International Women’s Day

Today is International Women's day. During the 1600s women, generally speaking, were regarded as the pillars of society; but, they still had to conform their expected roles and the arts were definitely not encouraged. Women who did study art were not allowed to study nude models and many of them focused on still life paintings. Two women who broke the mold are Artemisia Gentileschi and Judith Leyster. These women painted the same scenes as men and as such, many of their paintings have been misattributed to men until recently.

Self Portrait (1630) Judith Leyster

Self Portrait (c.1630) by Judith Leyster is considered her most accomplished work by many scholars. She expertly captures the moment she is interrupted by the viewer while painting. She is turning away from the painting and about to speak to us. Her outfit was a very popular style for the time although completely unfitting to actually wear while painting. Her large lace collar makes it impossible to actually get close enough to the canvas. It is thought that she is wearing this outfit to show her status in society as an accomplished artist who can afford such fine garments. Judith was one of the first women to be accepted into the prestigious Haarlem Guild of Luke. For the next 6 years, Judith enjoyed great success, started her own school of art and took on apprentices. She was married in 1636 and does not have many paintings attributed to her after that. The painting is currently on display at the National Gallery in Washington DC, where is it one of the museum's most popular paintings.

Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting (c.1638) by Artemisia Gentileschi

Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting (c.1638) by Artemisia Gentileschi is a bold statement that depicts Artemisia as the allegory of painting, that is, the personification of the qualities of art itself. Artemisia's painting captures the moment of her starting to paint on the canvas. This positioning is exceptionally difficult to paint, as she must have used multiple mirrors to see herself. Unlike Judith's self portrait, Artemisia's is wearing something she would have painted in: a simple green dress with a brown apron. The necklace with the theatre mask pendant is part of the allegory of painting as described in Ripa's "Iconologia." This painting was most likely created during her short stay in England. It is currently part of the Royal Collection and is displayed at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.