Thesis
Initially I want to argue that: Although the women artists in the Renaissance were held captive by the structures of a patriarchal society, they might not liberate themselves from such constraints entirely. While she often refused to be the ideal female beauty, no taboos seemed to be broken.
I want to argue that Sofonisba Anguissola conveyed her self-consciousness as a woman and emphasized her power to create as an artist effectively but subtly. Held captive by the structures of a patriarchal society, she did not keep silent. However, via her portraits loaded with double entendre, her daring spirit remained acceptable to the society. In this way, Anguissola unified her roles as a noble woman as well as an exceptional artist, which were …show more content…
She depicted herself as a physical and psychological presence seen through her own eyes. Her gaze is so autonomous and uncompromising that it reminds me of “the Medusa effect” defined by W.J.T. Mitchell in his article, “What do pictures want?” The gaze of the subject in the painting can “transfix or paralyze the beholder.”
In many portraits of lady from the aristocratic class by famous male artists, the gaze is generally averted. Their eyes seem to look beyond to some invisible point, instead of making pictorial eye contact with the viewer. Downcast eyes and averted gaze could be read as an expression of virtue and a sign of chaste modesty (Art and Love in Renaissance Italy, 258). On the other hand, art historians have reassessed the representation of women by male artists of the Renaissance in the light of psychological insights, in which males are seen to assert power through the privileged subjective action of looking at females (Virtue and beauty).
However, Sofonisba’s direct gaze, at least from the first glimpse, upends the conventional power dynamics in gender. Here, Sofonisba is not a passive objects under the controlling gaze of the viewing subject, she stares back and asserting her subjectivity. But there are other elements in the painting to balance this challenging gaze.
Initially I want to argue that: Although the women artists in the Renaissance were held captive by the structures of a patriarchal society, they might not liberate themselves from such constraints entirely. While she often refused to be the ideal female beauty, no taboos seemed to be broken.
I want to argue that Sofonisba Anguissola conveyed her self-consciousness as a woman and emphasized her power to create as an artist effectively but subtly. Held captive by the structures of a patriarchal society, she did not keep silent. However, via her portraits loaded with double entendre, her daring spirit remained acceptable to the society. In this way, Anguissola unified her roles as a noble woman as well as an exceptional artist, which were …show more content…
She depicted herself as a physical and psychological presence seen through her own eyes. Her gaze is so autonomous and uncompromising that it reminds me of “the Medusa effect” defined by W.J.T. Mitchell in his article, “What do pictures want?” The gaze of the subject in the painting can “transfix or paralyze the beholder.”
In many portraits of lady from the aristocratic class by famous male artists, the gaze is generally averted. Their eyes seem to look beyond to some invisible point, instead of making pictorial eye contact with the viewer. Downcast eyes and averted gaze could be read as an expression of virtue and a sign of chaste modesty (Art and Love in Renaissance Italy, 258). On the other hand, art historians have reassessed the representation of women by male artists of the Renaissance in the light of psychological insights, in which males are seen to assert power through the privileged subjective action of looking at females (Virtue and beauty).
However, Sofonisba’s direct gaze, at least from the first glimpse, upends the conventional power dynamics in gender. Here, Sofonisba is not a passive objects under the controlling gaze of the viewing subject, she stares back and asserting her subjectivity. But there are other elements in the painting to balance this challenging gaze.