There were far more women painters, teachers, publishers, and graphic artists in both northern and southern Europe between 1500 and 1800 than one might think. Several of them in fact achieved extraordinary success. Yet even if forging a career as an artist was not altogether impossible, women who aspired to do so defied societal expectations and depended on favorable circumstances.
The exhibition Ingenious Women is the first to retrace the careers of individual women artists through pointed contrasts with works by their fathers, brothers, husbands, and competitors and embeds them in the context of the early modern centuries. The focused comparisons make for fascinating studies, revealing creative and thematic parallels as well as divergences. The presentation also sheds light on the women’s social and family backgrounds. It offers visitors an opportunity to discover works not only by fairly well-known women painters, but also by some of their colleagues who, despite the often high quality of their output, are largely forgotten today.
