Michaelina Wautier Finally Known by Her Name

"The most remarkable aspect of the Royal Academy's newly opened monographic exhibition on Michaelina Wautier is its rediscovery of a talent on a par with the likes of Van Dyck and Rubens."

"Wautier is an art-historical anomaly; working in mid-17th-century Brussels, she spans wide genres from flower pieces to portraiture all the way up to grand, male-dominated history painting, excelling throughout."

"Women were excluded from studio art classes, and therefore access to live nude models; despite Wautier signing two of her pieces 'invenit et fecit', historical appraisals denied her authorship based on the improbability of a woman so accurately rendering the twisting nude flesh."

Michaelina Wautier, a 17th-century artist, was misattributed to male painters for centuries despite her remarkable talent. The Royal Academy's exhibition highlights her versatility across genres, including history painting, which defied societal norms that confined women to lower genres. Wautier's work was often credited to her brother, and her authorship was denied due to the improbability of a woman mastering the male-dominated art world. Her painting 'The Triumph of Bacchus' exemplifies this misattribution, as it was long believed to be created by a male artist.

Read at Hyperallergic