The Renaissance and the Church
Renaissance art, the art produced in the three hundred years between 1300 and 1600 [1], had its epicentre in Italy [2], and the ‘rebirth’ indicated in the word ‘renaissance’ refers to the blossoming of artistic endeavour which had died a thousand years before with the fall of Rome. There were many contributory factors which triggered this rebirth, not least of which was the influence of the church and the power of patronage. So although references to classical antiquity were many in paintings of the period, they were filtered through a Christian sensibility, and the links which were made between the pagan, pre-Christian world and depictions of saints and biblical themes were intended to bolster and legitimise the beliefs of the wealthy and the powerful.
Contrary to the belief that the Renaissance was secular in origin and impetus, the power and influence of the Catholic Church should not be under-estimated. So when we consider the impact of depictions of women, we are really evaluating the Church’s teachings about women, reflected in the art produced, which partly supplemented familiar biblical narrative, but which was also intended to inspire awe and reverence in its viewers. It was also produced as a means by which patrons could ‘offset’ sins of venality, and thereby achieve salvation, or at least minimise their time in purgatory. Any imagery therefore produced under the weight of the church’s influence was inherently freighted with the significance of ‘truth’ in ways that are not easy to understand in a less religious age. Nevertheless, it is safe to say that the reverence accorded the masterpieces of Renaissance art reinforced a view of women that was mediated via the prism of Catholic teachings, the rightness of which would seldom be questioned. Art was produced at the behest of the most powerful of patrons, religious and secular, but most of it presented with an expectation of genuflection before its iconographic power.
Pagan & Christian
The Medici family for instance, among the greatest patrons of the Renaissance, included among their number bankers, merchants and popes. Their wealth, and that of other families that controlled the city-states of Rome and Venice, allowed them to patronise artists who in turn sought to please their paymasters by reflecting their religious views, creating devotional works which in some ways counter-balanced the earthly accumulation of money. The fact that the church itself was so wealthy and influential also helped to foster art works which reinforced faith by realising biblical scenes. So it is not surprising therefore, that women in Renaissance art are largely seen in a religious context, even if ostensibly the subject matter suggests otherwise. Even a painting such as Primavera, which appears to represent pagan ideas, has Christian overtones. It depicts an idea of feminine fecundity where from the right, woman is first brought to life (or impregnated?) by a breath from Zephyrus and then is shown to be literally disgorging plant growth as a result. She is then transformed into the figure of Flora, scattering flowers, making the world blossom. The central female figure of Venus, goddess of love, benevolently supervises this life-giving, while the three graces on the left proclaim their feminine virtues. However, at another level, the artist is attempting to reconcile the Christian with the pagan. Venus at the centre, traditionally identified as such because of the presence of Cupid above her, is presented to look strikingly like the Virgin Mary. The depiction of all the women in the painting is, despite the many interpretations placed upon it, symbolic. They each stand for something else, be it love, fertility or virtue, and this pattern of symbolic representation sets a pattern for the representation of women ever since.
The Madonna
The Madonna and The Madonna and Child are among the most commonly represented representations of woman in all Renaissance art. This is woman as mother and at the same time as virgin, as purity and goodness personified. Untainted by temptations of the flesh (her conception was immaculate), Mary nevertheless nurtures the Christ-child as the epitome of womanhood. In for example The Madonna of the Book Mary is shown with other virtues. Here, the book is of course the Bible, open at the Book of Isiah which foretells the birth of the saviour. She is thus both obedient to God’s plan as laid down in scripture but is also instructing her infant in his destiny. Mary embodies innocent womanhood connected directly to the word of God and the truth of scripture. What has been described as ‘Mariology’ [3] or the cult of the adoration of The Virgin Mary, stood at the centre of Catholic faith and her representation in art both connected the image of woman with the divine and the eternal, but also idealized the feminine to the extent that no mere mortal woman could ever compare. The Madonna is also of course, destined to become a grieving mother, another archetype. In this painting, the infant is holding three golden nails, representing the crucifixion to come, and while Mary’s expression is sweetly tender, sweetness symbolised by the bowl of plums, the cherries represent the blood of Christ. The young woman in the painting is thus an ideal of virtue, a mother, an enabler of the truth of God’s word, and embodies sorrow, a prefiguration of the death of Christ and the saving of mankind. As Robert Orsi has said, ‘the Madonna images were intended to authorize an ideal of sexless and obedient womanhood and to shame living women for their desires”[4]
The Madonna image exalts womanhood, and presents the (female) viewer with an ideal that few could live up to. Usually intended as devotional pieces, the Madonna is there to tell women that they aren’t good enough (the by-product of which is guilt) and the patriarchy, led by the church, is there to tell them so. The idea of a devotional piece is that the artwork isn’t for straightforward aesthetic appreciation, but it exists to embody its image. The image isn’t a painting of the Madonna; during prayer, it is the Madonna, and the power and influence that such thought conditioning catholic iconography wielded cannot be over-emphasized. The Madonna represents virginity and purity (she is the polar opposite of Eve, the original fallen woman, unable to resist temptation), obedience and duty.
The repeated reinforcement of such iconography has left a lasting impression to the extent that twentieth century artists could paint subjects like Mere et Enfant in the knowledge that such images are freighted with significance, symbolism and meaning that was established in the Renaissance and which is echoed to this day. While Picasso’s mother and child are clearly human, non-saintly and secular, the reverence commanded by the earlier images resonates in the modernist work, and a projection of an image of a woman (and child) is rendered more powerful because it refers back to the archetypal woman and child. The Madonna image has been reappropriated but there lingers in the work a reverence for the idea of the sanctity of motherhood.
[1]The period dating from the production of Giotto’s mature works in the early 1300s to the death of Tintoretto in 1594
[2]The Renaissance was not exclusively Italian; its influence, not just in art but in music, literature and science, was keenly felt in the Netherlands, France, Spain, Germany, Portugal and England, helped in part by Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press in circa 1440. By the early 16thcentury, it is estimated that the number of printed books in circulation numbered between one and two million.
[3]Theopedia explains the veneration of Mary as a significant aspect of Catholic doctrine:’Her unique relationship to God is usually discussed in a trinity of functions: 1) Co-Redemptrix, 2) Mediatrix, and 3) Queen of Heaven. As Co-Redemptrix, she cooperates with Christ in the work of saving sinners. As Mediatrix of all graces, she now dispenses God’s blessings and grace to the spiritually needy. As Queen of Heaven, she rules providentially with Christ the King of Heaven.’
[4]Orsi, Robert. “The Many Names of the Mother of God.” In Divine Mirrors, by Melissa R. Katz. Oxford: OUP, 2001.
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