Christine de Pizan in Her Study, for The Queen's Manuscript
Christine de Pizan was a French intellectual and author working during the Mid to Late Middle Ages period. She was one of the first female authors of the world's literature. Throughout her writing she chooses to concentrate on topics like education, politics, literature, and, the role of women in society during this time period. The majority of Christine's writings, including some of her most recognized pieces, were added into The Queen's Manuscript which was a book created specifically for Queen Isabeau of Bavaria. In this image, Christine is depicted sitting in her study, deep in thought, and she is actively writing. This overall expresses the importance of her identity as a creative and educated author.
I chose this example as it is a great example of how visual imagery and literacy works together to communicate information, as we learned this week in class. It is important to understand that manuscript books did not rely strictly on written language or typography, they used illustrations, decoration based items, and layout to help readers interpret the narrative they were conveying. This image is a good example as the words Christine included were purposely reinforced by the imagery that presents her as someone who reads, writes, and creates. It proves that an image doesn't need text accompanying it in order for it to tell the story.
I find it interesting that Christine's personal interests in being an author, emphasizing education, and understanding women's representation in society became such a huge part of her design work. She does not just represent women, but she represents women creating knowledge. To me, this challenges the traditional ideas about femininity by showing that women are as active intellectually and creatively as the rest of the population. Christine was able to successfully use her design strategies throughout this manuscript to influence how society views women. This emphasizes the idea that women designers have continued to use their personal interests and experiences to reshape their artworks.
