A Look at the Meaning of Needlework in 17th Century Northern Europe by Jenna Garrison AAH 220
S titchy Situation is a non-profit organi-
zation that supports women of all ages who are recovering from involvement in sex slavery, prostitution, and sexual abuse. Our vision is to see these women find physical, spiritual, and mental healing, and then become skilled in a respectable craft or trade. All profits of Stitchy Situation products sold are given directly to the recovery and development of the women. Our organization’s name and designs are inspired by the redemptive value attributed to needlework in 17th Century Northern Europe during the Protestant Reformation.
T he Protestant Reformation in Northern Europe spread educational and domestic ideology. The home was a sphere that acquired a great deal of importance in the second half of the 17th century. The subject matter of painting changed with rising prosperity, and patrons began to ask for art to decorate their homes. Painting as a result, began to depicting everyday life; painting the activities of women and children, as well as men. Scenes of Dutch domesticity flourished and women were among the most frequently depicted topics. Paintings reflected concepts that were important to the Dutch, such as family, privacy, intimacy, comfort, and luxury. As Northern Europe prospered, women’s sexuality became exploited for money. Painting themes of prostitution and propositions provided a great vehicle for teaching morals. The artwork started to have more than just material worth, but also began to be used to instill and
enforce Christian values. The virtuous domestic woman, who furthered the smooth running of society, was an image of crafting and working. More and more, paintings featured women engaged in needlework, sewing, embroidery, or lace making. “Representations of women spinning in Dutch art increasingly refer not to the profession of cloth production, as do those of men weaving, but to the moral character of the spinner and the domestic nature of the activity”. The sign of female virtue was the spindle. According to Northern European ideology, women’s animal instincts could only be controlled by marriage and domesticity. The objective in training young women in the domestic arts was to develop diligent habits, which would keep them safe from falling into idleness. Idleness was seen as the gateway to dangerous temptations. Moralists endorsed needlework to combat any threats to the virtue of a young woman. Erasmus of Rotterdam, the
leading Dutch humanist of the sixteenth century says of needlework, “the distaff and the spindle are in truth the tools of all women and suitable for avoiding idleness”. Consequently, there was an elevation of domestic work to an almost sacral status. Embroidery traditionally is shown in representations of the Education of the Virgin. There are numerous prints, manuals, and sermons that contributed to the process of sanctifying the home as a refuge against the evils of the world. Thus, sewing and lace making were seen as industrious, domestic virtues, and needlework was regarded was symbolically seen in both literature and art as the major component of a girl’s proper education and virtuousness. This shift became evident in the relationship between artist and observer. While in Italian art, the central image is the nude, Dutch painting shows women in everyday activities and occupations. While prior
paintings showed women gazing at the observer or allowing herself to be an object to be viewed, these Dutch paintings featured women absorbed in their work. According to Chadwick, the painters “allowed woman her own self-possession, her own unavailability to control by another’s gaze”.
A n example is A Woman Sewing by Can-
dlelight by Judith Leyster. In Sewing by Candlelight, also titled Man Offering Money to a Young Woman, a powerful scene is set of temptation and resistance. A woman is working by candlelight, hunched over sewing. A man has approached her from behind, touching her shoulder and holding out coins. This image is typical for brothel scenes, but here the woman does not appear to be a prostitute, and she certainly does not even respond to the man’s advances. Whether or not the man’s intentions
are honorable, he is seeking the woman’s favor at night by candlelight. To defend the claim that morals were continually enforced through art using a similar piece to Leyster’s, Spiegel van den Ouden ende Niuwen Tyt by Jacob Cats, published in 1632. An emblem entitled ‘No pearl should be bought at night/ no lover should be sought by candlelight’, warns the reader to avoid making important decisions at night. The private encounter between the man and woman in Leyster’s painting is dramatically heightened by the use of artificial light. The lamp adds a degree of intimacy, while illuminating the woman’s needlework. It also sheds light on the intentions of their encounter, showing the glimmer of coins in the man’s hand. The dramatic shadow behind him makes him seem to be more of a presence in the room. Needlework and lace making were viewed quite differently depending on what class you belonged to. While these skills have
for a long time been an occupation of the upper-class women, needlework became somewhat of a redemptive activity for rebellious girls. It was used to teach orphan girls domestic values and give them appropriate employment. Needlework became associated with charity. Poor girls could earn a living from lacework, and from this point on lace making was largely done in orphanages and charitable institutions.
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