The final seminar paper outlines the reasons for neglect and consequent lack of knowledge concerning women Renaissance artists. Linda Nochlin's main points and arguments, exposed in the essay titled Why have there been no great women artists, have been supported by examples of women Renaissance artists. One of Nochlin's key points is the inaccessibility of education. However, even though education played a significant role in the activities of women artists, it was not the only factor. Women in general were seen as prisoners of their own emotions and women artists were no exceptions. This can be illustrated with the example of Properzia de’ Rossi, who is even today still perceived as having been unable to exceed her own body and emotions, which is reflected in her art as well. On the contrary, men were perceived as the superior gender, which in the art sphere surfaced as the status of a genius, that could only be attributed to male artists. This near-mythical status has in this paper been shattered by the example of Sofonisba Anguisola. She and other women artists of her quality level were mentioned by writers under a special category as miracolo, a miracle. In connection with the myth of a genius artist, I exposed the artistic creation of Marietta Robusti, the daughter of the artist Tintoretto. She was a painter of an exceptional quality and for this reason, some of her works are even today still attributed to her father or brother. Lavinia Fontana deserves another category; in the time when women were expected to busy themselves with house chores and looking after their families, she was a painter by profession. In principle, this in itself defied the enforced societal demands, but Fontana’s self-portraits show that this might have been true only to a certain extent.
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