Johanna Vergouwen, after Anthony van Dyck, Samson and Delilah, 1673; Oil on copper, 32 5/8 x 41 3/4 in.; Museo Nacional de San Carlos Collection, INBAL, Secretaría de Cultura, Mexico City, inv. SIGROPAM 9219
Photographer: Acervo Museo Nacional de San Carlos, INBAL, Secretaría de Cultura
A dramatic painting depicts a group of men pulling a bearded, half-naked man from a bed, while a woman in white and red sheets tries to hold him back. Soldiers, a dog, and onlookers fill the classical setting.
Maria Schalcken, Self-Portrait in Her Studio, ca. 1680; Oil on panel, 17 3/8 x 13 3/8 in.; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Donation of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of The Center for Netherlandish Art, inv. 2019.2094
Photographer: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
A woman in historical clothing sits at an easel, painting a landscape. She looks at the viewer, pointing at her artwork. The scene is set indoors with dark drapery and a shelf in the background.
Judith Leyster, Self-Portrait, ca. 1630; Oil on canvas, 29 3/8 x 25 5/8 in.; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss, 1949.6.1
Photographer: National Gallery of Art, Washington
A woman in 17th-century attire sits at an easel, holding brushes and a palette, painting a man playing the violin. She wears a lace ruff and looks toward the viewer with a slight smile.
Wallerant Vaillant, Portrait of Maria van Oosterwijck, 1671; Oil on canvas, 37 3/4 x 30 3/4 in.; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, SK-A-1292
Photographer: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
A woman in a yellow dress sits holding an open book in one hand and a painter’s palette with brushes in the other, against a dark background with a red chair.
Sleeve fragment of bobbin lace, Flemish, 1740–50; Bobbin lace, 13 1/2 x 11 1/2 in.; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Henrietta Seligman Lace Collection, bequest of Mrs. Jesse Seligman, 1910; inv. 10.102.31
Photographer: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
A piece of intricate, white lace features floral patterns and an embroidered scene of a building with trees in the center, set against a dark gray background.
Quiringh van Brekelenkam, Interior with a Woman Teaching Three Girls Lacemaking, 1654; Oil on panel, 24 1/2 x 34 in.; Private Collection
Photographer: Sotheby's
Three women in a 17th-century room sew and work at a table near tall windows, while a child sits on a chair with its back turned. Sunlight illuminates the simple, domestic interior scene.
Nicolaes Maes, The Lacemaker, ca. 1656; Oil on canvas, 16 3/8 x 20 3/4 in.; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Friedsam Collection, bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931, inv. 32.100.5
Photographer: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
A woman sits indoors near a window, focused on lace-making, while a small child in a high chair looks forward. A pitcher and bowl are on a red-draped table beside them, with toys on the floor.
Unidentified artist, Young Woman Drawing, 17th century; Oil on canvas, 10 5/8 x 8 7/8 in.; Philadelphia Museum of Art, John G. Johnson Collection, 1917, inv. 506
Photographer: Philadelphia Museum of Art
A young woman in a white dress and shawl sits indoors, intently sewing fabric. She holds a needle and embroidery hoop, with papers and cloth on a small table nearby. The light softly illuminates her profile.
Anna Maria van Schurman, French Translation of the New Testament, ca. 1600–50; Embroidered book binding, 4 3/8 x 2 x 2 3/8 in.; Museum Martena
Photographer: Museum Martena
A round, black-framed medallion featuring a carved portrait of a person with shoulder-length hair and period clothing on a brown, circular background; the frame has visible cracks.
Clara Peeters, A Still Life of Lilies, Roses, Iris, Pansies, Columbine, Love-in-a-Mist, Larkspur and Other Flowers in a Glass Vase on a Tabletop, Flanked by a Rose and a Carnation, ca. 1610; Oil on wood panel, 19 1/2 x 13 1/4 x 2 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay; Photo by Lee Stalsworth
Photographer: Lee Stalsworth
Realistic and detailed, a dramatic still-life painting features a large arrangement of varied, brightly colored flowers in a dark, round vase against a dark background. The vase sits on a stone ledge with two stray pink roses lying in the foreground.
Rachel Ruysch, Roses, Convolvulus, Poppies, and Other Flowers in an Urn on a Stone Ledge, ca. late 1680s; Oil on canvas, 42 1/2 x 33 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay; Photo by Lee Stalsworth
Photographer: Lee Stalsworth
An elaborate floral arrangement painted with precise detail appears dramatically spot lit against a dark background. Large red and pink blooms dominate, interspersed with small yellow, white, and blue blossoms and varied foliage. Moths and other insects animate the bouquet.
Clara Peeters, Still Life of Fish and Cat, after 1620; Oil on panel, 13 1/2 x 18 1/2 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay
A orange ceramic colander holds several types of fish of varying sizes that lie stacked. In the foreground, a cat stands alert with its paws on a yellow fish. In front of the colander, a gleaming pewter dish holds shrimp and oyster shells. The surfaces all reflect and shine.
Judith Leyster, The Concert, ca. 1633; Oil on canvas, 24 x 34 1/4 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay
Painting of a trio of smiling musicians. On the left, a man wears a large black hat and plays the violin. On the right sits a man in orange wearing a feathered hat and playing the mandolin. In the center sits a woman dressed in black, opening her mouth in song.
Aleida Wolfsen, Portrait of Geertruida Dorothea van Goltstein, ca. 1677–83; Oil on canvas, 22 5/8 x 19 1/4 in.; Museum Arnhem, inv. GM 02065
Photographer: Museum Arnhem
An oil painting of a woman with brown hair, wearing a blue and white dress, pearl necklace, and holding flowers, seated beside a stone ledge, set against a dark natural background in an ornate gold frame.
Maria Sibylla Merian, Plate 18 from Dissertation in Insect Generations and Metamorphosis in Surinam, 2nd edition, 1719; Hand-colored engraving on paper, 20 1/4 x 14 1/2 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay; Photo by Lee Stalsworth
Photographer: Lee Stalsworth
A detailed engraving portrays fearsome tarantulas arrayed on a tree limb swarming with small spiders and large ants. It bears a single bulbous yellow fruit. One tarantula feasts on a hummingbird, while another tends an egg sac. A third hunts in webs spun amid upper branches.
Maria Sibylla Merian, Plate 29 from Dissertation in Insect Generations and Metamorphosis in Surinam, 2nd edition, 1719; Hand-colored engraving on paper, 20 1/2 x 14 1/2 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay; Photo by Lee Stalsworth
Photographer: Lee Stalsworth
Anna Maria van Schurman, Self-Portrait, 1640; Engraving on paper, 8 1/2 x 6 3/8 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay
Three-quarter self-portrait print set in an oval with inscriptions along the perimeter depicts a light-skinned young woman with hair pinned up, wearing an elegant dress with an oversized lace collar and sleeves, gazing directly at the viewer.
Cornelius Jonson van Ceulen, Portrait of Anna Maria van Schurman, 1657; Oil on panel, 12 1/8 x 9 5/8 in.; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Gift of Joseph F. McCrindle, 2002.35.1
Photographer: National Gallery of Art, Washington
A sepia-toned portrait of a woman in 17th-century attire, set within an ornate oval frame. She stands with one hand on her chest. Surrounding the frame are cherubs, books, and scientific instruments. A tall tower is in the background.
A spokesperson describes the event as follows:
“...Women Artists from Antwerp to Amsterdam,1600–1750 is the first show to rewrite the art history of this culturally significant era from the perspective of women. The exhibition’s premiere in Washington, D.C., features loaned works from more than 50 public institutions and private collections, with many exhibited in the U.S. for the first time..."
