Judith Leyster: A Dutch Master and Her World

Abstract

Judith Leyster (1609-1660), the most famous woman painter of the Dutch golden age, was remarkable for her time. She pursued a profession dominated by men, was the only female member of the painter's guild known to have had a workshop, and is the sole woman artist whose known work attests to an active role in the open market, then a relatively new form of art patronage that was to transform the Dutch art world. This book gives new insights into Leyster's world - her life, her art, and the society in which she lived. Written by a team of scholars that includes art historians, economic historians, and painting conservators, the book discusses Leyster's life, the close link between art and the economy in Holland at this time, the social factors affecting Leyster and other working women in the 17th century, the lives of the major painters who were her contemporaries, the nature of Leyster's painting technique and style, and the unique qualities of her art. The second half of the book reproduces Leyster's paintings - including her captivating scenes of everyday life - and analyses each in detail. Carefully selected paintings by other artists of the period, including Frans and Dirck Hals and Leyster's husband, Jan Miense Molenaer, are also presented in order to place Leyster's work in the context of Haarlem genre painting at its height. This beautiful book is a catalogue for the first major exhibition of the work of Judith Leyster in the United States. The exhibition will open at the Frans Halsmuseum in May 1993 and the Worcester Art Museum in September 1993.