At Large  March 30, 2022  Sarah Bochicchio

Can you name five women artists from the Dutch Golden Age?

Created:
Author: anna
National Gallery of Art, DC.

Judith Leyster, Self-Portrait, 1630.

Although men have dominated art historical narratives of the period, women were active as artists and innovators in the seventeenth-century Netherlands. Women often operated outside traditional professional areas and without much formal training, what art historian Elizabeth Honig has called the “grey zone between the one world and the other.” But they were there, working in a variety of mediums, marketing and selling their work, and advancing new genres and techniques.

The names and careers of many women were erased in the centuries to follow. They were variously relegated to the category of “amateur,” positioned as exceptions to rules set by men, or their works were misattributed to their husbands, brothers, or teachers. If you cannot name five women artists from the period, it is a fault in how women are remembered.

Fortunately, scholars and curators are reviving these oeuvres and changing the way we talk about them. From the paper cuttings of Joanna Koerten to the drawings of Gesina Ter Borch, here is a preview of the virtuosic, detailed, and exciting work of (some of!) the women of the Dutch Golden Age.

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Wikimedia Commons.
Image Caption: Joanna Koerten, Saint Anthony. Wikimedia.
JOANNA KOERTEN (1650-1715)

Joanna Koerten, Saint Anthony.

Sometimes called the “scissor-Minerva” (schaar-Minerve) of Amsterdam, Joanna Koerten worked in various mediums including embroidery, painting, lace-making, glass-etching, and wax-modeling. But, as the moniker would suggest, she achieved her greatest success in scissorwork. In these meticulously crafted scenes, Koerten created illusion through careful incisions in a single sheet of paper. Koerten’s intensive craftsmanship commanded both international renown and high prices; she sold her work to numerous royals, including the Queen of England.

About the Author

Sarah Bochicchio

Sarah Bochicchio is a New York-based writer and researcher. She focuses on history, fashion, art, and gender—and where all of those things intersect.