Paintings by Old Masters, Modern and Contemporary Artists. Virtual Art Gallery

Women and Music in Painting (16-18th c)

and a few words about women's education in late medieval England.

Thereat woman should have been a bit of everything: a musician and singer, dancer and artist in order to shine in society. Without that knowledge none, even the most beautiful girl, couldn't be any success. Teaching music was a significant component of the education of the women from noble families.

Pieter Angellis, A Musical Assembly (1719)

Bartolomeo Veneto, Lady Playing a Lute (about 1530)

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, La Ghirlandata (1873)

Dirk de Quade van Ravesteyn, Allegory of Music (ca 1600)

Thomas Wilmer Dewing, “The Lute” (1904)

Male dominance and male monopoly reigned in the educational system in the medieval England, which entirely ignored girls. Very few young ladies went to what could be described as a school, although most of them were homeschooled. The basis of their education was the same everywhere – beside religious studying girls learned to play a musical instrument and to sing, but most importantly – how to keep a successful household for your husband.

George Goodwin Kilburne (1839-1924), The New Spinet

J. Gougelet (19th century), The Music Lesson

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Veronica Veronese (1872)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Guitar Lesson, 1897

Thomas Wilmer Dewing, The Spinet (1902)

Carl Wilhelm Holsoe (1863-1935), A Lady Playing a Spinet

Jan Vermeer van Delft, A Lady Seated at a Virginal, c.1674

However, there were well-educated ladies in England of the 16th century . According to some researchers, they were only 15. Among them - Mary I of England (1516-58), the court ladies -- daughters of Sir Thomas More and the noblemen Anthony Cook, the Duke of Somerset. They were able to read in Greek and Latin languages, fluently speak French and Italian. They could sing, dance, play the lute and spinet. Lady Jane Gray ("The Nine Days' Queen" (1537-53) was famed for her exceptional abilities - at the age of six she learned Latin, Greek, Italian, Spanish and French. A few years later, she became fluent in Hebrew, Chaldean and Arabic.

Francois Boucher(1703-1770, The Music Lesson

Sabatini (18th century) - The Music Lesson

Pieter Codde, Galant Company (1633)

Casimir Van Den Daele (1818-1880,) Two Women Making Music

Francois-Hubert Drouais, Clothilde of France (1775), known as Madame Clothilde, queen of Sardinia

Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) had a reputation of a highly educated lady as being a princess she had been getting prepared for ruling the country. Every day for three hours she had been studying history, besides that she'd been learning astronomy, mathematics, logic, philosophy, architecture and poetry. She knew Latin and Greek, spoke French, Spanish, Italian. Queen Elizabeth could talk to several ambassadors from different countries in their own languages at the same time. Nobody could compare to her in the art of writing letters.

Educated women were respected and admired then.
However, in the second half of the 16th century the level of the female education in the country downgraded. After Elizabeth I who valued the educated women, the attitude towards them underwent a significant change: instead of the bygone admiration they have been subjected to scorn.

Gabriël Metsu, A Musical Party (1659)

Gerard ter Borch, The Music Lesson. Around 1670

Gabriel Metsu, Man and Woman Sitting at the Virginal

Louis Gauffier (1761-1801), Portrait of Elizabeth Vassal

Eduardo Leon Garrido (1856-1949), The Serenade

The disregard for the girls' education was noted even in the Royal family. James I of England (1566-1625) was quite sceptical about women's education: his favourite - Princess Elizabeth - spent outdoors most of the time foxhunting or horse riding with her brother. Her education was limited to the ability to communicate in French and Italian and singing and dancing. Mary II of England (1662–1694) was considered a perfectly educated lady. Although, despite her interest in architecture, gardening, collecting porcelain, embroidery, and poetry, she was quite bad at spelling.
In the National Library of the Hague, Koninklijke bibliotheek, there's a gift edition of the Bible with an inscription made by the hand of the Queen and with a number of spelling errors.

Her younger sister Anne of England, Scotland and Ireland wasn't too different. Her knowledge of history and geography, as well as art and literature, was disappointing. The British historian Christopher Hibbert noted her dull and devoid of emotion speech. She used to liven up when food was being served; also she loved card games and races, and could talk tirelessly about fashion or the vicissitudes of weather. She used her excellent memory exclusively only to memorize the court etiquette. Occupying the highest office in the State, Queen Anne did not completely understand what was happening in the world and in her own kingdom.

Marguerite Gerard, a Portrait of a Musician. Before 1803

Albert Glibert (1832-1917), Interior With Musicians

Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Ann Marie Bezin with Guitar (1758)

William Holman Hunt (1827-1910), Bianca.

Rose-Adelaide Ducreux, Self-Portrait with a Harp (ca. 1790)

In the 17th century feudal England gradually turned into a bourgeois state, which affected the educational system in the country.

The first boarding schools for girls from "decent families" opened on the outskirts of London in the early century. They were a supplement to home education for the girls from 5 to 16 years old. By the end of the century private schools appeared in many major cities throughout the country. One year at school cost around £21, sometimes more - depending on the level of the establishment. Sometimes after completing the course the students traveled abroad to learn history, culture and architecture of other countries.

In the medieval universities women were not allowed.