The "Power of Women" ( Weibermacht in German) is a topos of medieval and Renaissance art and literature, showing "heroic or wise men dominated by women", presenting " admonitory and often funny inversion of male-dominated male hierarchy ". This is defined by Susan L. Smith as "representative practice to unite at least two, but usually more, well-known figures from the Bible, ancient history, or romance to exemplify a group of interrelated themes that include women's deceptions, the power of love, and marriage trials ". Smith argues that topos is not just "the direct manifestation of medieval antifeminism"; on the contrary, this is "a place of contest through which conflicting ideas about gender roles can be expressed".
Smith argues that topos comes from classical literature and found it in medieval texts such as Aucassin et Nicolette , Philosophical Consolation , Roman de la Rose > , and Canterbury Tales . Topos was attacked by Christine de Pizan around 1400, who argued that if women wrote this report, their interpretation would be different from that of men.
In the visual arts, images are found in various media, especially from the 14th century onwards, and became increasingly popular in the 15th century. At that time the recurring subjects included Judith beheaded Holofernes, Phyllis drove Aristotle, Samson and Delilah, Salome and his mother Herodias, Yael killed Sisera, Bathsheba bath saw David, idolatry from Solomon, Virgil in his basket, and many depictions of witches , and pictures of wives dominating their husbands. The last group is called battle for trousers . Yusef's and Potiphar's wife, Lot, and his daughter were a bit late to join the group, but became more popular in the future. Tomyris, the Scythian queen who defeated Cyrus the Great and tortured his body, painted by Rubens and some Italians.
These scenes, mostly featured in a consistent composition involving only two people and distinctive visual acts, are easily recognizable and seem to have also been dramatically represented in a wide range of entertainment, whether as short scenes or advantages of the table. It is unclear who first coined the term Weibermacht, but certainly had earned the currency in the sixteenth century the Northern Renaissance in Germany and the Low Countries.
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In early drawings of the Gothic or "classical" Gothic era such as Phyllis Riding Aristotle and Virgil in the Basket, both medieval legendary accretions are more popular than later biblical ones. They often appear in the same section as the Assault on the Castle of Love, as in a coffin in Baltimore. These subjects and similar subjects of love in court most survive on ivory objects for female use, such as coffins or mirror-cases. It shows women who defend the palace against men, generally unsuccessful. These images are basically a mild romantic fantasy given comic treatment; Such scenes are sometimes staged as a mild relief in the tournament.
The Power of Women theme is very popular in the northern Renaissance art of the sixteenth century, which describes "images taken from historical, mythological, and biblical sources depicting women's power over men, especially as a result of their sexual attractiveness." Some stories involve the killing of men, and this and their religious context effectively eliminates many potential comic groups, but that does not mean erotic possibilities are exploited by many artists.
The question of the attitudes shown to violence by women who cause virtue may be best seen in the figure of Jael, the murder of Sisera by hammering the tents on the head to make a very graphic image. According to some feminist criticisms, his depiction became unfriendly in the Renaissance, and like Judith, he was certainly grouped with "bad" figures such as Herodias and Delilah. But he included, with Judith and Esther, as one of Hans Burgkmair's "Drei Gut Judin" ("Three Good Figures") trio of female Bible heroes in his book Eighteen Worthies, adding nine women to traditional Nine men Well worth it.
The subject of Power of Women is seen in paintings and other media, but mold is their special home. Lucas van Leyden made two sets of pieces of wood known as the Strength and Small Woman. The subjects featured included Adam and Eve, Samson and Delilah, King Solomon, Herod and Herodias, Yael and Sisera, and, less usually, Jezebel and King Ahab. The pieces of wood have a somewhat static composition, and it has been suggested that they pull from the vivants tables of the scene. Another set by Hans Burgkmair (1519) is known as Liebestorheiten or Follies of Love . At the same time there are also interests, often among the same artist, in women of the same powerless arrangement, or simply able to escape from their situation by suicide, such as Susanna, Dido of Carthage, Lucretia, and Verginia. The story of Esther lies somewhere between these two extremes.
The Little Masters is one artist who is very interested in both groups. Treatment of both groups, especially in prints, is often very erotic, and these groups take place alongside women and women lovers, both mythologically and realistically in the general care of women in art. The interest in these themes spread to Italy, which influenced Venice first, and subjects became common in Late Renaissance Italian paintings, and even more so during the Baroque, perhaps culminating in the work of Artemisia Gentileschi, which painted almost all the biblical power of Woman, more than once. While the subject of his choice was assumed to be driven by his difficult life, Cristofano Allori's most famous work, Judith with the Head Holofernes, was used as a model for his former savings for Judith, with his mother as a maid, and self-portrait for Holofernes head.
In the Northern painting, Cranachs is the first artist who often paints the subject. In 1513 Lucas Cranach the Elder decorated the wedding bed of John, the Saxony Elector with a set of scenes including The Idolatry of Solomon and Hercules and Omphale (see below) and Paris Judgment . The children of patrons and artists, John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony and Lucas Cranach the Younger, produced another set of paintings, now in GemÃÆ'¤ldegalerie Alte Meister. It has been argued that some of Cranach's many workshops are Judith's portraits of the women of the Saxon court; some other paintings about Yael are definitely portraits.
Themes and context
Some of these subjects contain a funny element of role reversal in a basically patriarchal society, above all "the classic image of the Female Power topos," Phyllis Riding Aristotle. " The story of Phyllis and Aristotle dates from the early 13th century (when
Phyllis Riding Aristotle is painted on the walls of several German city halls, although the design of Albrecht DÃÆ'¼rer made for Nuremberg, as part of the Power of Women cycle, was never done. Some sets of prints have decorative borders which indicate that they are intended to be affixed to the wall, as many larger prints. While many of the smaller prints may be mostly seen by male collectors and their friends, the paintings and wall prints "are definitely meant to entertain or entertain men and women". Some Otto Florentine prints, basically designed for a female audience, show women win over men, although most show the pacific scenes of lovers.
Another major mold is aimed at walls, where the Power of Women subject is very common, adopts different types of compositions from small prints with several numbers, shows a large and well-filled panoramic view where key numbers can be difficult to choose. David and Bathsheba or the story of Salome is set in the midst of a vast city landscape, and Judith kills Holofernes in the corner of a great battle scene in front of the walled city.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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