Women In The Renaissance

The Renaissance was a new beginning from the Middle Ages and a reformation in the way art was perceived. There were many prominent artists during the Renaissance that changed the era of art, commonly known as High Renaissance. These artists painted the streets of Europe, “patronized artists and mean of letters, and expended enormous enthusiasm and huge sums of money” (Aboukhadijeh, “European Society in the Age of the Renaissance”). The characteristics of High Renaissance art encompassed “classical balance, harmony, and restraint” (Aboukhadijeh, “European Society in the Age of the Renaissance”). Many artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Raphael were very famous during the Renaissance. However, compared to the other artists, Michelangelo is …show more content…
Michelangelo’s works were heavily influenced from the Italian Renaissance. The Italian Renaissance lasted from about 1300 through 1600 when Italy began to prosper and shy away from oligarchical rule. Society was quite different during this time period; everything from family dynamics to entertainment has changed. Renaissance life had an overall simplicity and elegance to it even among the rich, upper class citizens. One main element of Renaissance life was gender roles. Men handled all business that need to be taken care of outside of the house. Women were supposed to be excluded from society, only allowed to leave for marriage ceremonies. They could not even attend funerals or public burials. Even servants were treated better than women. It was extremely important to people to have very clean houses and that was their servants’ jobs. If the servants did their job well and made the house clean enough to improve the owners’ reputations, then they were treated well and given sizeable payment. One thing that put men and women on the same level, however, was fashion. Everyone, regardless of gender, had a deep regard for fashion. Men’s fashion included fitted clothes, overcoats, felt …show more content…
This is because he wanted to ensure that all people in society felt that they were able to connect to one neutral and unifying medium, which in his case was his artistic masterpieces. Due to the fact that the Medici’s were such an influential part of his life, and he followed them through his early adulthood, Michelangelo could quickly see changes through multiple aspects in society, which he then used to make his paintings more accurate (Finnan, “Michelangelo the Life and Art of the Renaissance Master”). Though sculpting was also a major part of Michelangelo’s artistic growth, he did that when he first began travelling around. Once he was known by various important people, such as the Pope, Michelangelo was given the opportunity to paint the Sistine Chapel, where he demonstrated one of the finest works ever created, all the paintings that cover the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. One of the most famous pieces, The Last Judgement, proved to be a very good indication to many of how they felt in society. This painting specifically shows the major changes in society that were happening in Rome, during the transition of the Renaissance (“Selected Sculptures and Paintings of Michelangelo”). Also, The Deluge points fingers at this new society that is starting to take shape. It classifies different people that in the painting