Women and art UGA

=Women and Art in Early Modern Europe (Spring 2009= Prof. Alexandra M. Korey, University of Georgia Studies Abroad Cortona, Italy

This is a space for UGA Cortona ARHI 4200/6200 "Women and Art" students to post weekly suggestions for exam questions.

Assignment
After each week's class, please come to this wiki and add suggestions for questions that you think would be useful to pose on your midterm exam. The question should relate to the week's discussion, OR create links between previous discussions and this week's. Your questions can be formatted any way you want - a lead-in to an essay, a factual question about the reading, or even a multiple choice.

The purpose of this assigment is to get you thinking about the "big picture" each week.

I will draw the questions on your midterm from this wiki (but have the right to modify them somewhat). So, you're writing your own exam. Thus, there will be no nasty surprises.

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How to edit:

 * 1) Click the "edit" link at the page section to which you wish to contribute.
 * 2) Please add your question under the correct weekly header.
 * 3) Please sign your name to your contribution. If you're not logged in, that's fine (you don't have to sign up). Use this format "(George C.): I think...".
 * 4) There is an asterix (*) symbol below each heading which makes a bullet. You can add your comment next to this symbol.
 * 5) Don't forget to save!

Week 1:
Gender roles in modern and past visual culture (and reading by Kent after the fact)
 * (Brenna Crothers) Supposedly women are part of a generation that is now “empowered”. In most western cultures, women are considered to be equal citizens to men. However, has this new age “empowered” woman been represented in art? Has the way that women have been represented in art changed throughout the centuries? If so how has it changed, and has it strengthened or weakened the female image?
 * (Alex Goodman) Has the depiction of wealth and luxury found within the depictions of women changed from past to present? If so, How?
 * (Sean Brice) How did the many medical misinterpretations and misinformation of the day (i.e. wandering womb) and general apathy / lack of knowledge of the female psyche effect the representation of women in the visual arts? Why did this faulty knowledge persist throughout centuries despite medical advances and visual evidence?
 * (Andrew Webster) Although women in 15th century Italy had strict laws imposed on their public appearance and political rights, when they were honored, how were they and why?
 * (Kendra Hunt) What was the purpose of presenting a portrait of a woman or using women as allegorical figures during the 15th century? As a woman looking at those pictures at that time, how were they supposed to interpret them?
 * (Alex Covert) Kent uses a quote by Martin Luther, "Even if they bear themselves weary or bear themselves out...this is the purpose for which they exist." Describe specific types of visual images or explain certain traditions women were exposed to that reinforced this mind set.
 * (Blair Hartman) Two of the most frequently depicted women during the Renaissance were Eve and Mary, what are ways that each represents a commonly held view of women during the period?

Week 2:
Outer Beauty, Inner Virtue, and Neoplatonist ideals and readings by Tinagli, Cropper, and Firenzuola
 * (Rebecca Rastegar) As you read in the Tinagli article, she explains that there was no eye contact to the viewer. What does this tell you about women during the Quatroccento Period?
 * (Blair Danger Hartman) As a primary text, Agnolo Firenzuola's "On the Beauty of Women" references the classical period in multiple ways, describe several of these as well as any obvious differences.
 * (Alex Goodman) In the text, On Beautiful Women, Parmigianino, Petrarchismo, and the Vernacular Style by Cropper, Women are compared to certain items. What are these items? and are they successful in describing the features of a beautiful woman?
 * (Andrew Webster) Describe Piero della Francesca's portrait of Battista Sforza, discussing some of the elements that make this a typical and unusual portrait at the same time.
 * (Brenna Crothers) In the primary text "On the Beauty of Women: First Dialog (1548)" by Agnolo Firenzuola How is the dialog distributed between female and male roles? Were the roles within this text equal? Within the context of this time period would you consider the role that women were given within the dialog fairly major?

Week 3:
Marriage, sex, and birth and readings by Musacchio and Alberti
 * Brenna Crothers) What were some of the factors during the Renaissance that encouraged women to have so many children? And how is this reflected in the material culture?

Week 4:
The further marginalized “other”: lesbians, witches, and the elderly (Trexler, Brown, Neave, Emison)

Week 5:
Renaissance Women Patrons (Radke, King)

Week 6:
Case study: Isabella d’este (readings by San Juan and de Vries)

Week 7: MIDTERM EXAM!
Any more ideas? write them here

Week 8: Artemisia Gentileschi movie and discussion
Movie trailer (Valentina Cervi 1997): thumb|300px|left

There are numerous other fictional presentations of Artemisia's life (and a general fascination with her rape). For example:

1) Susan Vreeland's book Artemisia  Amazon link: http://tinyurl.com/vreeland

2) this short film on youtube filmed in rome thumb|300px|left

...

The rest of the class:
Feel free to write comments on your final projects on female artists (and related reading) here for discussion.