5 Famous Women Painters

As in many other fields, historically women have been discouraged from pursuing a career in the arts. However, many extraordinary artists disregarded social rules and persevered.

Of course, these women would probably be upset to be included in a list of female painters, preferring to be valued as artists outside of their gender. Unfortunately, as women continue to fight for equality in all fields, these exceptional artists are often mentioned in terms of their gender.

Without entering into controversy, KUADROS has wanted to pay tribute to that feminine touch in the history of art, remembering these 5 virtuous artists.

No. 1 Sofonisba Anguissola - 1532 – 1625

Sofonisba Anguissola (born around 1532, Cremona (Italy), died in November 1625, Palermo), was a late Renaissance painter. Born into a relatively poor noble family, her father ensured that she and her sisters received a well-rounded education that included fine arts. This included apprenticeships with respected local painters.

This set a precedent for future female artists, who until then generally only learned if a family member had a workshop.

Anguissola's talent caught the attention of Michelangelo, with whom she had an informal mentorship through the exchange of drawings. Although, as a female artist, she was not allowed to study anatomy or practice drawing from models due to perceived vulgarity, she still managed to have a successful career.
Anguissola experimented with new portrait styles, establishing subjects—often herself and her family—in a casual manner, which was very unusual. Her paintings gave viewers a glimpse into aristocratic daily life.
She became known for this style and received commissions from all over Italy.

In 1558, she was an established painter, and at 26, she left Italy upon receiving an invitation from Philip II, King of Spain, to join the Spanish court. She served in Madrid as court painter and lady-in-waiting to Queen Isabel of Valois. She won the admiration of the young queen and spent the following years painting many official court portraits. During her 14-year residency, she guided the artistic development of Queen Isabel and influenced the art created by the queen's daughters. Once the young queen died in 1568, Philip II decided to arrange Anguissola's marriage.

In 1571, she married the Sicilian noble Fabrizio Moncada Pignatelli, who was said to support her painting.

On what would have been her 100th birthday, her husband inscribed her tomb with a text that includes this dedication: Sofonisba, my wife, who is recorded among the illustrious women of the world, outstanding in portraying the likenesses of man. Orazio Lomellino, saddened by the loss of his great love Orazio Lomellino, Inscription on Anguissola's tomb. Second-wave feminism in the 1970s saw the rediscovery of Anguissola's importance.

Her success opened doors for women like Lavinia Fontana and Artemisia Gentileschi to pursue professional careers as artists.

Her paintings are known for capturing the spirit and vitality of her subjects and can now be found in collections around the world.
Buy a reproduction of the Self-portrait - Sofonisba Anguissola in the Kuadros online store

No. 2 Artemisia Gentileschi - 1593 – 1654 or later

Artemisia Gentileschi (born July 8, 1593, Rome, Papal States (Italy), died 1652/53, Naples, Kingdom of Naples), was an Italian painter, daughter of Orazio Gentileschi, who was a great follower of the revolutionary baroque painter Caravaggio.

As the daughter of an accomplished painter, Artemisia Gentileschi had access to the world of art at an early age. She initially spent time in her father's workshop mixing paints, and he supported her career when he noticed that she was exceptionally talented. As a notable painter of the Italian baroque period, Artemisia Gentileschi did not let her gender stop her from her subject matter. She painted large-scale biblical and mythological paintings, just like her male counterparts, and was the first woman accepted into the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts in Florence.

Her first known work is Susanna and the Elders (1610), a work long attributed to her father. She also painted two versions of a scene already attempted by Caravaggio (but never by her father), Judith Beheading Holofernes (c. 1612–13; c. 1620). She was raped by Tassi, and when he did not fulfill his promise to marry her, Orazio Gentileschi took him to court in 1612. During that event, she herself was forced to testify under torture.

Her legacy is sometimes overshadowed by her biography, with her bloody depictions of Judith and Holofernes often interpreted through the lens of her violation. However, her talent is undeniable and she continues to be recognized for her realistic representation of the female form, the depth of her colors, and her striking use of light and shadow.

Artemisia is the most famous painter of the 17th century. She worked in Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples, and London, for the highest levels of European society, including the Grand Duke of Tuscany and Philip IV of Spain.

From 1630 she settled in Naples, where she ran a successful studio until her death. She briefly visited London in 1639, perhaps to help her ailing father paint the ceiling of the Queen's House in Greenwich (now Marlborough House in London), but returned to Naples the following year. The exact date of her death is unknown, but a recently discovered document records that she was still living in Naples in August 1654.
Buy a reproduction of the Self-portrait - Artemisia Gentileschi in the Kuadros online store

No. 3 Judith Leyster - 1609 – 1660

Judith Leyster (baptized July 28, 1609, Haarlem, Netherlands - buried February 10, 1660, Heemstede, near Amsterdam), was a Dutch painter, one of the few female artists of the time who emerged from obscurity, as well as being a prominent figure during the Dutch Golden Age. Typical of Dutch artists during this period. She began painting when she was still very young, and by age 24 she had become a member of the Haarlem painters' guild. Her subject matter encompassed a broader range than the typical Dutch painters of the time and was one of the first to exploit domestic genre scenes.

Leyster specialized in genre paintings, still lifes, and portraits. The details of her artistic training are unclear.

Later, she ran a successful studio with several male apprentices and was known for the relaxed and informal nature of her portraits.

She may have worked in the studio of Frans Hals or, according to poet Samuel Ampzing, spent time with portraitist Frans Pieterszoon de Grebber. However, the influence of Hals on her work is clear. She was also interested in the tenebrist style of the Utrecht school. She introduced light sources into her paintings. Most of her dated works were painted between 1629 and 1635. In 1636 she married genre painter Jan Miense Molenaer and moved with him to Amsterdam.

Although she had considerable success during her lifetime, her reputation suffered after her death due to unfortunate circumstances. All her work was passed off as work by her contemporary Frans Hals or by her husband. In many cases, her signature was covered by collectors seeking to profit from the high market value of Frans Hals's work. It was only in the late 19th century that these errors were discovered and scholars began to gain renewed appreciation for Leyster's skill as an artist.
Buy a reproduction of the Self-portrait - Judith Leyster in the Kuadros online store

No. 4 Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun - 1755 – 1842

Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, fully Marie-Louise-Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, Lebrun also LeBrun or Le Brun (born April 16, 1755, Paris, France, died March 30, 1842, Paris), was a French painter, one of the most successful female artists (unusually for her time), particularly notable for her portraits of women.

As the daughter of a painter, she received early instruction from her father and was painting portraits professionally as a teenager. Her great professional opportunity came when she was appointed portraitist to Marie Antoinette. The two women became friends, and in the following years, Vigée-Lebrun painted more than 20 portraits of Marie Antoinette in a wide variety of poses and costumes. She also painted a large number of self-portraits, in the style of various artists whose work she admired. In 1783, due to her friendship with the queen, Vigée-Lebrun was reluctantly accepted into the Royal Academy.

When the Revolution broke out in 1789, she left France and lived abroad for 12 years, traveling to Rome, Naples, Vienna, Berlin, St. Petersburg, and Moscow, painting portraits and playing a leadership role in society. In 1801, she returned to Paris, but she did not like Parisian social life under Napoleon, soon leaving for London, where she painted portraits of the court and Lord Byron. Later she went to Switzerland (and painted a portrait of Mme de Staël) and then back again (around 1810) to Paris, where she continued to paint until her death. Vigée-Lebrun was a woman of much wit and charm, and her memoirs, Souvenirs de ma vie, provide a lively account of her life. She was one of the technically most fluid portraitists of her time, and her images stand out for their freshness, charm, and sensitivity of presentation. Throughout her career, according to her own account, she painted 900 paintings, including about 600 portraits and around 200 landscapes.

Her paintings bridge the gap between the theatrical rococo style and the more sober neoclassical period. She enjoyed continued success in her career, even in exile after the French Revolution, as she was a favorite painter of the aristocracy throughout Europe. Attendees enjoyed her ability to put them at ease, leading to portraits that were lively and lacked stiffness. The natural and relaxed manner of her portraits was considered revolutionary at a time when portraiture often required formal representations of the upper classes.
Buy a reproduction of the Self-portrait - Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun in the Kuadros online store

No. 5 Frida Kahlo - 1907 – 1954

This is perhaps the most famous female painter of all.
Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo Calderón (Coyoacán, July 6, 1907 - Coyoacán, July 13, 1954)

The Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is remembered for her self-portraits, pain and passion, and vivid, bold colors. She is celebrated in Mexico for her attention to Mexican and indigenous culture and by feminists for her depiction of the female experience and form.

With her deeply personal and symbolic work, she has become one of the most famous artists of the 20th century. For much of her career, she was often overlooked simply as Diego Rivera's wife, but appreciation for her paintings has only grown since the 1970s onwards. Fiercely proud of her Mexican identity, she often incorporated pre-Columbian symbols into her paintings and is known for her colorful Mexican dress. Kahlo, who suffered health problems throughout her life due to a bus accident in her youth, endured multiple fractures of her spine, collarbone, and ribs, a smashed pelvis, a broken foot, and a dislocated shoulder.

She began to focus heavily on painting while recovering with a body cast. In her lifetime, she underwent 30 operations. The experience of life is a common theme in the approximately 200 paintings, sketches, and drawings by Kahlo. Her physical and emotional pain is clearly shown on the canvases, as is her turbulent relationship with her husband, fellow artist Diego Rivera, from whom she married twice. Of her 143 paintings, 55 are self-portraits. The devastation of her body from the bus accident is shown in great detail in The Broken Column. Kahlo represents herself almost naked, split in half, with her spine presented as a broken decorative column. Her skin is punctuated with nails. She is also equipped with a surgical apparatus.

Widely known for her Marxist leanings, Frida, along with the revolutionary Marxist Che Guevara and a small band of contemporary figures, has become a countercultural symbol of the 20th century and created a legacy in painting that continues to inspire imagination and mind.
She saw her thriving career interrupted due to her premature death at 47 years old. Her legacy lives on and continues to be an icon of many feminist and political movements.

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