10 things you need to know about Catharina van Hemessen

From the series 10 things...

She was once internationally successful and well-known in the highest circles, but few people know her name nowadays. That’s why we want to introduce you to the female painter Catharina van Hemessen through this little portrait of an unknown woman. Pleasure to meet you, Catharina!

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First female painter

Catharina van Hemessen is the first known South-Netherlandish female painter whose work is dated and signed. This small portrait is probably one of her earliest works.

Catharina van Hemessen, Portrait of a Woman, 1548. Amsterdam

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Is it a self-portrait?

Catharina painted this young woman against a green background. The sitter, shown playing with the ring on her right hand, bears some resemblance to Catharina herself, but we have not been able to establish her identity with certainty.

Catharina van Hemessen, Portrait of a Woman, 1548. Amsterdam

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Signature

Catharina frequently signed and dated her work. In this case she used the Latin ‘Catherina. de Hemessen. Pinxit. 1548’, which means ‘Catherina painted it in 1548’.

Catharina van Hemessen, Portrait of a Woman, 1548. Amsterdam

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Behind the easel

Self-portraits were relatively rare in the 16th century, especially self-portraits by women! Nonetheless, Catharina painted one. She is shown working at an artist’s easel. This work now hangs in Kunstmuseum Basel in Switzerland.

Catharina van Hemessen, Self-Portrait at an Easel, 1548. Basel, Kunstmuseum Basel. Inv. no. 1361

Gezicht op Antwerpen, in vogelvlucht perspectief, vanuit het westen Gezicht op Antwerpen, in vogelvlucht perspectief, vanuit het westen

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Antwerp

Catharina was born in Antwerp in 1528, when the city was the most important trading hub in Northwest Europe. The trade in art was also flourishing, and hundreds of artists found work there.

View of Antwerp, bird's eye view, from the west, anonymous, 1524 - 1528

Portret van Jan van Hemessen Portret van Jan van Hemessen

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Training and network

Catharina was probably trained in painting by her father, the famous artist Jan Sanders van Hemessen. He had an extensive network, so he was able to introduce Catharina into the key artistic circles of their time.

Portrait of Jan van Hemessen, Cornelis van den Berg, c. 1720 - 1774

Allegory of Nature as the Mother of Art Allegory of Nature as the Mother of Art

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More freedom

Catharina’s father Jan was an innovative artist whose work included history and genre paintings as well as portraits. He was also an important figure in the painters’ guild of Antwerp. This probably enabled Catharina to claim more freedom as an artist.

Allegory of Nature as the Mother of Art Jan Sanders van Hemessen (c. 1500–1575), Antwerp, c. 1550, oil on panel

Gezicht op Antwerpen, in vogelvlucht perspectief, vanuit het westen Gezicht op Antwerpen, in vogelvlucht perspectief, vanuit het westen

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Carefree childhood

Catharina's mother Barbara was the daughter of a well-to-do cloth merchant in Antwerp. The fact that she and her husband Jan came from wealthy backgrounds probably means Catharina and her sister Christina had carefree childhoods.

View of Antwerp, bird's eye view, from the west, anonymous, 1524 - 1528

Maria of Hungary, Regent of the Netherlands Maria of Hungary, Regent of the Netherlands

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In Spain

Mary of Hungary, Regent of the Netherlands, was a great art lover. In 1556 she invited Catharina and her husband Kerstiaen de Morijn to work at the Habsburg court in Spain.

Maria of Hungary, Regent of the Netherlands

Portret van Giorgio Vasari Portret van Giorgio Vasari

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Fame

Two important Italian writers mentioned Catharina in their work: Lodovico Guicciardini in 1567 and Giorgio Vasari in 1568. They spread her name and fame far beyond the Low Countries.

Portrait of Giorgio Vasari, Nicolas de Larmessin (I), 1682

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