Feminist Artist of the Renaissance

It’s no small feat that these women have achieved, the 1400s to the late 1900s women's rights were basically moot. However these women stepped forward and out of their avid role as just a homemaker and became the provider. Some of these women, although on the same par as their male counterparts such as dinvicinci and Michelago aren't recognized for their works nearly as much.

Levina Teerlinc was a Flemish miniaturist for the English court during the mid 1500s. She was the most important miniaturist at the English court between two male peers. Her father was a book illuminator and a miniature painter for Ghent-Bruges school and said to have trained her. Teerlinc served Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I’s court. She was the only female painter on Henry VIII court. She painted eight different portraits of Elizabeth I from 1559 to 1576. She painted portraits of Mary I. Teerlinc makes it very hard to identify her works however, because she did not always sign them but are attributed to her since she was the only miniaturist at the time. It is believed many of her paintings perished in the fire at Whitehall.

Teerlinc painted the Michaelmas 1553 after Mary who was the daughter of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon raised an army against Jane Grey who was only queen for nine days. Originally Grey was crowned after Edward VI was pressured by his protector Duke of Northumberland to give his crown to his protestant cousin. The given painting makes it obvious who is queen here by attointing Mary by God with two angels escorting her as she looks heaven bound.

Caterina Van Hemessen is another woman who stepped out of the original role for women during the renaissance. Much like Teerlinc she was also a Flemish painter who served at the spanish court in Spain. Only ten works of art are survived by this artist in total, primarily the smaller works that were painted between 1548 and 1552. Many obstacles stood in the way of women during this time who wished to become painters. The training involved the dissection of cadavers and the study of nude male figures. This also held the problem of the apprenticeship being with a much older male figure for up to 5 years and would begin at the ages of 9 to 15.

Van Hemessen painted the Portrait of a Lady in 1650 though it is unsure who the lady is exactly and what inspired her to paint such a piece. Van Hemessen also painted many religious works throughout the years. Years later the empress moved her court to Madrid to which Van Hemessen and her husband accompanied her being hired by her court. Van Hemessen took charge of training ladies in waiting in artistic abilities even though it's unsure whether she enjoyed instructing those who may have had very little artistic ability. However Van Hemessen is still attributed as the artist with the earliest verifiable work as well as accredited as the first to do a self portrait.

Lavinia Fontana who was a vatican portraitist who made the largest stride in the world of portraiture. She was known within and outside of Italy for her works and was on the same par as her male counterparts. She married another painter at the age of 25 and had 11 children in total however only 3 outlived her. She started as a portraitist for the Bolognese court doing portraits of noble Bolognese women for 20 years. She moved to Rome in 1604 after her fame spread while there she became portraitist in the court of Pope Paul V. While in his court she earned numerous honors including the Bronze Portrait Medallion cast in 1611. She was the first to paint female nudity and was commissioned to paint religious and mythological themes.

These women started the stepping stones to women being seen as equals and are starting to be recognized for their works. These women are on the same standard if not above their more famous male counterparts. Most women got married and became the dutiful wife or went to the convent to serve the lord. These women stepped out of those roles and became more than the standard at the time. It is an inspiration to women everywhere that anything is possible even when society is against you.