COLLECTION NAME:
Graduate Thesis Collection
Record
Title:
Virtue and Sewing in the Seventeenth Century: A Feminist Interpretation of Dutch Golden Age Images of Women Sewing
Creator:
Gladstone, Elayna Sydney
Subject:
Thesis (M.A.) -- Art History
Subject:
Savannah College of Art and Design -- Department of Art History
Rights:
Copyright is retained by the authors or artists of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Abstract:
Throughout time in western culture, sewing and cloth work in all forms have been regarded as 'feminine' tasks, so this aspect of femininity was not new during the 17th century in the Netherlands; embroidery, creating tapestries, spinning yarn and sewing clothing were hobbies and responsibilities primarily performed by women. These activities are highlighted in the visual and literary productions of northern Europe, especially in the Netherlands during the period popularly called the ‘Golden Age’. In 1625, Dutch author Jacob Cats (Nov. 10, 1577 – Sep. 12, 1660) published a marriage manual for young girls and women entitled Houwelick: Dat is de Gansche Gelegentheyt des Echten States, which details models of behavior generally aligned with the moral codes of Judeo-Christian religions, which Cats deemed 'correct' for his audience. According to Cats, sewing was an appropriate, solitary activity for women. Houwelick was a common household staple in the seventeenth-century Low Countries, and contained a chapter entitled "Bruide" ('Bride') that was directed at the married couple, not just women exclusively. Thus, both men and women would have been aware of parts, if not all of the manual, including what were considered 'virtuous acts' for women, including sewing and needlework. Houwelick contributed to a broad understanding of societal expectations, revealed through works of art portraying everyday life – genre images – during the Dutch Golden Age. Genre images were created to be accessible to a variety of audiences in an open art market. They could also convey social commentary. Analyzing a sampling of images of women sewing created in print and painting, built from a broad understanding of the literature on genre imagery of the Dutch Golden Age, feminist literature, and identity-related theories, this thesis demonstrates how artists and viewers of different sexes had their own gendered understandings of images of domestic labor – and sewing in particular.
Keywords: domestic labor, Dutch Golden Age, feminism, genre, Judith Leyster, Gabriel Metsu,painting, print, Geertruydt Roghman, virtuous acts, women sewing, Wallerant Vaillant
Keywords: domestic labor, Dutch Golden Age, feminism, genre, Judith Leyster, Gabriel Metsu,painting, print, Geertruydt Roghman, virtuous acts, women sewing, Wallerant Vaillant
Publisher:
Savannah, Georgia : Savannah College of Art and Design
Date:
2021-08
Format:
1 online resource: 1 PDF (Thesis, 64 pages, color illustrations)