Marcus Chen
The nineteenth century saw the emergence of the 'New Woman', challenging societal norms and seeking greater control over their lives, both socially and economically. This shift in gender dynamics was reflected in art, with women artists breaking boundaries and challenging stereotypes. Despite facing social restrictions and limited educational opportunities, women artists like Rosa Bonheur, Elizabeth Jane Gardner Bouguereau, and Berthe Morisot gained recognition. They navigated social expectations of wives and mothers, choosing between marriage and their careers. The 'gaze' became a significant symbol of power dynamics, with men often depicted as energetic and heroic, while women were portrayed as fragile and emotional. As women strove for academic advancement and legal rights, their presence and role in society evolved, reshaping the artistic landscape.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Gender roles | Men: energetic, muscular, heroic |
| Women: soft, fragile, emotional | |
| Gender binary | Masculine vs feminine |
| Social restrictions | Only women with loose morals would converse with men informally and without a chaperone |
| Female Impressionist artists focused on the lives and experiences of women, most often child-rearing | |
| Education | Women were encouraged to pursue drawing and painting as part of their education |
| Women were expected to become full-time wives and mothers | |
| Women were excluded from government-sponsored, tuition-free training at the École des Beaux-Arts until 1897 | |
| Women were initially excluded from painting and life study classes and taught separately from men | |
| Marriage | Many women artists felt the need to choose between a career and marriage |
| Successful female artists of the nineteenth century, such as Rosa Bonheur, Mary Cassatt, and Cecilia Beaux, remained unmarried | |
| "The New Woman" | Women sought to become more active participants in society and the workforce |
| Women achieved new legal rights to own property and fought for greater academic advancement |
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What You'll Learn
Women's artistic training was limited
Women's artistic training in the nineteenth century was limited by social expectations and norms. While amateur talents in drawing and watercolour were encouraged as part of a good bourgeois education, professional careers for women were frowned upon. This was because women were expected to fulfil their prescribed roles as wives and mothers, and pursuing a career was considered detrimental to these roles. Women artists often faced a choice between their career and marriage, as continuing their artistic career after marriage was often not an option due to social pressures and expectations.
Women were also restricted in their opportunities to receive a formal artistic education. They were excluded from government-sponsored, tuition-free training at institutions like the École des Beaux-Arts until 1897. Instead, they had to seek instruction from established artists in private studios or academies, which often provided a reduced curriculum at a high cost. This limited access to education and training hindered women's artistic development and opportunities for recognition.
The social restrictions of the time also impacted women artists' subject matter. Female Impressionist artists, such as Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt, were unable to attend the same social venues as their male colleagues due to the societal norms of the time. As a result, they tended to focus on the lives and experiences of women, particularly childrearing, as their artistic subjects.
Despite these limitations, some women artists of the nineteenth century found success and recognition. Rosa Bonheur, for example, remains one of the most famous women artists of the period. Bonheur was trained by her father, Raymond, who also influenced her beliefs about the important role women should play in reshaping society. Elizabeth Jane Gardner Bouguereau was another successful artist, exhibiting a total of 36 paintings between 1868 and 1914, more than any other female artist.
Towards the late nineteenth century, opportunities for women in the arts began to expand, coinciding with a broader shift in society. Women were fighting against restrictions that limited their sphere of influence to the home and seeking greater control over their lives, socially and economically. This led to the emergence of the ""New Woman", who strove for a more active role in society and the workforce. The "New Woman" became a popular subject in art, literature, and drama, reflecting the changing societal landscape.
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Women were discouraged from pursuing careers
In the nineteenth century, women were discouraged from pursuing careers and were expected to become full-time wives and mothers. Social restrictions prevented female artists from attending the same social spots as their male counterparts, such as cafés or cabarets, as it was believed that only women with loose morals would converse with men so informally and without a chaperone. This resulted in female artists tending to focus on the lives and experiences of women, most often the experience of child-rearing.
Women were also excluded from receiving free training at the École des Beaux-Arts until 1897 and were initially taught separately from men, only gaining equal opportunities in the early twentieth century. Women seeking professional careers in the fine arts were restricted in their opportunities to receive an artistic education, often having to pay for expensive private academies.
The social pressures could be so great that many women artists felt the need to choose between a career and marriage. For example, Edma Morisot stopped painting upon her marriage in 1869, while Marie Bracquemond quit her artistic career due to tension in her marriage to fellow artist Félix Bracquemond. The most successful female artists of the nineteenth century, such as Rosa Bonheur, Mary Cassatt, and Cecilia Beaux, remained unmarried.
Despite these challenges, some women artists of the nineteenth century broke boundaries and achieved success. Elizabeth Jane Gardner Bouguereau, for instance, was one of the most accomplished Salon artists among expatriates in mid-nineteenth-century Paris, exhibiting a total of 36 paintings from 1868 to 1914, more than any other female artist. Additionally, the term 'the New Woman' emerged in the nineteenth century to describe women striving to become more active participants in society and the workforce, fighting for greater academic advancement and legal rights to own property. Women also began to frequent public spaces, such as parks and boulevards in Paris, and public transportation, reflecting a shift in their role in society. Artistic depictions of the New Woman emerged during this time, showcasing the new attitudes and fashion styles embraced by younger women.
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Women were excluded from social spaces
In the nineteenth century, women were often excluded from social spaces, and their talents were largely confined to the domestic sphere. Social restrictions prevented female artists from attending the same social spots as their male counterparts, such as the café-concert or the cabaret. Only women with loose morals were thought to converse with men informally and without a chaperone in these settings. This restricted their mobility and influenced the subjects of their artwork, which often focused on the lives and experiences of women, particularly child-rearing.
The gender roles of the time dictated that men were energetic, muscular, and heroic, while women were soft, fragile, and emotional. This division is evident in the Neoclassical paintings of Jacques-Louis David, such as "Oath of the Horatii" (1785) and "The Lictors Bringing to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons for Burial" (1789). In these paintings, David physically separates the genders, with women slumping over, weeping, and mourning, while men take charge and make difficult decisions.
The concept of the "flâneur" further emphasises the exclusion of women from social spaces. The "flâneur" was a man of leisure who strolled through the city, observing the world while remaining invisible himself. The black attire popular among bourgeois males allowed them to move unnoticed, symbolising the power dynamics of the gaze, where men were the dominant observers, and women were the vulnerable observed.
The expectations of women as full-time wives and mothers also contributed to their exclusion from social spaces. Social pressures were so great that many women artists felt they had to choose between a career and marriage. Those who pursued their artistic careers, such as Berthe Morisot and Rosa Bonheur, remained unmarried. The successful female artists of the time were closely associated with prominent male artists as their pupils, models, or daughters.
While opportunities for women began to expand in the late nineteenth century, with the emergence of the \"New Woman," social pressures continued to discourage women from pursuing careers in the arts. The "New Woman" sought to challenge societal limits and gain more control over their lives, striving for greater social and economic participation. This shift was reflected in artworks, such as Jean Béraud's "Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées" (1880), which depicted women promenading in public spaces, a practice previously associated with prostitution.
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Women were depicted as fragile and emotional
In the nineteenth century, women were largely depicted as the opposite of men: soft, fragile, and emotional. This is evident in Jacques-Louis David's Neoclassical paintings, such as "The Oath of the Horatii" (1785) and "The Lictors Bringing to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons for Burial" (1789). In these works, David clearly illustrates the gender roles of the time, with men portrayed as energetic, muscular, and heroic, while women are shown as weak and emotional. The physical separation of the genders in his compositions further emphasises this divide, with women often slumping over, weeping, and mourning, while men take charge and make difficult decisions.
A similar depiction of women as fragile and emotional can be found in Edwin Landseer's "Windsor Castle in Modern Times" (1841-1845), which conveys the idea of women as being more vulnerable and passive compared to men. This perception of women as vulnerable is also reflected in the concept of "the gaze" in nineteenth-century gender politics. The gaze represents the power dynamics between the observer (often a man) and the observed (often a woman). It symbolises the dominant position of the person doing the observing and the subordinate position of the person being watched. This dynamic was not limited to paintings but also extended to who was viewing the artwork, reflecting the power imbalance between the sexes.
The perception of women as fragile and emotional was also influenced by social restrictions and expectations. Women were expected to conform to prescribed roles as wives and mothers, and their mobility was limited. For example, female Impressionist artists like Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt were restricted from attending the same social venues as their male colleagues due to societal norms. As a result, their artwork often focused on domestic themes, such as child-rearing. This perception of women as fragile and emotional was so pervasive that even successful female artists like Edma Morisot stopped painting after her marriage in 1869.
The limitations on women's artistic education further perpetuated this depiction. Women were often excluded from government-sponsored training and faced challenges when admitted to art schools. For example, the École des Beaux-Arts in France did not admit female students until 1897, and even then, they were initially excluded from painting and life study classes, receiving a reduced curriculum. These restrictions limited women's opportunities to develop their artistic skills and contribute to the perception of women as being less capable and more emotional than men.
However, it is important to note that towards the end of the nineteenth century, there was a shift towards the idea of the "New Woman". Women began to challenge societal restrictions and seek greater control over their lives, striving for more active participation in society and the workforce. This changing role of women was reflected in artworks, literature, and drama of the time, signalling a move away from the sole perception of women as fragile and emotional and towards a more diverse and empowered representation.
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The 'New Woman' strove for greater independence
During the 19th century, the prevailing view of gender was that of a binary opposition between masculine and feminine. In art, men were depicted as energetic, muscular, and heroic, while women were portrayed as soft, fragile, and emotional. Women were often physically separated from men in paintings, with the men taking charge and making difficult decisions, while women were relegated to the sidelines, weeping and mourning. This view of women as inherently emotional and weak contributed to their confinement within the domestic sphere. Respectable women rarely left their homes, and those who did might even be mistaken for prostitutes.
However, as the century progressed, women began challenging these restrictions and striving for greater independence. The emergence of the "New Woman" marked a significant shift in societal norms. The New Woman sought to transcend the limitations imposed by a patriarchal society and exert more control over her life, socially and economically. She fought for legal rights, such as owning property, and pursued greater academic advancement. This newfound agency and desire for self-determination were reflected in art, literature, and drama of the time.
The changing urban landscape of Paris in the late 19th century, with its boulevards and parks, offered women new spaces to assert their presence. No longer confined to their homes, women from various social classes began to frequent these public spaces, challenging traditional gender norms. This shift is evident in Jean Béraud's 1880 painting "Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées", which captures the social interactions and fashion sensibilities of the time.
The increased use of public transportation, such as omnibuses, by both leisure-class and working-class women, further symbolised their growing independence and mobility. Pierre Carrier-Belleuse's 1877 painting "L'Omnibus" illustrates how public transportation became a hub for social mingling, blurring the lines between different social strata. While older generations often disapproved of the new attitudes embraced by younger women, the tide of change was undeniable.
The emergence of female Impressionist artists like Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt also reflected the growing desire for independence among women. Despite facing social restrictions that limited their access to certain venues and interactions with men, these artists focused on exploring the lives and experiences of women, particularly in the realm of childrearing. While their talents were often relegated to domestic or decorative arts, and they faced challenges in receiving equal artistic education, women artists like Rosa Bonheur, Elizabeth Jane Gardner Bouguereau, and Virginie Demont-Breton broke boundaries and paved the way for future generations.
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Frequently asked questions
Women in the nineteenth century were expected to remain subservient to their fathers and husbands, and their occupational choices were extremely limited. Middle and upper-class women generally remained at home, caring for their children and running the household. Lower-class women often worked outside the home as poorly paid domestic servants or labourers in factories and mills.
Women in the nineteenth century were often portrayed in negative terms, with a focus on their limited sphere of influence compared to men. However, there were also positive images of women as the morally refined sex, acting as guardians of morality and social cohesion.
The nineteenth century marked a time of change and reform for women, with new opportunities in education, politics, and employment. The onset of the First World War and the Industrial Revolution led to an increased demand for workers, allowing women to enter the workforce and establish gender equality.
