The Italian Renaissance, which spanned over the years 1350 until about 1550, is usually defined as a rebirth, focusing on the revival of classical learning and an exhilarating sense of renewed human potential in the moral, political and creative spheres. This revival was accepted into the lives of bankers, merchants, and clerics however, it was the two institutions of the nobility and the church that played a key role in the dissemination and development of Renaissance ideas and values. These two institutions recognized sexual values which had tremendous influences on the innovative Renaissance painting and sculpture, the most important value was declared the familial one. Weddings and births were causes for great celebration and artists would create pieces to commemorate such occasions. The triumphant scene following a woman's achievement in birth is illustrated in a famous painting by Masaccio called A Birth Scene (1426). It shows a traditional birth scene with midwives bathing the infant and visits from female friends and relations (Welch, 287). It is interesting to note that these works of art were only commissioned for the birth of a son, rather than a daughter. The artwork commiserating marriage and birth were hung in palaces announcing to privileged visitors that the palace-owners had fulfilled their duty to the city; he was a dominant male, and his wife had proved an obedient fertile mother. .
The Renaissance government strove to control the sexual identity of women through a legislative dress code in order to ensure the subordination of the female gender. Sumptuary laws were passed in an attempt to limit the number of gowns women might own, the cost of her fabrics and ornaments, and even to restrict the depth of the décolletage on dresses. Government official patrolled the streets, looking for women who had breached these laws. They were to remind these women that their sole duty was to subordinate their husbands and bear their children instead of spending their money on suggestive dresses and ornaments (Tannahill, 284).
