Women in Italian Renaissance art: Gender, representation, identity / Edition 1

by Paola Tinagli

Overview

Between c1350 and c1650, Italian urban societies saw much debate on women¹s nature, roles, education, and behaviour. This book fills a gap in the still burgeoning literature on all aspects of women¹s lives in this period. Using a broad range of material, most of which never translated before, this book illuminates the ideals and realities informing the lives of women within the context of civic and courtly culture in Renaissance Italy. The text is divided into three sections: contemporary views on the nature of women, and ethical and aesthetic ideals seen as suitable to them; life cycles from birth to death, punctuated by the rites of passage of betrothal, marriage and widowhood; women¹s roles in the convent, the court, the workplace, and in cultural life.Through their exploration of these themes, Mary Rogers and Paola Tinagli demonstrate that there was no single 'Renaissance woman'. The realities of women¹s experiences were rich and various, and their voices speak of diverse possibilities for emotionally rich and socially useful lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780719040542
Publisher:	Manchester University Press
Publication date:	04/17/1997
Edition description:	UK ed.
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	789,377
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.45(h) x 0.58(d)

About the Author

Mary R. Rogers is Lecturer in History of Art at the University of Bristol

Paola Tinagli is

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part 1 : Ideals

Woman's nature and characteristics

The discourse of beauty and love

The Virgin Mary

Female Saints

Famous and exemplary women

Part 2 : Lifecycles

Girls

Betrothals and Weddings

Marriage and married life

Conception, childbirth and the upbringing of children

Widows

Part 3 : Roles

Nuns and women in religion

The court lady

Women and work for gain

Prostitutes and courtesans

Writers, artists, musicians and performers

Illustrations

Bibliography

Index