Five Pioneering Baroque Female Painters Recognized

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1656), an Italian Baroque painter born in Rome, defied gender norms by depicting strong women from the Bible and mythology, influenced by Caravaggio's naturalism and theatrical lighting. Her work "Judith and her Maidservant" (ca. 1623-1625) is held at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Judith Leyster (1609-1660), a Dutch painter from Haarlem, trained with Frans Pieter de Grebber and became the first woman admitted to the Saint Luke's Guild of Haarlem in 1633. Her "Self Portrait" (c. 1630) at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, asserts her skill. Giovanna Garzoni (1600-1670), an Italian Baroque still-life specialist known for watercolors, studied scientific illustrations and combined objects like dogs and Asian porcelain, favored by the Medici family in Florence. Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614), a Bolognese Mannerist portraitist trained by her father Prospero Fontana, is considered the first professional female artist without court ties; her "Minerva Dressing" (c. 1613) at Galleria Borghese in Rome is a disputed early female nude. Mary Beale (1633-1699), England's first professional female portrait artist, befriended court painter Sir Peter Lely and wrote "Observations" (1663) on painting apricots in oils. By 1677, she completed 83 commissioned paintings and taught students including Keaty Trioche and Sarah Curtis.