Instructional Resources: Women, Power, and Empowering Imagery

Author(s): Julie Springer

Source: Art Education , Sep., 1994, Vol. 47, No. 5, Interpretation (Sep., 1994), pp. 27-
30+43-46
Published by: National Art Education Association

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3193499

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 INSTRUCTIONAL

WOTMEN, POWER, AND

EM1POWERING IMAGERY

Self-Portrait, Judith Leyster, c. 1630, oil on canvas, .723 x .653 (29 3/8 x 25 5/8); framed: .975 x .876 x

National Gallery of Art, Washington. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss.

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 WO~MEN, POWER, AND
EM1POWERINUG IM1AGERY
As an art museum educator and feminist, I am often
asked by the teachers I work with: "How can I show the
young women in my classes that they are not altogether
absent in the history of art?" Or, harder to answer: "How
can I offer my female students visual imagery that will
challenge their imaginations and enhance their self-
esteem?"
In writing this lesson, therefore, I have chosen to focus
on what I hope will be empowering images for female
students. The first object discussed is a self-portrait by the
seventeenth-century Dutch painterJudith Leyster. The next
two celebrate heroines: the biblicalJudith of Bethulia, as
painted by the Italian Renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna;
and abolitionist Harriet Tubman, depicted by American
moderistJacob Lawrence. The fourth and final image
presented here, a pictorial admonition against war by Kathe
Kollwitz, was chosen for the way in which power is
leveraged through her advocacy of social reform. All of the
objects examined are ones I have found to interest
teenagers and to generate successful discussion of gender
issues. With adaptations to age and ability, this lesson can
be used with both middle and high school students.

JUDITH LEYSTER
(1609-1660) Dutch
Self-Portrait
Oil on canvas, 29 3/8 x 25 5/8 inches, c. 1630
National Gallery of Art. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss

GOAL: 1) to introduce students to a woman painter who Students should note that Leyster is not simply seated
attained success and recognition at a time when obstacles before the easel to enjoy the painting of the fiddler. She is
facing women made such success extraordinary, 2) to prompt
clearly the maker of the image: she holds a palette with oil
consideration of how gender can inform value systems. paints laid out on it, a painter's cloth, and brushes ranging from
OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to: 1) understand very
self-large, to those capable of executing the finest detail. Some
portraiture as the result of conscious choices about how the
students might even note that while Leyster holds the brush as
artist perceives herself and how she wishes to be seen by if momentarily interrupted in the act of painting, the gesture
others, and 2) read Leyster's painting for clues it offers to the
can be simultaneously read as one of pointing to the fiddler, as if
artist's self-image and her sense of professional to assert her authorship. The compositional tie between
accomplishment. Leyster and the fiddler is strengthened by the correlation of the
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES: Observation and artist's hand holding the brush, with that of the fiddler, holding
Analysis: Before providing students with much informationthe bow of his instrument.
about the artist or the painting, let them simply respond to the Language, Ideology, and Gender: Discuss the terms
image. Ask students to consider the way Leyster has shown "Old Master" and "masterpiece" as used to refer to an esteemed
herself, as if pausing momentarily in the act of painting. What
artist of the past, or a great work of art. Although these terms
do her pose and facial expression suggest about her? What are often used without thinking about their origins and
about her clothing? Is there anything incongruous about theassociations, what do these terms imply about gender and art,
about gender and greatness?1 Why doesn't "Old Mistress"
idea of painting in such garb? If so, what possible explanations
constitute a meaningful feminine equivalent? Ask students if
for her finery can students come up with? What might Leyster
have wanted to convey to viewers through such attire? How they can think of commonly used terms that connote gender-
based ideologies (i.e.: mankind, craftsmanship, laundress). Do
can clothing provide a clue to character or social status? How
students object to some of these terms? Why? Students might
do students rely on clothing as a clue to the sensibilities of their
classmates or of other people they encounter? discuss how gender-based language can affect the meaning of

ART EDUCATION / SEPTEMBER 1994

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communication; they also might be asked to suggest words or
phrases that are more neutral.
Read students the following statements about Leyster
and ask them to discuss the assumptions about gender held
by the writers: "Judith Leyster, the most clever painter of her
sex in seventeenth century Holland..." [Seymour Slive, Frans
Hals, 1970]; 'The drawing is uncertain, the expression
rather sentimental and wooden (suggesting a woman's
work, perhaps Judith Leyster)..." [Anonymous, "Frans
Hals or....?" The Connoisseur, 1961]2
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Until late in the
nineteenth-century, those rare women who managed to paint
professionally were generally born into artistic families and,
thus, received their training from male relations who painted
for a living. Judith Leyster's development as an artist is
noteworthy for departing from this pattern. Her father owned a
brewery and was prosperous until a reversal of fortune forced
him to declare bankruptcy.

ANDREA MANTEGNA
(1431-1506) Italian; Padua
Judith and Holofernes
EggTempera on Poplar Panel, 117/8 x 71/8 inches, c. 1495
National Gallery of Art
Widener Collection

GOALS: to introduce students to a female hero who was a
popular subject in the visual arts from the Middle Ages through
the seventeenth century.
OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to: 1) discuss the
story of Judith and Holofernes and compare itto that of David
and Goliath, and consider gender roles in each; and 2) respond
to Andrea Mantegna's depiction of Judith.
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES: Relay the story of
Judith and Holoferes (see below). Based purely on the
narrative, how do students perceive Judith's act of heroism?
How do students judge the parallel act of the Israelite David
who, in order to defend his people, took his slingshot and killed
the Philistine giant Goliath? Does the sex of the protagonist vis a
vis the victim in each example influence the way students
perceive the respective slayings? Is the sex of the responding
students a determinant in how they perceive both Judith and
David? Students should consider whether their points of view
might be influenced by their own gender.
Observation and Analysis: Drawing upon visual evidence
to support their statements, ask students to assess the way
Andrea Mantegna portrayed Judith. What episode in the
narrative did Mantegna choose to interpret? Although the
severed head of Holoferes is clearly visible (and thus identifies
the subject), is Judith portrayed as gruesome? Or more
perhaps as stoic and resigned to her act? (If necessary, draw
attention to the ennobling effects of Mantegna's classicizing
style: the clear articulation of the figures and their weighty,
columnar presence; Judith's antique draperies; the stable,
pyramidal composition. Point out other ways Mantegna
dignifies Judith: her height, which is offset by the stooped
posture of her old servant; the framing device of the tent; etc).
Consider & Discuss: Judith is a paradoxical heroine
because she embodies heroic traits that have long been
considered antithetical to ideal feminine behavior. From the
late Middle Ages through the seventeenth century, when the
motif of Judith was most popular in art, European manuals of
conduct admonished women to be chaste, modest, silent, and
obedient Thus, Judith's heroism was defined by bold and
aggressive traits not allowed to real women.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Heroes and heroines
throughout history have functioned as ideal models for
personal conduct and as metaphors for civic identity. In
Renaissance Italy, figures such as Judith or David could
symbolize virtue triumphant over vice and often were adopted
as the patrons of leading families or as the emblems of city-
states determined to prevail over their enemies.
The Story of Judith and Holofernes is from the Apocrypha
of the Old Testament and concerns Judith of Bethulia, a
beautiful widow who saved her townspeople and the Israelite
nation by bringing about the defeat of their Assyrian enemies.
Determined to deceive and beguile the Assyrians, Judith put
aside her mourning garments and donned her finest attire,
dressed her hair, and scented her body. Accompanied by her
maid, she went to the enemy camp on the pretense of betraying
her people. They gained entrance and were allowed to come
and go on a daily basis, bringing their food with them in a sack.
On the fourth day, the Assyrian general, Holoferes, invited
Judith to dine with him in his tent In the course of the meal, he
began to desire her sexually but, having drunk too much wine,
Holoferes fell asleep. Judith took advantage of the moment and
severed the tyrants head with his own scimitar. Concealing the
head in their food sack, Judith and her servant left the camp as
usual. Itwas not until the Assyrians saw Holofernes' head on a
pole outside the walls of Bethulia that they learned of his
murder. Stunned, and confused without their leader, the
Assyrians were easily defeated by the Israelites.

SEPTEMBER 1994 / ART EDUCATION

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Judith and Holoferes, Andrea Mantegna, c. 1495, Wood//, .302 x .181 (11 7/8 x 71/8). National Gallery of Art,

Washington. Widener Collection.

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Daybreak:A Time to Rest, Jacob Lawrence, dated [19]67, Tempera on hardboard, 0.762 x 0.610 (30 x 24 in.).

National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of an Anonymous Donor.

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 JACOB LAWRENCE
(born 1917) American
Daybreak: A 7ime to Rest
Tempera on hardboard, 30 x 24 inches, 1967
National Gallery of Art

GOALS: 1) to familiarize students with a black female Lawrence's painting to black activism of the 1960s and the
heroine in American history. growing interest in African-American heritage?
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The Subject:
OBJECTIVES: Students will be able to: 1) discuss Harriet
'I'ubman's role in liberating slaves, 2) respond to Jacob Abolitionist Harriet Tubman was born a slave in Dorchester
Lawrence's depiction of Tubman, and 3) relate Iawrence'sCounty, Maryland, in 1820 or 1821. As a young woman she fled
interest in this heroine to the social context of the 1960s, and
North but, repeatedly risking her own freedom, returned to the
the civil rights movement. South to help others escape through the "underground railroad
INSIRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES: Observation and The Artist: As a black American imbued with a strong
Analysis: Before identifying the subject or providing the sense
title of history, Jacob Iawrence has focused his art on the
experience of blacks in this country-from their African
to students, ask them to look at the painting. Can they discern
heritage and the ordeals of slavery, through the civil rights
the human figures and some idea of space and setting within
Lawrence's boldly colored and abstracted composition? Do
movement and modern life in the inner city.
students know about Harriet Tubman and her heroic role in Iaybreak: A Time to Rest is one of a series of paintings
history? If not, relay narrative, so that students understandLawrence
that did on the life of Harriet Tubman. When, in 1967, h
was asked if he would produce a book for children, the painter
the painting depicts the sleeping fugitives, with Tubman lying
in the foreground, rifle readied. thought Harriet'I ubman would be appropriate for children
Ask students to comment upon Lawrence's portrayal ofbecause hers is a dramatic tale of flight and pursuit. But he al
Tubman and begin the process of interpreting the picturenoted:
based
on visual analysis. How does the painter visually convey herWe hear about Molly Pitcher,... about Betsy Ross.... The
heroic stature? Negro woman has never been included in American history.:
How do the enlarged, bare feet and hands contribute to thePublished in 1968, Harriet and the Promised Land included
expressive content of the picture? Do these heighten the seventeen illustrations based on Tubman's life. Because
emotional content? Do they denote that these people are certain restrictions were placed on the imagery of the book
laborers? Which of the other art works in this lesson is illustrations, Iawrence soon did a few paintings for himself on
the Tubman theme. In these he was able to suit himself and
concerned with the laboring class? Are similar visual elements
used, and if so, do they tend toward analogous expressiveaim for greater historical accuracy. For instance, the rifle in
ends?
Why might such a subject appeal to Iawrence? Can Daybreak: A Time for Rest had been eliminated from the
children's
students make any connections between the artist's choice of book to avoid the implication of violence. Tubman
actually
subject and the social and political issues facing Americans at carried a gun, and Lawrence included it prominently in
the time Lawrence painted this picture? Can they relate this painting.

KATHE KOLLWITZ
(1867-1945) German
Das Volk (he People)
Woodcut, 14 3/8 x 11 7/8 inches, 1922/23
National Gallery of Art
Rosenwald Collection

GOAL to introduce the work of an artist who came to see
her graphic art as a vehicle for social protest and reform.
ORJECTIVES: Students will be able to: 1) consider how
we often make unwarranted, gender-based assumptions, due to
the persistence of sexual stereotypes; and 2) understand the
social content of Kollwitz' prints as informed by her personal
life and by historical circumstances.
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES: Before providing any
information about the object or the artist, let students respond
to the image, perhaps asking them to provide a title for the work

ART EDUCATION ; SEPTEMBER 1994

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based on the associations it evokes. Based on the titles they
assign and other remarks, how do students perceive the figures
shown? Who are they? What do students read into the image?
Next, give students the print's actual title, and tell them that
Kollwitz intended it to stand as a universal icon of the misery
caused by war. Do they interpret the figures with any greater
specificity? How do they identify the foreground figure who
holds the child? Is this figure perceived as a woman? Or, even
more specifically, as motherto the child? Why is the figure
perceived in these terms? Does the image itself provide any
explicit evidence of gender? Ask students to consider why they
might have assumed the central figure was female and/or
mother. Discuss ways in which an understanding of gender
can sometimes influence assumptions about social roles and
personal relationships.
Tell students something about Kollwitz' personal
sympathies for those oppressed by class and economic
hardship, and for those who suffered, as she did, the loss of
loved ones during World War I. Students should consider
Kollwitz' vision of war as that typical for most women; that is,
she witnessed not the horrors of the battlefield, but the anguish
and emptiness of those left behind. In the context of WWI, the
gesture of the central, shrouded figure, enveloping the child,
may even suggest a silent vow to keep the next generation from
such bloodshed. Going further, one could read the cadaverous
faces-savagely cut into the wood printing block-as showing
not only grief, but advanced age; thus the image might be read
as depicting the very old and the very young-the populations
that typically comprise any postwar society.
Finally, students should consider how Kollwitz' handling of
the wood medium and the stark contrasts of black and white
relate to the content of her art. Also, how does the artist's
choice of printmaking as an artistic vehicle lend itself to her
social consciousness and advocacy of reform?
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The Subject: Das
Volk (the People), 1922/1923, is the last in a series of seven
woodcuts on the theme of war that emanate from Kollwitz'
experience of WWI, in which she lost one of her two sons.
The artist wrote of her intention with the War series: "I have
repeatedly attempted to give form to the war. I could never
grasp it. Now finally I have finished a series of woodcuts,
which in some measure say what I wanted to say... .These
sheets should travel throughout the entire world and should
tell all human beings comprehensively: that is how it was-
we have all endured that throughout these unspeakably
difficult years."4
The Artist: Kathe Kollwitz was born into an upper middle-
class family whose liberal views no doubt fostered her adult
concern with social injustice. After a few years studying art,
Kollwitz married a physician whose practice took them to live in
one of Berlin's worst industrial slums. His patients provided
Kollwitz with a close-up look at the hardships suffered by the
urban poor: unemployment, hunger, disease, and early death.
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Agricultural unrest inspired other graphic series. Some of
Kollwitz' works were so powerful and inflammatory they were
judged subversive and banned by the government.
Disastrous social conditions in Germany escalated after
WWI. Inflation was coupled with widespread unemployment.
Malnutrition was a serious problem; in 1923 almost a quarter of
the children in Berlin's elementary schools were underweight
and below normal height. All of this fueled Kollwitz' sense of
artistic mission.
Kollwitz had begun her career intending to become a
painter but, later, settled on the graphic arts.
FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
Art: 1) Ask students to look though magazines for
advertisements that reinforce sexual stereotypes; look in
particular for images that work to disempower women. 2) Ask
students to rank artistic categories hierarchically, imagining a
ladder with "fine" art at the top, and "craft," or "handicraft," at
the bottom. Next, ask them to place within the hierarchy-the
rungs on the ladder-the following categories: furniture; oil
painting; ceramics; sculpture; quilts; tapestries; watercolors;
prints. What values inform their ranking? Are any of these
categories more strongly associated with one sex? Is gender-
association a factor in their ranking?
General: 1) Ask students to bring to class newspaper or
magazine clippings that use gender-biased language, or that
make assumptions about people based on sexual stereotypes.
2) To what extent do students think that gender differences are
socially constructed? What arguments can they make for their
views? 3) Discuss people in the news, particularly women in
leadership roles whose stories involve sexual stereotyping or
"double standards" held for men and women.
What consequences do such incidents have for society at
large?
Julie Springer is Coordinator, Teacher Programs, National
Gallery ofArt, Washington, DC
lThe terms "master" and "masterpiece" grow out of the European
system for training artists. Beginning as an apprentice in the
workshop of an established painter, an artist undertook several
years of study, often as an itinerant working with different people.
An artist would finally apply for membership in a local guild, or
association of artisans. Acceptance into the guild, at which point
one became a "master," hinged on submission of an artwork that
demonstrated excellence; hence, the term "masterpiece."
2Quoted in the preface of Frima Hofrichter,Judith Ieyster: A Woman
Painter in Holland's Golden Age (I)oornspijk, the Netherlands
[19891).
3Comment made October 25, 1968; cited in Ellen Harkins Wheat,
Jacob Iawrence: American Painter Exhibition Catalogue (Seattle
Art Museum, Seattle 1986), 47.
"Cited in Elizabeth Prelinger, "Kollwitz reconsidered," in Kdthe
Kollwitz (exhibition catalogue, National (allery of Art,
Washington 1992), 58-59.
SEPTEMBER 1994 / ART EDUCATION
The People (Das Volk), KUthe Kollwitz, 1922/1923, woodcut, touched with white gouache, on japan paper [trial proot), plate 7 from 'War' (Klipstein 1955

183 iv v/v(trlal proot), image- 360 x 300 (14 1/8 x 11 13/16), sheet irregular) .375 x 363. National Gallery ot Art, Washington. Rosenwald Collection.

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