eyck’s Madonna of the Canon van der Paele (Chambers 1970).In this portrait, the eponymous donor is situated graphically at the proper left of the Madonna and child; thus, the portraiture is independent of the donor portrait. In this case, the patron and the resultant work are not separable. In propaganda, patronage exploited art as a form of advertisement of self promotion in honoring the ruling family (Heideman 2001). The royal families had some pieces of work done in a way that depicted them as powerful so that no one would attempt to overthrow their legitimate authority. Among other reasons of patronizing architecture and art, women were at the forefront in participating in patronage especially when they acted as regents to the king and queens. Women and the Renaissance Renaissance was a time when men ruled over everything although it was marked by half a century of queens. Suzanne Hull (1996) analyses Renaissance woman in less unclear terms as in the following long passage. When England was ruled for half a century by Queens, but women had almost no legal power; When marriage, a women’s main vocation, cost them their personal property rights; when the ideal woman was rarely seen and never heard in public; when the clothes a women wore were legally dictated by her social class; when almost all school teachers were men; when medicine was prepared and purified at home; when corsets were constructed of wood and cosmetics made of bacon and eggs; when only half of all babies survived to adulthood? (p. 15). This passage lays down a foundation on which we can understand women’s role during Renaissance. Women had peripheral roles in the society and, thus, were supposed to be seen and not to be heard. Although the ideal women were to speak their minds, their thoughts and ideas were shaped by men in terms of input (Kelly 1984). A woman was under her parent’s control from birth to the time when she was married, after getting married; her husband would take up the role because legally, the Renaissance woman belonged to her husband (Kelly 1984). Women in different classes had varied roles. For instance, those who belonged to low class took care of everything in the house and be housewives. The role of a working class woman was a bit different as they were supposed to work for their husbands and help in their businesses. In addition to these roles, they would be expected to take care of the household. Upper class women had servants and workers, but they had to take care of the house hold. A Renaissance woman was not supposed to work or live by herself even when they were not married. The two options available for unmarried women were to live with her male relative or join a convent as a nun. Art and architecture was the main avenue of intellectual expression, and in accordance to women classes, the upper class women were the only ones with some independence, but limited (Hull 1996). Women of less than upper class were unheard of or seen. When women expressed themselves, they did so under the influence and support of male counterparts (Hull 1996). Any woman who dared to express herself or speak aloud was termed as a shrew woman. A shrew woman was a term, which had a negative connotation about a woman at the time and people e looked down upon women referred to as a shrew in the time of Renaissance. Men were the only people allowed to speak and be expressive in everything. However, Renaissance came with humanism, which opened up individual opportunities for growth and achievement in education and social life. At this time, a few women transcended gender roles and expectation and were expressive in art and architecture. Most women, especially those from the high class made an effort to learn the art and practice it along side their house hold roles (Sheryl & Wilkins 2001). Those from the middle class would learn the art of painting from their husband’s workshops and this way, there arise female patrons of art and architecture in Renaissance Italy and other parts of the world. Women artists of the time were not different in their art forms from those of their male counterparts. They focused their portraits on the themes of religion, individual portraits and still life paintings. Some Flemish and Dutch women artists were successful with the still life portraits as well as in family and group scenes than women from Italy. Isabella d'Este, the First Lady of the Renaissance A unique queen female patron of art in the Renaissance times was Isabella d’Este who was the first woman to express herself in art regardless of highly structured patriarchal society (Meyer 1970). Born in 1474 into the family of Ferra, Isabella d'Este is remarkably the strongest and most intelligent woman of the Renaissance. Isabella’s father believed in the equality of men and women and, therefore, he educated Isabella and her siblings (Marek 1976). At the age of sixteen, she married Prince Francisco Gonzaga and became the Marchioness of Mantua (Meyer 1970). She was later to rule Mantua alone after the death of her husband. Isabella mastered Greek and Latin, and, as a result, she memorised the works of the ancient scholars and frequently gave public performance where her skill in singing, playing musical instruments and dancing were demonstrated. Throughout her regency; and even her marriage, Isabella engaged in cultural issues. As a patron of art, Isabella collected many paintings, manuscripts, sculptures as well as musical instruments. She played a significant role in encouraging people of Mantua to love and support arts under all costs. Isabella set artistic fashions, and standards and she wrote over two thousand letters commenting on art, politics, and war (Kelly 1984). Moreover, Isabella promoted arts by allowing writers, artists and ports to share their ideas in her court. She read many books, and enjoyed playing musical instruments, preferably flute than any other (Kelly 1984). In addition to her collection of art, Isabella sponsored philosophers, painters, and poets, and she made sure she had them do their art work at whatever cost. Some of the famous artists she hosted were Titian, Giovanni Bellini, and Leonardo Da Vinci (Sheryl & Wilkins 2001). She is said to have repeatedly commissioned Leonardo to paint her, but he instead produced only a sketch of her. Isabella liked musical instruments so much, and she commissioned almost all the musical instrument be made available in her court. As a leader and lover of fashion, Isabella bought the finest clothing including fur and the newest distillations of perfume. She had a unique style of dressing in boyish caps, which contrasted the gowns embroidered with plunging décolletage, was to influence dressing code in all Italy and French court (Marek 1976). Isabella had a significant influence over Mantua court, and it was due to her influence that the court became famous as a centre of wit, artistic genius and elegance. While she was ruling, she influenced economic development of the region than any of her men predecessors. In her time of rule, she stood as an epitome of women to break away from their traditional role to be expressive not only in political and social issues, but also in arts. Catherine de Medici The other woman who established herself as a strong patron of art and architecture in the Renaissance was Catherine de Medici. She was born in Florence, Italy in 1519, and her early life was highly troubled with her both parents dieing while she was one year old (Knecht 1998). She lived with nuns who educated her and taught her self discipline as she got older. Catherine had a library full of rare manuscripts, which demonstrated her love for reading and knowledge. Her uncle was a pope; and in 1533, he arranged her marriage, and, for the first ten years of marriage, she was not able to get children, but in her later years she was able to bear children (Knecht 1998). One of her child became the king of France at the age of ten and, therefore, she became a regent. When her son reached the age of the majority in 1563, she was dominant over him. During this time, Catherine became a leading influence in the politics of France and especially during the thirty years of the Roman Catholic-Huguenot wars. Although she was a catholic, she agreed with Huguenots while trying to balance the two religions. She balanced the two religions by creating a policy of peace between Catholics and the Protestants (Knecht 1998). As a woman of influence, her three sons became kings, and her daughter was married to the then king of Spain in 1560. As a patron of architecture, Catherine oversaw the construction of the Louvre Museum’s new wing, which would later become one of the greatest Renaissance architecture. Catherine de Medici made a significant contribution to the art and architecture in the French Renaissance. She was inspired by her father in law’s contribution into the kingdom by hosting leading artists of Europe at his court. Catherine, as a governor and regent of France, decided to employ politics of magnificence by bolstering royal prestige by the use of lavish cultural display. When her husband died, she governed France as a regent of her young sons, and it was at this time that she was able to influence artistic programs, which took three decades. In these programs, she employed Italian artists and performers including the renowned artist and architect Primaticcio (Sutherland 1962). Her encouragement of art lead to a wave of home grown talent influenced by the foreign masters of art and she adopted and patronised the new artists. They brought new forms in literature, performing arts and architecture, and she became a lover and collector of the Renaissance art (Thomson 1984). In visual arts, she collected tap estries, handrawn maps, sculptures and hundreds of pictures most of which were works of famous artists and her last painters like Côme Dumoûtier and Benjamin Foulon. She also collected curiosities such as dolls, caskets, pious objects, stuffed chameleons and crocodiles among others (Knecht 1998). Architecture was the most loved art by Catherine de Medici, and she sought to enhance the grandeur of Valois monarchy with a series of architectural projects. The most notable of her architectural works are the Chenonceau, the Saint-Maur-des-Fossés and the châteaux at Montceaux-en-Brie as well as the Tuileries and the Hôtel de la Reine (Michahelles 2002). As a patronage of architecture, Catherine de Medici supervised all her schemes, and as a result poet Ronsard accused her of ignoring poets at the cost of masons (Knecht 1998). Some of the Renaissance architectural buildings commissioned by Catherine de Medici In all the buildings, Catherine de Medici commissioned the emblems and carvings of her late husband in most of the buildings. She also established a magnificent tomb for her husband Henry II and was designed by Francesco Primaticcio. The tomb was later to be listed among the seven ancient world wonders and, in addition, Primaticcio’s circular plan of the chapel of Valois enabled the tomb to be viewed from all corners. As far as literature was concerned, Catherine de Medici believed in humanistic ideals of the prince who was learned and whose letters controlled their power and arms. She collected and widely read books and took all her collections to Louvre her residence (Knecht 1998). Her court was highly literary because she was always accompanied by learned men and women who had significant contributions in art and literary world. Catherine patronised poets like Pierre de Ronsard and Jean Dorat among others, who wrote works related to royal entries and royal weddings 48. Under her patronage, the court had an impressive collection of manuscripts and poems and other literary materials. In theater, Catherine was notable the one who brought Italian comedy to France, thus the spreading of Renaissance comedy to France. Caterina Piccolomini Caterina was an inspiring laywoman in Siena who commissioned and directed the construction of palace the Palazzo delle Papesse, whose cost was paid by her brother, Pope Pius II (Sheryl & Wilkins 2001). Caterina controlled the whole project by buying everything that was needed and hired Federighi and others to construct the palace, and all money from the pope was distributed by her. Caterina stand out in history as a patron of architecture and art because the building she commissioned and supervised was to later to be used in housing the Archivio di Stato state archives that hold a massive collection of artistic and literary materials alongside all books of account of the city of Siena from 13th century to 18th century (Kelly 1984).Today, the magnificent Palazzo Piccolomini she commissioned is the Siena’s finest Renaissance architectural work. Victoria colonna Another woman of the Renaissance who was a patron of art was Victoria colonna, also referred to as Vittoria Colonna. Vittoria corona was an Italian poetess who befriended many Renaissance artists and writers (Sheryl & Wilkins 2001). She had a platonic relationship with the famous Michelangelo. Being a lady from a royal family she commissioned Titian to paint Mary Magdalene and she influenced queens and princesses in other realms to adopt the act of commissioning works of art, if not collectors themselves. As a result, most other Renaissance women went as far as to commission architectural works and especially for Christian convents and churches (Kelly 1984). Her influence was so widespread, and inspired others from noble families to adopt artistic culture and this way, she was not only a patron of art herself, but also mentored and influenced others to embrace and reserve art. In conclusion, although women had little to say in the Renaissance, there were women who crossed the ranks and became expressive in the artistic life. Lucky were the women who belonged to the upper class like Isabella, who wielded power as a regent to the king and controlled the coffers of Mantua. As a result, she emerged to be the most influential patronage of art and architecture in France and beyond. Patronage was done for various purposes including religious, propagandist and entertainment. Women, therefore, were not only asserting their part in political positions, but also in the religious world and entertainment. Their patronage, like that of Catherine de Medici, included a wider collection of artistic materials, commissioning architectural works and preserving artists and scholars in her court. Among other things, women in the Renaissance had a greater role in patronizing art and architecture than their male counterparts who were mostly absent in war. There were also laywomen who were themselves artists like Victoria corona and whose influence for the love of art was widespread. Beside their own artistic works, these women collected various art works, which they later sold to the women of noble families and, this way, they participated in patronizing art. The Renaissance woman was a limited woman, but these examples are a proof that there were women who went extra miles to patronise and preserve art and architectures, most of, which are hailed as master pieces of Renaissance today. Reference Ciletti, E 1984, “An 18th Century Patron: the Case for Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici,” Woman’s Art Journal vol.5, pp. 23-27. Conelli, MA 2004, “A Typical Patron of Extraordinary Means: Isabella Feltria della Rovere and the Society of Jesus,” Renaissance Studies, vol. 18, pp. 412-436. Chambers, DS 1970, Patrons and Artists in the Italian Renaissance, Macmillan, London. Heideman, J 2001, “The Unravelling of a Woman’s Patronage of Franciscan Propaganda in Rome,” Renaissance Studies, vol. 15, pp. 500-513. Hull, S 1996, Women According to Men: The World of Tudor-Stuard Women.Walmut, Mira Press, Alta Creek. Kelly, J 1984, “Did Women Have a Renaissance?”Women, History and Theory.Ed.Joan Kelly. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London. Knecht, RJ 1998, Catherine de' Medici, Longman, London and New York. Marek, GR 1976, The Bed and the Throne: The Life of Isabella d'Este, Harper and Row Publishers, New York. Meyer, EP 1970, First Lady of the Renaissance: A Biography of Isabella d’Este, Little Brown, Boston. Michahelles, K 2002, “Catherine de Medici's 1589 Inventory at the Hôtel de la Reine in Paris,” Furniture History, vol. 38, pp. 1-39. Sheryl, E R & Wilkins, DG2001, Beyond Isabella: Secular Women Patrons of Art in Renaissance Italy, Sixteenth Century Essays & Studies, Vol. LIV, Truman State University Press, Kirksville, MO. Sutherland, NM 1962, The French Secretaries of State in the Age of Catherine de Medici, Athlone Press, London. Thomson, D 1984, Renaissance Paris: Architecture and Growth, 1475-1600, University of California Press, Berkeley. Trager, J 1994, The Women's Chronology, Henry Holt and Company, Inc. New York. Read More