Women Who Ruled: Queens, Goddesses, Amazons in Renaissance and Baroque Art [Hardcover]

Annette Dixon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2002

A fascinating examination of a variety of female archetypes, from seductress to warrior, as represented in more than 90 paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures and decorative-arts pieces from the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This volume joins a number of other recent exhibition catalogs that explore the representations of women in art during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. By focusing on female rulers, Dixon (curator of Western art, Univ. of Michigan Museum of Art) and three other scholars examine how female power was portrayed and constructed in the visual images of the period. Considering paintings, prints, sculptures, coins, and decorative enamels, the various essays demonstrate how representations from literature, mythology, and history were appropriated and became propagandist images of female power. For example, both Marie de Medici of France and Queen Christina of Sweden utilized the image of the goddess Minerva, which in turn transformed them into political metaphors of female power and wisdom. Most challenging is the deconstructivist essay by scholar Mieke Bal, who critiques the whole idea of this exhibition by explaining that in our misogynist visual culture, the concept of a woman who rules cannot be conceived of at all. Nicely complementing David Alan Brown's focus on Renaissance period women in Virtue and Beauty and Keith Christiansen's recent look at an important Baroque woman artist in Orazio and Artemesia Gentileschi, this very original and thoughtful catalog is recommended for academic libraries that support art history or women's studies programs. Sandra Rothenberg, Framingham State Coll., MA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Annette Dixon is Curator of Western Art at the University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Merrell (February 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1858941660
• ISBN-13: 978-1858941660
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,087,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars pandering and full of stereotypes, February 13, 2003

By 

Andrea Mellon (Yale University) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women Who Ruled: Queens, Goddesses, Amazons in Renaissance and Baroque Art (Hardcover)

In "Women Who Ruled: Queens, Goddesses, Amazons in Renaissance and Baroque Art" it as if I were seeing Rashoman without ever getting to the final viewpoint that ties it all together and actually gives the woman's version of events. There is no continuity of thought or purpose. The writing is, for the most part, very conservative and relies on pigeonholing women into the usual stereotypical roles, virgin, whore, mother, etc. The ideas put forward of power being of the utmost importance, calls into question the authors priorities. Perhaps they are simply pandering to an audience, giving them what they want to hear. All power is not positive, neither are all powerful women.

Overall it was an unpleasant experience to read this book. The authors use the sort of language that speaks to academia and no one else. It fails to engage the reader throughout and then abruptly ends. It is a convoluted text with little relevance.
Pick up Art and Feminism by Helena Reckitt and Peggy Phelan instead.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poorly written and conceived text, no insight, February 20, 2003

By 

Erwin Hodges (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women Who Ruled: Queens, Goddesses, Amazons in Renaissance and Baroque Art (Hardcover)

I have to agree with the other reviews of "Women Who Ruled". I visited the exhibition here at the University of Michigan last spring and enjoyed the exhibition, so I purchased the book hoping to gain some insight from the curator. Unfortunately, Annette Dixon, the curator at UM, seems to rely too heavily on other texts as the basis for her writing. There is not much in the way of personal opinion derived from first hand observation of the artwork itself. Much of the iconography,of which I would have enjoyed having some analysis, was completely ignored. What I got in it's place was watered down, cloyingly academic essays that took no positions, offered no opinions, and sat on the proverbial fence.
Fortunately there is an essay by Mieke Bal. From her writing, I can tell that at least she has strong opinions and is not afraid to voice them. It is too bad she did not write the whole text, instead of Dr. Dixon.
Overall it is a staid, stale, intellectually unadventerous exercise. The University of Michigan should be ashamed by putting out such a poorly conceived and written book. I hope they will learn from their mistakes and publish texts that are better companions to their exhibitions.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Coffee table book - a must-not read, February 6, 2003

By 

Helen Eriksen (Baltimore, Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Women Who Ruled: Queens, Goddesses, Amazons in Renaissance and Baroque Art (Hardcover)

I had high hopes for this book but the writing is deplorable. Granted the illustrations are nice, but the essays, Ms. Dixon's in particular cycle over the same material again and again and never lead to any conclusions or opinions. It is if it was written by committee and total number of words was more important than content. There is no personal voice, no direction, no apparent humanity. Most of the useable content here is available elsewhere, and better written, more concise, and more thought through. At the end you are left knowing less than when you started. Save your time!