EUR  â¬237.60EUR  â¬198.00 excl. VAT
Heroines, Harpies, and Housewives
Imaging Women of Consequence in the Dutch Golden Age
Series: - Brill's Studies in Intellectual History, Volume: 312/45
- Brill's Studies on Art, Art History, and Intellectual History, Volume: 312/45
Author:
Co-Honorable Mention for the 2021 Book Award by the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender (SSEMWG)
In Heroines, Harpies, and Housewives, Martha Moffitt Peacock provides a novel interpretive approach to the artistic practice of Imaging Women of Consequence in the Dutch Golden Age. From the beginnings of the new Republic, visual celebrations of famous heroines who crossed gender boundaries by fighting in the Revolt against Spain or by distinguishing themselves in arts and letters became an essential and significant cultural tradition that reverberated throughout the long seventeenth century. This collective memory of consequential heroines who equaled, or outshone, men is frequently reflected in empowering representations of other female archetypes: authoritative harpies and noble housewives. Such enabling imagery helped in the structuring of gender norms that positively advanced a powerful female identity in Dutch society.
In Heroines, Harpies, and Housewives, Martha Moffitt Peacock provides a novel interpretive approach to the artistic practice of Imaging Women of Consequence in the Dutch Golden Age. From the beginnings of the new Republic, visual celebrations of famous heroines who crossed gender boundaries by fighting in the Revolt against Spain or by distinguishing themselves in arts and letters became an essential and significant cultural tradition that reverberated throughout the long seventeenth century. This collective memory of consequential heroines who equaled, or outshone, men is frequently reflected in empowering representations of other female archetypes: authoritative harpies and noble housewives. Such enabling imagery helped in the structuring of gender norms that positively advanced a powerful female identity in Dutch society.
Martha Moffitt Peacock is Professor of Art History and Curatorial Studies at Brigham Young University. She has recently published âThe Maid of Holland and Her Heroic Heiressesâ in Women and Gender in the Early Modern Low Countries, 1500-1750 (Brill, 2019).
Heroines, Harpies, and Housewives has been awarded Co-Honorable Mention for the 2021 Book Award by the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender (SSEMWG). The awards committee stated that the book âoffers a convincing counter analysis to scholarship emphasizing the display of patriarchy in Dutch art produced in the seventeenth century. The book employs the female archetypes of heroines, harpies, and housewives to emphasize the overlapping discourses that privileged womenâs place and society and revealed anxieties about womenâs influence. Through exploration of images and texts, this study highlights the unique combination of factors that allowed women in the Netherlands to achieve and perpetuate greater social and cultural independence.â
âa timely study that reflects revived scholarly interest in female patrons, artists, and the economic and social contributions of women in the seventeenth-century Netherlands [...]. Peacock reveals that combative women became celebrated agents of female legacy by challenging female archetypes. Her research persuasively elides this sentiment with the reception of female intellectuals and painters, as well as the literary and lived experiences of a wide range of powerful women in the Dutch Republic. Each chapter of this book can be read individually, but all three work well collectively.â
Laura E. Thiel-Convery, Toronto. In: HNA Reviews, August 2021.
âa timely study that reflects revived scholarly interest in female patrons, artists, and the economic and social contributions of women in the seventeenth-century Netherlands [...]. Peacock reveals that combative women became celebrated agents of female legacy by challenging female archetypes. Her research persuasively elides this sentiment with the reception of female intellectuals and painters, as well as the literary and lived experiences of a wide range of powerful women in the Dutch Republic. Each chapter of this book can be read individually, but all three work well collectively.â
Laura E. Thiel-Convery, Toronto. In: HNA Reviews, August 2021.
Contents
Acknowledgments
List of Illustrations
1 Introduction
â1.1âPurpose and Scope
â1.2âIndicting Patriarchy
â1.3âFemale Agency and Autonomy
â1.4âDid Women Have Power in the Dutch Republic?
â1.5âReinterpreting Images of Heroines, Harpies, and Housewives
2 Heroines
â2.1âThe Gendered Culture and History of the Dutch Revolt
â2.2âKenau Simonsdr. Hasselaer (1526â1588) and the Women of Haarlem
â2.3âTrijn van Leemput (c. 1530â1607) and the Women of Utrecht
â2.4âTrijn Rembrands (c. 1557â1638) and the Women of Alkmaar
â2.5âMagdalena Moons (1541â1613) and the Women of Leiden
â2.6âMore Women Warriors
â2.7âThe Heroine Legacy
â2.8âStructuring the Cultural Heroine
â2.9âAnna Maria van Schurman (1607â1678): Her Network and Influence
â2.10âFashioning Other Women Artists
3 Harpies
â3.1âThe Humorous Battle of the Sexes
â3.2âViolent and Domineering Women
â3.3âHeroines Inspire Harpies
â3.4âBeating the Drunk
â3.5âHusbands Caught with Courtesans
â3.6âThe Battle for the Trousers
â3.7âFemale Tyranny
â3.8âFemale Domination and Feared Despotism
â3.9âHarpies in Decline
4 Housewives
â4.1âFemale Power and Agency
â4.2âPatriarchy and Womenâs Work
â4.3âGeertruydt Roghman (1625âc. 1651): Her Innovations and Influence
â4.4âThe Allure of the Domestic
â4.5âWomen and Civic Institutions
â4.6âWomen and the Economy
â4.7âConsumer Housewives
â4.8âConclusion
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
List of Illustrations
1 Introduction
â1.1âPurpose and Scope
â1.2âIndicting Patriarchy
â1.3âFemale Agency and Autonomy
â1.4âDid Women Have Power in the Dutch Republic?
â1.5âReinterpreting Images of Heroines, Harpies, and Housewives
2 Heroines
â2.1âThe Gendered Culture and History of the Dutch Revolt
â2.2âKenau Simonsdr. Hasselaer (1526â1588) and the Women of Haarlem
â2.3âTrijn van Leemput (c. 1530â1607) and the Women of Utrecht
â2.4âTrijn Rembrands (c. 1557â1638) and the Women of Alkmaar
â2.5âMagdalena Moons (1541â1613) and the Women of Leiden
â2.6âMore Women Warriors
â2.7âThe Heroine Legacy
â2.8âStructuring the Cultural Heroine
â2.9âAnna Maria van Schurman (1607â1678): Her Network and Influence
â2.10âFashioning Other Women Artists
3 Harpies
â3.1âThe Humorous Battle of the Sexes
â3.2âViolent and Domineering Women
â3.3âHeroines Inspire Harpies
â3.4âBeating the Drunk
â3.5âHusbands Caught with Courtesans
â3.6âThe Battle for the Trousers
â3.7âFemale Tyranny
â3.8âFemale Domination and Feared Despotism
â3.9âHarpies in Decline
4 Housewives
â4.1âFemale Power and Agency
â4.2âPatriarchy and Womenâs Work
â4.3âGeertruydt Roghman (1625âc. 1651): Her Innovations and Influence
â4.4âThe Allure of the Domestic
â4.5âWomen and Civic Institutions
â4.6âWomen and the Economy
â4.7âConsumer Housewives
â4.8âConclusion
Bibliography
Index
All levels of readers interested in Dutch art and culture of the Golden Age. All levels of readers interested in the study of early modern women. Keywords: art, history, culture, seventeenth century, 1550-1750, early modern women, gender, Kenau Simonsdr. Hasselaer, Anna Maria van Schurman, domestic sphere, protofeminism, genre painting, portraiture, women artists.