Gendered Style in Italian Art Criticism from Michelangelo to Malvasia

摘要: ID THE CONCEPT OF STYLE have gender? Were the styles of particular Renaissance painters considered to gendered qualities by contemporary critics? Because gender permeated rhetorical and philological foundations art criticism, it can provide a useful interpretive lens examine critical arsenal writers on art, their attitudes toward style subterranean bias language. Feminist history has grappled with more in terms iconography, biography, or patronage following social agenda analyze misogynist past remedy marginalization women modern historiography.' An exceptional study Elizabeth Cropper I976 broached question aesthetics reconstituting complex love beauty that converged treatises beautiful women.2 The dominant premise her work, one is rigorously documented, literary pictorial ideals feminine were part constructed set beliefs most clearly articulated women. studied ideal embodiment its natural place-the female body adornments coiffure, jewelry, clothing-and too few studies *This article, first given as lecture at Institute for Advanced Study, derives from larger project definitions stylistic terminology Italian criticism 1550-1750 been funded Social Sciences Humanities Research Council Canada. I am grateful Irving Lavin invitation Institute, where this article was written, Norberto Gramaccini, Jack Greenstein, Alessandro Nova, colleagues who discussed work read drafts during year. Cristelle Baskins, Cropper, Lea Mendelsohn, Giovanna Perini, Mary Pardo, Richard Spear, Genevieve Warwick gave generously scarce time great knowledge; attentive readings often challenging comments enormously improved article. 'The literature area growing fast cannot be summarized here. For recent reviews, see Gouma-Peterson Mathews, 326-57; Broude Garrard, 1-25.