Michaelina Wautier

This study day is available as both an in person and a recording only event. The recording will be made available to ALL attendees on the Monday following the event and will be available for 4 weeks.

Organised to coincide with the RA exhibition on the artist, this study day explores the career of Michaelina Wautier (1604–89) in its historical context. Dubbed ‘the Baroque’s leading lady’, her life and works have only recently been reconstructed from almost total oblivion. Michaelina’s oeuvre demonstrates exceptional artistic accomplishment and ambition as a woman artist.

Lecture 1 – Baroque Brussels
The Flemish Baroque is most closely associated with Antwerp. Yet, as the seventeenth century wore on, the centre of gravity shifted decisively towards Brussels, the seat of court. We will discuss artistic production in relation to the city’s palaces, churches and civic traditions.

Lecture 2 – Female Artists in the Early Modern Netherlands
In the Low Countries in the seventeenth century, an unusual number of women became artists. Clara Peeters, Judith Leyster and others achieved recognition as still life and portrait painters. What glass ceilings did Michaelina Wautier have to break in order to become a history painter?

Lecture 3 – Michaelina Wautier Rediscovered
The career of Michaelina Wautier is the subject of ongoing research and rediscovery. This lecture considers Michaelina’s provincial background in Mons, her move to Brussels, her training and influences, and her patronage by the Brussels aristocracy.

Lecture 4 – The Triumph of Bacchus (KHM Vienna)
The Triumph of Bacchus (1659) is widely considered Michaelina’s masterpiece. Recorded in the collection of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, we will discuss its iconography, style and artistic precedents. We will ask, is a feminist reading appropriate for this painting, or should it be treated no differently to any other mythology?