women in art midterm exam take-home

100 points; 20 points per essay. answer each of the following questions as completely as possible, using appropriate examples and writing as clear and as convincingly as possible.

• Make sure to use examples to illustrate your points
• Make sure to introduce your essay with a thesis, hypothesis or argument
• Organize your essay so that it is (a) clear and (b) convincing.
• I strongly recommend that you first make an outline that contains the points you want to raise and indicates the examples you will use. If you make an outline, turn it in with your essay, even if it is on a different sheet of paper.
• Make sure to conclude your essay strongly (that means there should be a "conclusion" of some sort that summarizes your argument and how you proved it).
• Remember that your use of quotes/citations is indicative of your level of understanding of the material.
• For the best possible score, the information should be in your own words, and the source may be indicated by simply placing the page number indicating where the information was found in parentheses after the particular statement.
• A less impressive method is to quote directly from the book. If you do this, make sure to place quotation marks around the passages and place the page number in parentheses after the second quotation mark. (If you don't do this, you are technically plagiarizing and you will receive a zero on the assignment.
• Somewhere in the middle of these two cases is what I call "quoting for emphasis." This means you have placed the majority of the ideas in your own words, but you might select a particularly effective phrase to cement your point. If you do this, make sure to use quotation marks and indicate the page number where the quote is as indicated above.

#1. Using examples of your own choice (use no less than three carefully chosen and fully developed examples) construct an argument examining why women artists should be given equal treatment in all art history courses. In order to do this, you will have to come to some conclusions about the criteria traditionally used to decide who gets in and who is left out. After all, the artists we study represent only a tiny fraction of all artists, male and female. What, in terms of style, subject matter, purpose and treatment, makes a successful work of art during the time periods of your three examples? How do your examples meet those criteria?

#2. Using examples of your own choice (use no less than three carefully chosen and fully developed examples) construct an argument examining why women artists should be considered in a separate course from male artists. Consider the criteria you developed to answer the question above. Can a criteria be developed that applies to all artists equally? What, in terms of style, subject matter, purpose and treatment in your three examples demonstrates the separate nature of women artists during the time periods of their creation? What reasons can be given that directly link these qualities to the gender of the artist? NOTE: in questions number one and two I am asking you to argue both sides of an issue. You will naturally feel more comfortable arguing one side more than the other. Try to set aside your own opinion and look at the factual evidence. If necessary, pretend you are a public defender who has to argue his/her client's innocence regardless of whether or not you believe the defendant is guilty.

#3. Using examples of your own choice (use at least two carefully chosen and fully developed examples for each artist) construct an essay that discusses the development of the Baroque style in both Italy and Holland as typified (for women) by Artemisia Gentileschi and Judith Leyster. Consider the social/political/religious context, gender relations, the backgrounds of the women and the subject matter, treatment, purpose and style of the works themselves.

#4. Using examples of your own choice (use at least two carefully chosen and fully developed examples for each artist) construct an essay that discusses the development of portraiture during the Italian Renaissance and during Revolutionary France as typified (for women) by Sofanisba Anguissola and Elizabeth Vigeé-Lebrun. Consider the social/political/religious context, gender relations, the backgrounds of the women and the subject matter, treatment, purpose and style of the works themselves.

#5. Using examples of your own choice (use at least two carefully chosen and fully developed example for each artist) construct an essay that develops the use of "symbolism" and "allegory" within the styles of Italian Baroque and English Neoclassicism as typified (for women) by Artemisia Gentileschi and Angelica Kauffmann. What type of symbolism/allegory is used? What is its purpose (is it personal, political; is it linked to the style itself or isn't it? why?) Can the symbolism/allegory be seen as being inherently "feminine" in some way? How do the themes chosen by each artist compare? What can account for similarities and differences in symbolism/allegory during these two very different periods? Make sure to identify clearly the source and influences that stimulated each artist's development.