Women Artists of the Dutch Golden Age

Online Exhibition

Explore the work of eight artists who lived and worked in the Netherlands in the 1600 and 1700s.

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

Overview

This online exhibition was created as a companion to Women Artists of the Dutch Golden Age, on view at NMWA from October 11, 2019, to January 5, 2020.

The eight artists represented in this exhibition worked during what is commonly known as the Dutch Golden Age. This period, roughly the late sixteenth through early eighteenth centuries, was characterized by unprecedented economic growth and trade, built largely on colonialism and related exploitation.

These artists comprise a mere fraction of the number of women who practiced the arts of painting, drawing, and engraving during this era. Many of them made a living through their art and achieved renown during their lifetimes. Yet today, relatively few are known, studied, or collected. In recent decades, scholars have resurrected the reputations of some, notably Judith Leyster, thanks to an increased awareness of the contributions of women to art history.

Clara Peeters

Clara Peeters (b. 1594, Antwerp?; d. after 1657, location unknown)

In Still Life of Fish and Cat, the large fish prominently displayed in the earthenware colander is a carp, an element Clara Peeters repeated in numerous paintings. She probably achieved the identical presentation of this fish in different paintings through the use of a stencil. This was a common practice at the time, allowing artists to produce paintings more quickly.

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.
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

Floral Still-Life Painting

Floral still-life painting was still a relatively new genre in the early seventeenth century when Peeters painted this bouquet. She included bouquets of flowers in some of her more elaborate still lifes, which feature tables laden with all manner of delicacies. A Still Life of Lilies, Roses, Iris, Pansies, Columbine, Love-in-a-Mist, Larkspur and Other Flowers in a Glass Vase on a Table Top, Flanked by a Rose and a Carnation is her largest and most exuberant floral still life.

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.
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 Table Top, 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

Magdalena Van de Passe

Magdalena Van de Passe (b. ca. 1600, Cologne, Germany; d. 1638, Utrecht, Netherlands)

Magdalena Van de Passe was born into a family of artists who specialized in engraving. Her father, Crispijn van de Passe the Elder (ca. 1564 to 1637), taught van de Passe and her four older brothers the art of engraving and printing.

Van de Passe worked with her father on an album of engravings, such as this one, after paintings by famous artists of scenes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. This engraving is after a painting by Jacob Symonsz. Pynas (1592 to 1650). The scene from Greek mythology depicts a naiad, Salmacis, aggressively embracing Hermaphroditus. Salmacis prayed to the gods to be united forever with the object of her desire. In answer to her prayer, the gods merged the bodies of the two, creating one intersex person.

Magdalena van de Passe, Salmacis and Hermaphrodite, 1623; Etching and engraving on paper; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay
Magdalena van de Passe, Salmacis and Hermaphrodite, 1623; Etching and engraving on paper; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay

Judith Leyster

Judith Leyster (b. 1609, Haarlem, Netherlands; d. 1660, Heemstede, Netherlands)

Leyster did not come from an artistic family, and she may have received her training in the studio of fellow Haarlem painter Frans Hals (1582/83 to 1666), renowned for his loose and visible brushwork.

She became a member of the Guild of St. Luke in Haarlem in 1633, a prerequisite for artists who wanted to establish themselves as independent, professional artists in the city. Leyster set up her own studio not long after and began accepting students of her own. In  The Concert, the central figure may be a self-portrait of Leyster and the figure on the right, her future husband and fellow painter, Jan Miense Molenaer (1610 to 1668).

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.
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

Self-Portrait

Because very few works by Leyster date to after her marriage in 1636, scholars have assumed that her art was hampered by the demands of having and raising a family. However, the rediscovery of this painting in 2016, along with a floral still life found in 2009 and dated to 1654, is evidence that Leyster continued painting after her marriage.

Portrait of a woman wearing dark clothing and a white bonnet sitting at an easel with paintbrushes in her hand. She is looking directly at the viewer.
Judith Leyster, Self-portrait, ca. 1640s; Oil on panel, 12 1/8 x 8 5/8 in.; Private Collection; Photo courtesy Christie’s, Inc.

Video: Judith Leyster

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Anna Maria Van Schurman

Anna Maria Van Schurman (b. 1607, Cologne, Germany; d. 1678, Wiewerd, Netherlands)

Anna Maria Van Schurman was born into a wealthy family, which enabled her to spend time honing her artistic skills and building her extensive education, encouraged by her father. Renowned for her talents, van Schurman was proficient in languages including Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic, and was the first woman to attend university in the Netherlands.

Within the oval border surrounding van Schurman’s likeness, a Latin inscription bears the artist’s name as well as her age, thirty-three, and the date, 1640, in Roman numerals. The Latin script below her image translates as, “See my likeness depicted in this image: Where art has failed, may your grace perfect it.”

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.
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

Maria Schalcken

Maria Schalcken (b. ca. 1645–1650, Made?, Netherlands; d. ca. 1700, Dordrecht, Netherlands)

Maria Schalcken was most likely instructed in painting by her elder brother, Godfried Schalcken (1643 to 1706). In this regard, Schalcken’s training was similar to that of Magdalena van de Passe, Alida Withoos, and Maria Sibylla Merian, who all learned their art from family members.

Schalcken’s works appear in the inventories of notable collections in the eighteenth century, indicating that she was a successful and sought-after artist. Today, however, there are only three existing paintings attributed to Schalcken. Many of her works were misidentified by past owners, sometimes purposefully, as being by her brother and have yet to be reattributed.

Maria Schalcken, Boy Offering Grapes to a Woman, ca. 1675–82; Oil on panel; On loan from the Leiden Collection, New YorkOil on panel; On loan from the Leiden Collection, New York
Maria Schalcken, Boy Offering Grapes to a Woman, ca. 1675–82; Oil on panel; On loan from the Leiden Collection, New YorkOil on panel; On loan from the Leiden Collection, New York

Rachel Ruysch

Rachel Ruysch (b. 1664, The Hague; d. 1750, Amsterdam)

Rachel Ruysch, like Judith Leyster, did not come from a family of artists. Her father, Frederik Ruysch (1638 to 1731) was one of the most preeminent scientists of the period. One of his many roles was professor at the Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam, a botanical garden that still exists today. Established in 1638, the Hortus Botanicus held live plant specimens from Europe as well as the Dutch colonies in Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. Ruysch would have had the opportunity to examine the plants in its collection, and her keen powers of observation are evident in her paintings.

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.
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

Flowers in a Vase

In 1693, Ruysch married fellow artist Juriaen Pool (1666 to 1745), with whom she had eleven children. Both husband and wife were successful artists, which meant that they enjoyed a steady income. As a result, they most likely had the financial means to hire domestic workers to care for their home and children. Because of this, Ruysch was able to paint close to continuously; her career spans an astonishing sixty-five years.

Ruysch’s paintings were prized by collectors for their high degree of verisimilitude. In Flowers in a Vase, illusionistic water droplets on the petals of large white and pink roses lend a sense of spontaneity, as does a butterfly on the left.

Rachel Ruysch, Flowers in a Vase, mid-1680s; Oil on canvas, 18 3/4 x 15 3/4 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay; Photo by Lee Stalsworth
Rachel Ruysch, Flowers in a Vase, mid-1680s; Oil on canvas, 18 3/4 x 15 3/4 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay; Photo by Lee Stalsworth

Alida Withoos

Alida Withoos, Still Life with Irises, Morning Glory, Fox Gloves, a Red Lily and Other Flowers on a Forest Floor, ca. 1700; Oil on canvas, 27 1/4 x 22 1/2 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay
Light pink and white wild roses, yellow daisies, and irises are set against a muted brown background. The flower arrangement takes up the entirety of the canvas. A butterfly perches on an iris bloom at the bottom of the painting.
Alida Withoos, Still Life with Roses, Daisies and an Iris and Other Flowers on a Forest Floor, ca. 1700; Oil on canvas, 27 1/4 x 22 1/2 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay

Alida Withoos (b. ca. 1661, Amersfoort, Netherlands; d. 1730, Amsterdam)

The varnish of this painting, and the following one, has irreparably darkened over time. They belong to the category of “bosstilleven,” or forest still lifes. Rather than depicting flowers in a vase, Alida Withoos anchors them to the forest floor, indicated by the tufts of grass sprouting beneath the plants. The grouping of flowers is pure artistic invention; such bouquets do not grow naturally from the forest floor. Withoos’s father, the artist Matthias Withoos (1627 to 1703), who specialized in bosstillevens, instructed her in the art of painting.

Maria Sibylla Merian

Maria Sibylla Merian (b. 1647, Frankfurt; d. 1717, Amsterdam)

The following prints are based on studies and field notes that Maria Sibylla Merian made in Suriname, then a Dutch colony, in South America. Her lifelong fascination with plants and insects led her halfway around the world, a voyage she undertook with her youngest daughter, Dorothea Maria Graff (1678 to 1743). Merian spent two years studying the flora and fauna of Suriname. She recorded her observations in writing, which was later paired with her images when the work was published.

Merian’s writing recorded information about the uses and properties of plants, much of which she learned from the local populations in Suriname. These included members of the Carib and Arawak tribes, some of whom were enslaved by the Europeans, including Merian. The women of these tribes, as well as enslaved African women, shared with Merian their knowledge of the indigenous fauna.

A large green-and-gold pineapple occupies the center of a detailed engraving. Unharvested, it rises amid red and green blade-like, spiny leaves, which radiate out from the main stem. Cockroaches at various stages of development rove the plant, while a winged adult hovers above.
Maria Sibylla Merian, Plate 1, from "Dissertation in Insect Generations and Metamorphosis in Surinam," second 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

Video: Women Artists of the Dutch Golden Age

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Exhibition Sponsors

Women Artists of the Dutch Golden Age was organized by the museum and generously supported by the members of NMWA.

Video produced in association with the Michelle Smith Collaboratory for Visual Culture, University of Maryland. With special thanks to Katie Altizer, Quint Gregory, and Audrey Tarn. © 2019 National Museum of Women in the Arts

To see more of Women Artists in the Dutch Golden Age, explore these videos produced by the Dutch Embassy in Washington, DC.
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