Spinning the thread, weaving the web: Images of women spinning and weaving in Western art

The purpose of this study has been to identify and collate an iconographical theme which has received very little attention from art historians. This paper is an iconographical study of a corpus of Western visual images of female spinners and weavers. It is an integration and examination of the iconographical motifs of women spinning and weaving which identifies them as related and recurrent artistic themes for the first time. The images addressed span the Western prehistoric through modern periods. Images of women spinning and weaving are acknowledged as important and rare visualizations of women of the past working as artists. They are studied for their symbolism, iconography and visualizations of attitudes towards women's creativity.;Throughout the ages women worked as spinners and weavers and were depicted in art as such. The recurrent images of female spinners and weavers were often more than depictions of occupations, they were used to symbolize female creativity and artistic expression. They also associated women with nature, as spinning and weaving were forms traditionally considered more natural or physical rather than intellectual or cultural. Spinning and weaving were associated with female generation of life and seen as manifestations of women's creative nature. Within the context of related literature and traditions the paper examines some of the negative Western attitudes towards female creativity which are reflected in visual images of women spinning and weaving.;The study has focused on images of domestic spinning and weaving and has not addressed those of industrial or commercial spinning and weaving. It was the lone domestic female spinner and/or weaver which was used as a symbol of female creativity. The image recurred many times, in the guise of goddesses, saints, legendary women, and ordinary women, many of which are addressed in the paper. Chapters two through four examine examples of images and their symbolism from ancient times through the nineteenth century. The fifth chapter is a discussion of possible interpretations of the images for women today and looks at the work of select modern women artists who have reclaimed their spinning and weaving heritage either as iconography or as methods of working.