New Volume Explores Baroque Painter Michaelina Wautier’s Diverse, Complex Oeuvre

Michaelina Wautier (1604–1689) was an unparalleled artist active in the mid-seventeenth century in the Southern Netherlands.

Her talent, technical expertise, and versatility were exceptional. She painted at least 35 works, of which about half are fully signed, ranging from huge altarpieces to charming genre scenes and extraordinary flower garlands.

Little is known about the early life of this Flemish Baroque painter. Wautier was likely born to an upper-class family in Mons, in present-day Belgium, and her complex, diverse body of work suggests a certain level of education and exposure to various artistic traditions. In the early 1640s she relocated to Brussels with her elder brother, Charles, who was also an artist. The siblings lived together, sharing both a home and studio, and embarked on their respective careers. Wautier’s work quickly drew attention and four of her pieces found their way into the holdings of famed art collector Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria. Despite this early attention, her name was virtually unknown until 2018, when an exhibition at the Antwerp MAS brought her achievements back into the spotlight. From then on, her fame has only grown.

In Michaelina Wautier (Getty Publications, $45), author Katlijne Van der Stighelen explores the artistic culture of seventeenth-century Brussels and Antwerp to examine the forces and individuals that would have impacted Wautier. The artist’s surviving works, including her exceptional painting The Triumph of Bacchus, demonstrate her advanced technical dexterity and highly individual iconographic choices. Michaelina Wautier explores the brilliance and intellectual audacity of a painter who is just beginning to be given her due.

Michaelina Wautier is the twelfth title in the “Illuminating Women Artists” published in partnership with UK-based publisher Lund Humphries. This series of beautifully illustrated books is the first to focus in a deliberate and sustained way on women artists throughout history, to recognize their accomplishments, to revive their name recognition, and to make their works better known to art enthusiasts of the 21st century.