Women in Power

Women held positions of great power as abbesses in convents.

Outside of the church, women could hold political power, especially 

queens who exercised royal authority during the absence of their husbands.

Sources

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/r/clothing-and-jewellery/

http://www-personal.umd.umich.edu/~cfinlay/sumptuary.html

http://www.history.com/topics/renaissance-art

http://www.mrdowling.com/704-art.html

http://science.jrank.org/pages/9459/Gender-in-Art-Renaissance-Baroque.html

http://www.wga.hu/html_m/d/duccio/2crevole.html

http://www.lordsandladies.org/middle-ages-art.htm

http://www.helleniccomserve.com/byzantineexhibit.html

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/388735/Mona-Lisa

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/leonardo-mona-lisa.html

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/212506/Lavinia-Fontana

Women in Art: Artists

Lavinia Fontana

Lavinia Fontana was one of the first female painters and was known as a talented portraitist.

Self Portrait at the Clavichord with a Servant 

Portrait of Ginerva Aldrovandi Hercolani

Portrait of a Lady with a Lap Dog

Sofonisba Anguissola

Sofonisba Anguissola was an Italian painter whose paintings came mainly out of her education of art. None of her paintings were actually sold.

Self Portrait (1554)

Elizabeth of Valois

The Chess Game

Women in Art: The Mona Lisa

This painting by Leonardo da Vinci is often described as the most recognizable piece of art from the Renaissance.

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

The identity of the woman depicted in the portrait has long been speculated, but the identity of the woman has yet to be positively proven.

Women in Art

Byzantine Art was the style of art used in the early Middle Ages. During this time, women of authority were often depicted in artwork.

Madonna and Child by Duccio

Renaissance art typically aimed to capture the essence of the individual and the beauty of nature and was typically more lifelike than other art of the Middle Ages. Portraits of women were used to convey beauty and social role.

Ginerva de Benci by Leonardo da Vinci

Lady with a Unicorn by Raphael

Woman with a Veil by Raphael

Portrait of a Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci

Social Status of Women in Ancient China

Social Status

Women were not necessarily viewed as in a social class, rather in whatever social class their husband was in. They would stay home and take care of children and cook and in some cases help their husbands with work.

View of Women

Women were considered properties of the men. Before marriage, they had to listen to their fathers and brothers. After marriage, they are the properties of their husbands. But before of China's hierarchy, the sons adhere to their mothers even though in social practice, mother's technically have less power than their sons.
People were taught that mothers should be respected and that a woman's duty was to have a son.

Social Status of Women in Ancient Greece

Social Status

As opposed to China, women did not have a set class in ancient Greece. The men were primarily the ones who were considered part of the social class, where the women took care of domestic life.

View of Women

Women were viewed more of property or even an object rather than an actual human. They were expected to marry at a specific age arranged by their fathers. They were essentially passed off from one house to another like property and if anything were to happen to their husbands they would return to their family.