Article Review: Why Have There Been No Great Female Artists?

The article "Why Have There Been No Great Female Artists?" was written by a famous American art historian named Linda Nochlin. Throughout my reading of this article, it became clear that it focuses on the history and theory of feminist art. The author begins the piece with a declaration of her will to take a different feminist stance from the recent feminist activities. Linda Nochlin drives most of her argument by appealing to the emotions of the reader and providing historical investigations.

Examining Female Artists in Modern Society

In the article, Linda begins by pointing out several important issues that women face in modern society. She then states that we should avoid judging women, and instead look at the history of how female artists are perceived in the art industry (Nochlin and Linda 54). Linda also talks about the semi-religious commencements of artists up until the 19th Century.

Stereotypical Roles and Expectations of Women

You will always find notable artists with sentimentalized success stories, those who have worked to rise out of poverty and succeeded against all the odds (Nochlin and Linda 43). Linda also discusses the stereotypical role of women in society, especially in aristocratic circles. She states that the expectations of women do not leave them time to practice and develop as artists.

Equality Between Female and Male Artists

Linda also challenges the idea that female artists are different from male artists. It is a redundant idea nowadays because we know that there are plenty of great women, artists, musicians, actors, etc. There are also historical women writers, like Sylvia Plath, whose writing ability can stand against most male writing of the era (Parker, Rozsika and Griselda 98). In this case and many more, female artists can easily be equated to male artists in their respective periods.

Lack of Opportunities for Women in Art

Linda Nochlin also notes that the reason as to why there are no great women in art is due to the lack of opportunities for women in the art industry. Notably, it is incorrect to argue that art is any different from any other job which requires decent prospects and training (Haynes, Rachael, and Courtney 76). Art institutions are historically not as accepting to women as they are to men. Most up and coming artists in the past were men. It is also worth noting that only men in the family could learn art and that art school accepted only male students. From the article, one will realize that women who could train art came from extremely wealthy families. These women could only study art as a hobby and not as a stable career.

The Impact of Training Opportunities

According to Linda Nochlin, the lack of these training opportunities are the reason why great female artists do not exist. Female artists were not able to learn the language of art or its evolution in the past. Presently, with new technological prospects, anybody could become an artist, and we've seen more and more female artists rise in the industry. And to understand feminist art fully, one must understand the historical context under which it was born.