Humanism, Patronage and the Question of Women's Artistic Genius in the Italian Renaissance

Abstract Women have generally been excluded from the ranks of artistic genius in western art. Several authors have pointed to the structural constraints that have prevented women from breaching the ranks of the Great. (Greer 1979; Sutherland Harris and Nochlin 1976; Broude and Garrard 1982; Peterson and Wilson 1976; Fine 1978; Nochlin 1973). To structural constraints, must be added the development, use and elaboration of the concept of genius itself as an important impediment for women. The initial formulation of the concept of artistic genius in fifteenth century Italy provided the foundation for the subsequent gendered conception of artistic genius. An investigation of the humanists’ development of the concept, and its use by the new men of power in fifteenth century Italy, provides an example of the manner in which the symbolic creation of everyday life was appropriated by a particular social strata in response to, and in the refinement of, changed power relations among men, that resulted in adverse consequences for women. The focus of this study is two‐fold; first an examination of the development of the concept of artistic genius as an important part of the symbolic legitimation of the power and status of a distinct social group. Secondly, an examination of the manner in which the formulation of the concept provided the basic framework for the later gendered approach to the practice and evaluation of art in western societies.