Catholic-Reformation Painters of the Baroque: A Study on Why Women in Bologna

ABSTRACT
Catholic-Reformation Painters of the Baroque: A Study on Why Women in Bologna
Mikaila B. Schmidt
Director: Dr. Heidi J. Hornik
This thesis examines the unprecedented rise in female artists in Bologna during the Baroque period. It argues that women in Bologna found success during the 17th century primarily due to their revival of the maniera devota style. After the decisions made at the Council of Trent in 1565, religious art was required to reflect the newly unified Catholic Church as well as inspire a deeper sense of religious devotion and connection to faith. Artists such as Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi solidified the emotional intensity of this period through dramatic contrast and religious symbolism. Influenced by Archbishop Paleotti, painters Guido Reni and the Carracci painters, Lavinia Fontana, and Elisabetta Sirani combine naturalism and science in a way that inspires devotion and introspection. While many factors contributed to female prosperity, the religious intensity and emotional connections they establish with the viewer allowed for their popularity in Bologna and across Italy to grow, paving the way for future success by later female painters.
APPROVED BY DIRECTOR OF HONORS THESIS:
__________________________________________
Dr. Heidi J. Hornik, Professor of Art History APPROVED BY THE HONORS PROGRAM: __________________________________________
Dr. Andrew Wisely, Interim Director
DATE: _________________________
WOMEN IN BOLOGNA
Baylor University
Honors Program
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . iii Dedication. . . . . . . . . . iv List of Illustrations . . . . . . . . v Introduction . . . . . . . . . 1 Chapter One . . . . . . . . . 4 Chapter Two . . . . . . . . . 20 Chapter Three . . . . . . . . . 42 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . 65
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Anyone who knows the challenge that has confronted me knows that you cannot do it by yourself. There are many people for me to thank in the completion of my Honor’s Thesis. I would first like to thank my advisor, Dr. Heidi J. Hornik, Professor and Chair of the Department of Art and Art History. The door to Dr. Hornik’s office was always open whenever I ran into a trouble spot or had questions about my research or writing. She has served as a model for female leadership and success. Her dedication to recording the history of art is an inspiration. Dr. Hornik consistently allowed this project to be my own work but steered me in the right direction whenever she thought I needed it. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Katie Larson of the Department of Art and Art History as the second reader of this thesis and Dr. Marcie Moehnke of the Biology Department as the third reader of this thesis. I am gratefully indebted to them both for their very valuable comments on this project. In addition to those mentioned above, I would like to show my appreciation to the Department of Art and Art History for the classes and opportunities it has provided me in my time at Baylor University. From multiple courses to the chance to speak at the Midwest Art History Society Conference, I am thankful for the support and encouragement of the department. I would especially like to express my gratitude for being named the Outstanding Student in Art History in 2021. My time at Baylor would not have been the same without the Hooper-Schaffer building and the people in it. To my University Scholars advisor, Charmaine Dull, thank you for your continued belief in my ability to succeed. In every up and down you remained constant in your support. Thank you for pushing me to pursue both science and art, to follow my passions, and for being a source of confidence. Finally, I must express my very profound gratitude to my family for providing me with unfailing support and continuous encouragement throughout my years of study and through the process of researching and writing this thesis. This accomplishment would not have been possible without them. To my parents and my sisters – it would be an understatement to say that we have experienced some highs and lows in the past two years, yet every time I was ready to quit, you did not let me, and I am forever grateful. Specifically, to my mom and dad – thank you for the support and encouragement you have provided me for many years and for everything you did to make my time at Baylor possible. This thesis stands as a testament to your unconditional love and encouragement. Thank you. Mikaila Schmidt
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1.1: Rosso Fiorentino, Madonna and Child with the Infant Saint John the Baptist, 1515, Mixed technique on poplar wood, 101.2 x 77.5 cm, Städel Museum, Frankfurt, Germany. (Used with permission from museum website) Figure 1.2: Rosso Fiorentino, Virgin and Child with Saints, 1518, Oil on panel, 172 x 141 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy. (Used with permission from museum website) Figure 1.3: Rosso Fiorentino, Pietà, c. 1524-27, Oil on canvas, 133.4 x 104.1 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. (Used with permission from museum website) Figure 1.4: Caravaggio, The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, c. 1601-1602, Oil on canvas, 42 x 57 ½. inches, Neues Palast, Potsdam, Germany. (Used with permission from Artstor) Figure 1.5: Francesco Salviati, Doubting Thomas, c. 1547, Oil on canvas, 275 x 234 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France. (Used with permission from Artstor) Figure 2.1: Caravaggio, The Sacrifice of Isaac, 1603, Oil on canvas, 104 x 135 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy. (Used with permission from museum website) Figure 2.2: Caravaggio, The Conversion of Saint Paul, 1600-1601, Oil on canvas, 230 x 175 cm, Cerasi Chapel, Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome, Italy. (Used with permission from Artstor) Figure 2.3: Annibale Carracci, Madonna Enthroned with Saint Matthew, 1588, Oil on canvas, 384 x 255 cm, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, Germany. (Used with permission from museum website) Figure 2.4: Lodovico Carracci, Saint Sebastian Thrown into the Cloaca Maxima, 1612, Oil on canvas, 163.5 x 232.4 cm, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, United States of America. (Used with permission from museum website) Figure 2.5: Guido Reni, Christ with the Crown of Thorns, Oil on poplar wood, 49 x 37 cm, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, Germany. (Used with permission from museum website) Figure 2.6: Guercino, The Return of the Prodigal Son, 1654-55, Oil on canvas, 155.6 x 146.1 cm, Timken Museum of Art, San Diego, California, United States of America. (Used with permission from museum website) Figure 2.7: Guercino, Return of the Prodigal, 1627-1629, Oil on canvas, 125 x 163 cm, Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy. (Used with permission from Artstor)
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Figure 2.8: Artemisia Gentileschi, Esther Before Ahasuerus, 1628-1630, Oil on canvas, 208.3 x 273.7 cm, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York, United States of America. (Used with permission from museum website) Figure 2.9: Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes, c.1623-1625, Oil on canvas, 187.2 x 142 cm, Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, Michigan, United States of America. (Used with permission from museum website) Figure 3.1: Caterina Vigri, St. Ursula and Her Maidens, c. 1456, Oil on panel. (Used with permission from Artstor) Figure 3.2: Properzia de’ Rossi, Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife, 1520s, Marble, Museo de San Pietro, Bologna, Italy. (Used with permission from Web Gallery of Art) Figure 3.3: Lavinia Fontana, Portrait of Costanza Alidosi, ca. 1595, Oil on canvas, 62 x 47 3/8 in., The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC, United States of American. (Used with permission from museum website) Figure 3.4: Lavinia Fontana, Portrait of Ginevra Aldrovandi Hercolani, 1595, Oil on canvas, 114.62 x 94.62 cm, Walter’s Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America. (Used with permission from museum website) Figure 3.5: Lavinia Fontana, Portrait of Antonietta Gonzalez, 1595, Oil on canvas, Château de Blois, France. (Used with permission from WikiArt) Figure 3.6: Lavinia Fontana, St. Francis Adoring the Crucifix, 1580, Oil on canvas, 50 x 37 cm, Private Collection. (Used from Marlene Misiuk, La Donna e La Maniera Devota: Lavinia Fontana, Sacred Imagery and the Natural Sciences in Sixteenth-Century Bologna, 105.) Figure 3.7: Lavinia Fontana, Stigmatization of St. Francis, 1579, Oil on canvas, 63 x 75 cm, Seminary of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. (Used with permission from Artstor) Figure 3.8: Elisabetta Sirani, Virgin Addolorata with the Symbols of the Passion, 1657, Oil on copper, Regional Museum Complex of Emilia Romagna- National Art Gallery of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. (Used with permission from museum website) Figure 3.9: Elisabetta Sirani, Judith Showing the Head of Holofernes to the Israelites, 1658, Oil on canvas, 236.5 x 183 cm, Burghley House Gallery, Stamford, England. (Used with permission from museum website) Figure 3.10: Lavinia Fontana, Judith and Holofernes, 1600, Oil on canvas, 130 x 110 cm, Museo Davia Bargellini, Bologna, Italy. (Used with permission from Web Gallery of Art)
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Figure 3.11: Elisabetta Sirani, Baptism of Christ, 1658, Oil on canvas, 400 x 500 cm, San Girolamo della Certosa, Bologna, Italy. (Used from J. Rubinski, Elisabetta Sirani’s: Judith with the Head of Holofernes, 57.)
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INTRODUCTION
Beginning with Martin Luther in 1517, the Protestant Reformation brought to light
concerns within the Catholic Church. Forced to unify the Catholic faith and make changes
in response to accusations from Protestants, the Church called the Council of Trent in 1545.
It was here that the Catholic doctrine was clarified, and towards the end of the Council, the
concept of images was discussed. The Council made decisions about the decorum, subjects,
and purpose for religious images. In order to unite Catholicism, it was decided that art must
be used to instigate personal devotion and introspection into their own faith relationship,
hoping to refocus the faith of viewers. The current style of art at the time is known as
Mannerism. This style is characterized by experimentation and elongation of proportion,
centered around propelling forward the careers of the artists rather than communicating the
core tenets of the Catholic faith. The decisions made at the Council influenced the
production of religious art moving forward, causing a shift from the current Mannerist style
to the emerging of the Baroque period.
The rise of the Baroque style can be attributed to artists like Caravaggio (1571-
1610). He utilizes the contrast between light and dark, movement, and emotional intensity
to communicate themes of personal devotion. One city that rose to the forefront of the
Baroque style is Bologna. Home to many artists, and more specifically the Carracci
painters, Bologna became a center for religious iconography. With the institution of the
Bolognese Academy, Lodovico Carracci (1555-1619) and his cousins taught students to
reform religious art, rooting their styles in naturalism and spiritual introspection. Along
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with the precedents set by Caravaggio, the Carracci painters influenced the depiction of
religion in art, characterizing the period with devotional images and subjects that inspired
personal reflection aimed at strengthening the Catholic hold within Italian cities. In
addition to the rise of the Baroque style is the rise of female painters. Women like Artemisia
Gentileschi (1593-1653) began to find international popularity for their ability to
communicate emotion and virtue in new ways.
With Artemisia’s popularity taking hold in cities like Rome, Bologna housed its
own surge of female painters. Bologna was a prospering university town with a different
government style than many other cities. This, in conjunction with patrons such as
Archbishop Gabriele Paleotti (1522-1597), influenced the combination of science and
religion in art. Paleotti called for the inclusion of women in religious reform, and part of
this included their participation in art as well. The ability of female artists such as Lavinia
Fontana (1552-1614) and Elisabetta Sirani (1638-1665) to revive the maniera devota style,
coupled with a city that supported the inclusion of women in higher social circles, allowed
for women to rise in popularity amongst patrons. By breaking the mold of typically
completing portrait paintings, women in Bologna took on religious historical iconography.
It was through their paintings that female artists successfully conveyed the emotions related
with personal devotion and virtue. As a whole, Bologna’s welcoming attitude to women
and their ability to revive naturalistic, religiously devotional images allowed for a rise in
the maniera devota style, solidifying the place of female painters in the city.
Starting with the revival of religiously focused images at the Council of Trent, the
Baroque period marks changes in art and the reasoning for producing particular images.
Through the rise of devotional images came the combination of religion and nature in order
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to inflict introspection in the viewer. With patrons and a city that accepted and favored the
emotional connection they establish with the viewers, women began to rise in popularity
for religious commissions. As their careers took root in Bologna, they communicated
devotion and virtue in a way that pleased the scholarly minds of those within the university
town and upheld the goals established for art at the Council of Trent. By painting from an
intention of devotion, reviving maniera devota, women instituted a shift in their place
within the art scene, propelling them to a level similar to that of the males who also
dominated the Baroque style.
CHAPTER ONE
The Council of Trent, implemented by Pope Paul III (1468-1549), began in 1545.
It was an eighteen-year meeting to bring reform to the Catholic Church in response to the
accusations made by Martin Luther (1483-1546), beginning in 1517, and the subsequent
Protestant Reformation. There were multiple theological focuses put forth by the
Protestants. These included Scripture’s centrality and sufficiency, the Sacraments, and the
Church.1 It appears that those who instigated the Protestant Reformation, like Martin
Luther, did so out of a concern for the authenticity of the Christian religion. Reformers
were most concerned with the Gospel and an individual’s appropriation of it, how it applied
to their lives, and how they lived it out.2 These concerns developed into questioning the
ability and sufficiency of Scripture to teach its readers, specifically that the Gospel
narrative is centered around the idea that the divine offer of forgiveness is not dependent
upon the worthiness of an individual. Through questioning the ability of Scripture to
effectively communicate the Gospel message, the emphasis reformers placed on renewing,
or even redirecting, the Christian faith can be seen.3 Those involved with the Reformation
are viewed as changing the focus of the faith from the individual and how they can achieve
perfection to being centered on the individual’s reliance on grace, rather than works.
However, a turning point in the Reformation is Luther’s direct refutation of four out of the
seven Catholic Sacraments and a reinterpretation of the other three, in his 1520 contract
1 Hans Joachim Hillerbrand, Christendom divided: The Protestant Reformation (New York: Corpus Instrumentorum, 1971), 285. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid.
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The Babylonian Captivity of the Church.4 This caused a more dramatic rift between the
two doctrines because of the emotional overtones that resulted on both sides as a result of
the contract. Overall, the biggest question posed by the Protestants during the Reformation
was where did authority within the faith lie? It unveiled the battle for authority between
the Church or the pope and the individual or the conscience.
In response to the Protestant attacks against the Catholic Church, Pope Paul II
called for the commencement of a council to begin meeting in Trent, Italy in 1545. The
Council represents a victory of the church over the papacy as it was held independently,
and the decisions made were done so collectively and were not given by the papacy for the
subjects of the Catholic Church.5 The Council would be addressing the grievances brought
against the Catholic Church and is the beginning of reformation within the Church.
The Council had many different areas of concern and questions to work through
during its meeting. The main goal was to establish a clear-cut definition for Catholic
doctrines as well as reunify the Catholic Church.6 The Council had to defend Catholic
doctrine and clarify the beliefs that the Church held.7 These clarifications encompassed the
Sacraments, the individuality of the faith, and make widespread and cohesive responses to
the accusations made by the Protestant leaders. The decisions and conclusions that were
made in Trent impacted the future of Catholicism more than any other council had in the
Church’s history.8 The Council surveyed the Protestant theses and opposed them with the
truths established within the Catholic tradition. More specifically, the Council analyzed the
4 Ibid., 286. 5 Rosseeuw Saint-Hilaire, “Art. I. – The Council of Trent” in The American Theological Review; 16th ed. (New York: American Periodicals Series III, 1862), 583. 6 Charles Nauert, Jr., The Age of Renaissance and Reformation (Washington DC: University Press of America, 1981). 7 Rosseeuw Saint-Hilaire, “Art. I. – The Council of Trent,” 583. 8 Henri Daniel-Rops, The Protestant Reformation (London: J.M. Dent & Sons LTD, 1962), 94.
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revelation and the tradition of doctrine, the role of faith, grace and works, and the
sacraments.9 It was in Trent that the Council also created the Catholic Canon of Scripture,
establishing the list of authoritative texts that they believe to be essential in shaping the
Christian religion. As for the discussion concerning the Catholic doctrine and what it
entailed, the Council concluded that it did not centrally focus on the Fall but is instead
centered around the Redemption.10 This means that rather than being a faith that focuses
on the sin that separated humanity from the divinity of God, it focuses on the resurrection
and redemptive nature of Christ’s sacrifice to save humanity. The Council essentially
denounces predestination and established that God does not whimsically call some of his
children to Heaven and push others to Hell. It became clear that in Catholicism, the focus
was not that people were sinners or that they fell from the righteousness of the Lord. While
these are still important tenets of the faith, the Council decided that the faith is instead
centered on how the Lord redeems those who have fallen. There was a benefit for the
Council to create a cohesive statement for the central beliefs of the faith when combatting
the claims and accusations of the Protestants, as it allowed for a united front across the
many papal states at the time.
Ultimately, the Council served as a reunification of the Catholic Church and
provided a defense mechanism against the consistent attacks by Protestant leaders such as
Martin Luther (1483-1546), John Calvin (1509-1564), and Philip Melancthon (1497-
1560). There were two decrees that were a result of the Council: dogmatic and disciplinary.
The dogmatic decrees served as a refutation of the heresies and accusations that arose as a
9 Ibid, 95. 10 Ibid, 98.
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result of the Protestant Reformation. Additionally, they solidly, but with compromise,
helped define the orthodox faith.11
There were also disciplinary decrees that brought the much-needed corrections to
the Church, which was in an anarchical state at the time of the Reformation. These decrees
recognize the moral abuses that resulted due to the poor administrative practices of those
with leading positions in the Church.12 Per their goals, the disciplinary decrees had to bring
together the government, system of jurisdictions, and hierarchy that existed within the
church in order to create a harmonious whole rather than divided parts. The Catholics had
to put up a unionized front against the attacks from Luther and his followers, and these
disciplinary decrees helped do just that.
The disciplinary dogma that was specifically discussed at Trent would include the
discussion of what was appropriate in the…