Women in Art History

Hildegard of Bingen-1098 - 1179GermanAlso Known as: The Sibyl of the Rhine Lived during the reigns of the English Kings: William Rufus, King Henry I, Stephen and Henry IIMinor nobility of the Holy Roman Empire. Hildegarde of Bingen was dedicated at birth to the churchAt age of 8 her aristocratic family sent Hildegarde to be educated by monasteryMade her nun's vows at 15. Her visions, caused by migraine headaches, clarified the meaning of major Biblical and religious texts. She documented her visions in the Scivias.

Hildegard von Bingen, Scivias , 1151 or 1152

Hildegard of Bingen ,Wisdom (or Sophia, Mother Wisdom). Manuscript illumination from Scivias (Know the Ways), 1151

Hildegard of Bingen, The cosmos in the form of an egg, from Liber Scivias, 12th c

Women Artists of the

Renaissance

Properzia de Rossi Italian Renaissance Sculptor (1490-1530)Lived and worked in Bologna, a haven for many women artists at the time.Only woman profiled in Giorgio Vasari’s Lives of the Most Eminent Architects, Painters, and Sculptors of Italy, 1550. Noted for her beauty, intellect, and musical talents. Trained at the University of Bologna, and with master engraver Marc Antonio Raimondi. De Rossi earned early fame for her ability to carve intricate compositions, usually religious scenes, on tiny peach, cherry, and apricot pits. Adept in arranging heroic figures in a broad and dynamic style on low reliefs.Hospital records from 1530 she died penniless and alone.

Properzia de‘ Rossi, Joseph and Potiphar's Wife , 1520

Hercules and Antaeus

Levina TeerlincFlemish Renaissance painter, ca.1510-1576

Oldest daughter of the renowned manuscript illuminator Simon Bening. 1545 she was invited to the court of Henry VIII, and named royal "paintrix"After Henry's death, she continued under Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I.Portrait miniatures, there are only a handful of works attributed to her

Levina Teerlinc,Queen Elizabeth I of England, ca.1565

Levina Bening Teerling, Elizabeth I when Princess, c. 1559.

Attributed to Levina Teerlinc, An Elizabethan Maundy, c. 1560

Caterina van HemessenFlemish Renaissance painter, 1527-1587

Daughter of painter Jan Sanders van Hemessen. She was trained by her father and even collaborated with him on some of his paintings. She worked in portraiture, painting wealthy men and women, usually against a dark background.She was a member of the Guild of St. Luke Caterina's main patron was Maria of Austria (Regent of the Low Countries). When Maria resigned her post in 1556 and moved back to Spain, Caterina and her husband were invited to join her. Maria gave them funds, allowing them to live the rest of their lives comfortably.

Self Portrait,1548

Caterina van Hemessen, Portrait of a Lady,Unknown date

Catharina van Hemessen, Portrait of a Man, 1552

Sofonisba AnguissolaItalian Renaissance painter, 1532-1625

Oldest of seven children in an aristocratic family. Her father ensured that Sofonisba and her sisters were educated in the fine arts. Sofonisba was an apprentice of Bernardino Gatti.In 1554 she traveled to Rome and met Michelangelo, who recognized her talent. Michelangelo even sent her some of his own drawings so that she would copy them and send back to him for critique.Sofonisba was invited to join the Spanish court of Philip II in 1559Became the painting tutor to Queen Elisabeth of Valois.

Self Portraits, 1556

Sofonisba Anguissola , Asdrubale Bitten by a Crawfish, c. 1554

Portrait of the Artist's Sisters Playing Chess,1555

Lavinia FontanaItalian Renaissance painter, 1552-1614

Lavinia Fontana was the daughter of the School of Bologna painter Prospero Fontana, who trained her.She painted in many different genres. Worked with portraiture as well as with religious and mythological scenes, which included male and female nudes. She is documented to have painted over 100 works, though only 32 are definitely known today.

Self-Portrait in a Tondo, 1579

Lavinia Fontana, Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene1581

Portrait of a Family

Lavinia Fontana Portrait of Antonietta Gonzalezc. 1595

Lavinia Fontana, Minerva Dressing,1613

Artemisia GentileschiItalian Baroque painter, 1593-1652Daughter of Orazio Gentileschi, One of the most recognized women artists in the Renaissance. She was trained by her father, and rejected from the academies because of her gender. She then continued her studies under Agostino Tassi. Tassi raped Artemesia and her father subsequently brought charges, leading to a seven-month trial during which she was required to give testimony under torture.Tassi was convicted and Artemisia was vindicated, She married the artist Pierantonio Stiattesi shortly thereafter. However the trauma of the sexual harrassment and assault she experienced have been said to appear in her works. These include several depictions of the violent stories of Judith and Holofernes (right) and Jael and Sisera, as well as versions of Susanna and the Elders in which Susanna exhibits genuine terror.

Artemisia Gentileschi Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting,1630s

Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Beheading Holofernes, ca. 1620

Artemisia Gentileschi Susanna and the Elders,1610

Artemisia Gentileschi, Jael and Sisera, 1610

Angelica Kauffmann -1741-1807 Neoclassicist Painter

Trained in Italy.Lived in London in 1766- 1781.In 1768 one of only two women artists named among the founding members of the Royal Academy.Portrait commissions at the age of 15.Embarked on an independent career as a history painter.Subjects from Classical Antiquity

Self Portrait

Angelica Kauffmann , Cornelia Pointing to Her Treasures, 1785

Angelica Kauffmann, Zeuxis Selecting Models for Helen of Troy, 1764

Angelica Kauffmann , Venus Induces Helen to Fall in Love with Paris ,1790

Compare the content, form, and context of Lavinia Fontana’s Minerva Dressing, 1613 and Titian’s Venus of Urbino, 1538.