"Being a woman in a male-dominated field is part of the answer, but there has also long been confusion about what she painted and who she actually was. Recently, there has been 'a general revisiting of the work of women throughout historical periods,' independent art advisor Emma Kronman told me. 'We know that women played key roles in the making of and the business of art for centuries, but much of that work has come down to us anonymously or incorrectly attributed to men.'"
"Her intricately detailed pictures show that she was a trailblazer, challenging the constraints placed on female painters of her era by ranging beyond portraiture to tackle a wide range of subjects, from still lifes to sweeping allegorical scenes."
Michaelina Wautier (c. 1614-1689) was a Flemish Baroque painter whose exceptional talent was overshadowed for centuries due to her gender and historical confusion about her identity and works. Recent scholarship has revealed her as a trailblazer who transcended the limitations imposed on female artists by exploring diverse subjects beyond portraiture. A major exhibition at Vienna's Kunsthistoriches Museum, traveling to London's Royal Academy of Arts in March, has brought renewed attention to her luminous, intricately detailed paintings. Her rediscovery reflects a broader contemporary reassessment of women artists whose contributions were historically anonymous or misattributed to men. Auction records demonstrate growing market recognition, with her works commanding significantly higher prices in recent years.
#flemish-baroque-art #women-artists #art-historical-recovery #17th-century-painting #michaelina-wautier
Read at Artnet News
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]