Four Female Court Painters Who Broke Gender Norms

A DailyArt Magazine article highlights four female court painters who overcame gender barriers to serve European monarchies. Levina Teerlinc (1510–1576) became court painter to Henry VIII in 1545 after Hans Holbein's death, earning 40 pounds annually—more than her predecessor—and served all four Tudor monarchs. Sofonisba Anguissola (1532–1625) was invited by Philip II to be court painter in 1559, becoming a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elisabeth of Valois and tutoring her daughters; she later received a visit from Anthony van Dyck. Rachel Ruysch (1664–1750) was apprenticed to Willem van Aelst, sold paintings by age 18, and in 1708 became court painter to Johann Wilhelm II in Düsseldorf, earning up to 1200 guilders per painting—outpacing Rembrandt's 500-guilder maximum. Adélaïde Labille-Guiard (1749–1803) won admission to the Royal Academy in 1783, became painter to the king's aunts, and was the first female artist permitted a studio at the Louvre; her Self-Portrait with Two Pupils (1785) depicts her teaching. She remained in France during the Revolution, burning royalist works in 1793, and continued her career until her death.