Women Painters in Belgium and in Holland
By N. Jany.
Translated by Edgar Preston
AS far as we are able to ascertain, the history of the present subject takes us back to the time of Hubert and Jean Van Eyck, whose sister Marguerite made a name for herself in art. In the important volume by M. J. du Jardin, "L'Art Flamand," there is reproduced a drawing "after" a miniature by Marguerite Van Eyck, representing St. Catherine and St. Agnes, but we read elsewhere that "no work can with certainty be attributed to her."
Among women workers a century later, we find: Clara de Keyzer, Suzanne Horebout and Anna Smyters, all three of Ghent. Clara de Keyzer, who flourished about 1530, visited Germany, Italy, France and Spain. Suzanne Horebout (1503-1545) was the daughter of Gerard Horebout, a painter of Ghent, who betook himself to England, and became painter to Henry VIII. Dürer knew him at Antwerp, in 1521, and there paid homage to the skill of his daughter, who was then barely 18 years of age. She accompanied her father to England, and was there received with the utmost favour; she made a rich marriage with John Parcker (or Parker), one of the King's archers, and died full of honours in her adopted country.
Anne Smyters who flourished about 1540, is named in words of praise by Van Mander, Vaernewyck and Guicciardini. She married the celebrated sculptor, Jean de Heere, and was the mother of Luc de Heere, the painter, who made a long stay in England, where, among other works of importance, he did a series of decorative paintings for the Earl of Lincoln.
Siret's "Dictionnaire" tells us that "in 1868, M. Lescart, a barrister of Mons, was the possessor of the only known picture by Catherine van Hemessen. This is a half-length study of the Virgin fondling the infant Christ, with a background of landscape wherein one perceives snow. It is painted on wood, and bears the signature: 'Caterina de Hemessen pingebat.'" But there is in London an interesting portrait of a man, by her, dated 1552, and an illustration of it will be found on page [263].
Then comes a series of daughters (and a sister) of famous painters, viz: Justine van Dyck; Gertrude van Veen; Catherine Pepyn; Catherine Peeters; Anne-Marie, Françoise-Catherine and Marie-Thérèse van Thielen; and Laurence-Catherine Ykens. The daughter of Antony van Dyck was born in London, in 1641. "She was wedded at the age of 12," says Siret's "Dictionnaire," "to Sir John Stepney de Prendergast, and abjured Protestantism at Antwerp on the 19th of August, 1660. Left a widow, she made a second marriage with Martin de Carbonell. Van Dyck's daughter was unfortunate, for she found herself compelled to ask the King for a pension, which she obtained."
The daughter of Otto van Veen, known as Venius, the teacher of Rubens, was born at Antwerp in 1602. She was a pupil of her father, and married Louis Malo. The Brussels gallery contains a portrait of her father, from her brush. She died in 1643. The daughter of Martin Pepyn lived in Antwerp about 1619. She specialised in portrait work, and was received into the Corporation of St. Luke, of that city, in 1650, by virtue of being a daughter of the master.
The success obtained by the flower-paintings of Seghers and Breughel suddenly caused a great development of this special branch of art, to which, moreover, the celebrated Dutchman Jean-David de Heem, then domiciled in Antwerp, was a notable contributor. Among the women who became inspired by their example and followed their technique may be mentioned: Catherine Peeters, and the three daughters, pupils of the painter, Jean-Philippe van Thielen (himself a direct disciple of Seghers), and Laurence-Catherine Ykens.
The registers of the Antwerp Academy for 1784 contain the name of Marie Baesten, née Ommeganck. Siret's "Dictionnaire" also mentions (at Bruges), the daughter of Louis de Deyster, the painter. Anne de Deyster (1690-1747) attracted notice by the perfection with which she copied her father's pictures. Gertrude de Pelichy, of Utrecht (1743-1825), was appointed an honorary member of the Imperial and Royal Academy of Painting in Vienna, and at Bruges she painted the portrait of the Emperor Joseph II., and that of the Empress Maria-Theresa.
At the opening of the 19th Century, the Art of the Miniature was cultivated—as they expressed it in those days—by Marie-Josephe Dargent of Liège, a daughter and pupil of Michel Dargent, the elder, Hortense van Baerlen, and Amélie van Assche, whose sister, Isabelle Catherine, a pupil of her uncle, Henry van Assche, had devoted herself to landscape painting.
Siret's dictionary then notices a large number of women painters both historical and genre.
Marie-Adelaide Kindt of Brussels, who was a pupil of David and of Navez, and visited Germany and France; Julie-Anne-Marie Noël, wife of the painter, J. B. van Eycken, of Brussels; Mme. Isabelle-Marie-Françoise Geefs, née Corr, of Brussels, a pupil of Navez; Mme. de Keyzer, née Marie Isabelle Telghuis, wife of the former director of the Antwerp Academy, Nicaise de Keyzer. As to Mme. O'Connel, née Frédérique Miethe, of Berlin, a pupil of Begas and of Gallait, "there is (writes C. Lemonnier in his 'Histoire des Beaux Arts en Belgique'), in her wild paintings, as it were, a reflection of Rubens."
Mlle. C. de Vrient, of Ghent, sister of the painters Albert and Julien, was a flower painter of distinction, like Mlle. Renoz, Mlle. de Franchimont, Mlle. F. Capesius and Mlle. E. de Vigne. Marie Ommeganck, a sister of the renowned Balthazar Ommeganck, surnamed the "Racine des Moutons," painted several landscapes in the manner of her brother; Mlle. Euphrosine Beernaert, of Ostend, a pupil of L. Kuhnen, painted landscapes characteristic of Zeeland and the Campine. The Brussels Gallery has several of her works, including Les Vieux Chênes, île de Walcheren, and a Lisière de Bois en Hollande.
Before citing the names of the professional women painters who continue to contribute to the fame of the Belgian School, let me say a word in admiration of the talent of sundry "amateurs" (as they are called, to distinguish them from the others), chief among whom is H.R.H. the Comtesse de Flandre. The small-sized portraits in oils painted by the Duchesse d'Ursel are restrained in manner and full of charm.
Furthermore, the pastel portraits by the Baroness Lambert de Rothschild attract attention by the richness of their colouring and their firm drawing, while those of the Comtesse Ghislaine de Caraman impress one by their distinction and their style. Madame Philippson, who is at present devoting herself specially to sculpture, has exhibited oil paintings, boldly handled and decorative in effect, and Madame Rolin-Jacquemyns has engraved in most skilful fashion several etchings representing "The Desolate Spots of the Campine."
The most notable of the women-painters of the Belgian School to-day is certainly Madame Marie Collart, who with rare skill, has chosen a path to herself whereon she walks alone with an admirable instinct for intimate rusticity, showing much deep feeling. The painting of Mlle. Anna Boch, on the other hand, is bright and gay. She formed one of the famous group of the XX., and following the example of several of its members, she has now turned her attention to the special study of light in the open air. Mlle. Louise Héger, after painting the lonely dunes of Flanders, and the Campine, has been studying and skilfully representing the slaty tints of the high plateau of the Ardennes.
The most interesting of the "Ménages d'artistes" existing at present in the Belgian School is that of the Wytsmans. While Rodolph Wytsman seeks out the characteristic aspects of the landscapes of Brabant and the silent spots among the Flemish towns, Mme. Juliette Wytsman, for her part represents, so to speak, the floral life of the sites chosen by her husband. She has indeed created a genre in which she is without a rival.
The daughters of the German engraver, Hoppe, one of whom has married Bernier, the animal painter, and the other the landscapist, Gilsoul, have likewise attained celebrity.
Dutch School, XVII Century
THE MERRY YOUNG MAN.
FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY HANFSTAENGL
AFTER THE PAINTING IN THE RIJKSMUSEUM AMSTERDAM.
Judith Leyster, Painter
1600(?)-1660
The daughters and granddaughters of famous artists form yet another section. Mlle. Alice Ronner, of Brussels, daughter of Mme. Henriette Ronner, is beyond dispute the foremost painter of still-life in Belgium to-day. Her technical qualities are of the highest order, her mise-en-page, her draughtsmanship and her colour are in the grand style, and her works one and all have a really masterly air. Mlle. Marguerite Verboeckhoven, the granddaughter of the famous animal painter, has set herself to study the delicate gradations of colour seen on the Belgian littoral. Mlle. Verwée, daughter of the painter of the Beau Pays de Flandre, exhibits portraits, which display the wealth of her palette; and the still-life subjects by Mlle. Georgette Meunier, daughter of the engraver, Jean Baptiste, and niece of the great Constantin Meunier, are delicate both in design and in colouring. She is a pupil of Alfred Stevens.
Mme. Destrée-Danse and Mlle. Louise Danse, daughters of Auguste Danse, the engraver, have revealed themselves worthy of their father's high gifts. Mlle. Wesmael, in some remarkable landscapes, and Mme. Marie Durand, who has done some interesting heads, both prove that in Auguste Danse the teacher is fully worthy of the artist.
With regard to Mlle. Alix d'Anethan, C. Lemonnier, in his "History of Belgian Fine Art," writes in the following terms:—"In the Antwerp Salon of 1882 were two canvases by Mlle. d'Anethan, L'affiche and L'Enfant malade, which had the freshness and the limpidity of Chardin, with a grace, a delicacy of touch, a feminine sense revealing the teaching of that most imperious of masters, Alfred Stevens." Mlle. Berthe Art, too, followed this prodigious master painter. She has made her position by means of pastels which, while preserving their natural charm, have all the solidity of oil-paintings.
Mlle. Marie Antoinette Marcotte at first devoted herself to the representation of the life of the poor. Since then, however, she has created an altogether original genre, which has won for her many a success—the painting of glass-house interiors. She was "coached" by Emile Claus, the landscapist, among whose pupils were Mme. de Weert and Mlle. Montigny.
The number of women painters is ever on the increase. There were as many as thirty-nine represented at the Brussels Salon of 1848, while at the last Brussels Salon in 1903, they were more than a hundred; and to close this rapid survey of feminine art in Belgium, I may record a success of another kind. In 1904, Mlle. L. Brohée, after the various eliminating trials, found herself among the half-dozen artists permitted to take part in the final examination for the Prix de Rome.
Machteld van Lichtenberg, wife of Egbert van Boecop, is the first name of a Dutch woman painter given in Siret's "Historical Dictionary." She was born at Utrecht, of noble family, and made a speciality in portrait painting. Her name is mentioned by J. van Beverwyck. Her daughter Cornélie also took up painting, and died at a great age in 1629.
Marguerite Godewyck, of Dordrecht (1627-1677), was styled a "second Anne Schurman." She was one of the most learned women of her time, and was further surnamed "La Perle de la Jeunesse de Dordrecht," and "La Fleur du Paradis des Arts et des Sciences." She specialised in portrait painting. Judith Leyster, of Haarlem, likewise enjoyed great fame. From the year 1613 she was a member of the Guild of St. Luke, of Haarlem. In 1635 she had a pupil, Guillaume Wauters by name, who on leaving her entered the studio of Franz Hals. She was married at Heemstede on the 1st of June, 1636, to the painter Jean Molenaer, also a native of Haarlem. She is eulogistically mentioned by Th. Schrevelius, the historian of Haarlem, who describes her as a famous woman, justly, as he remarks, called "the true guide in the arts"—(de Ware Leyster in de Konst), her name Leyster signifying 'Guide.' She died in 1660.
The most celebrated of the Dutch women painters of the 18th century was Rachel Ruysch, of Haarlem. Her flowers and fruit, painted with keen spirit and with extraordinary firmness, are extremely rich and varied in their arrangement. She was a pupil of Guillaume Aelst. In 1695 she married Jurian Pool, and was admitted into the Hague Corporation of Painters in 1701, the same year as her husband. Without neglecting her duties as a mother (she had ten children) she was constantly devoted to her art. In 1708 she was appointed Court Painter of the Elector Palatine. Poets have sung the virtues and the gifts of this renowned woman.
Agathe and Cornélie van der Myn, sister and daughter of Herman van der Myn, accompanied the latter when he settled in London. Notable work was produced by three miniaturists: Henriette van Pee, wife of Herman Wolters, was born at Amsterdam, in 1692, and became her father's pupil. Peter the Great and the King of Prussia visited her studio, which had a high reputation, and the customary poets wrote the customary verses in her honour. Caroline-Petronille van Cuyck was made an honorary member of the Pictura of the Hague, in 1777. Anne Folkema, who lived between 1695 and 1768, was an active assistant of her brother, Jacques, in his numerous works. Nor must one forget Alida Carré, who confined herself, for the most part, to painting fans; Mlle. Van Kooten, whose name was inscribed in 1765 on the registers of the Confrérie de St. Luc, at Utrecht; Marguerite Wulfraat, of Arnhem (1678-1738), and Elisabeth Gertrude Wassenberg, of Groningue, (1726-1782), who painted genre and portraits.
At the opening of the 19th century the women painters of still-life, flowers and fruit, were still in large numbers.
An interesting figure who has left a poetical memory is Cornélie Lamme, of Dordrecht, who married J. B. Scheffer, and was the mother of the celebrated painters Henry and Ary, who belong to the French School. After the death of her husband she settled in Paris, and there ended her days. Her attainments, her wit, her eminent merits, made her one of the most remarkable women of her day. She was a draughtsman and an engraver.
The name of Henriette Ronner is one of great popularity. This indefatigable artist is known as "the painter of cats," and she has charmingly "hit off" both the heavy laziness of the mature animal, and the frolicsomeness of the kitten.
The flower pictures by Mme. van de Sande-Bakhuyzen, of the Hague, so well known, tempted that excellent engraver, Philippe Zilcken, who has "translated" with marvellous success their freshness and their éclat. Mme. Bilders van Bosse, of the Hague, is well known by her skilfully drawn and powerfully painted landscapes, and Mlle. Thérèse Schwartze, of Amsterdam, a painter of high merit, has the art of giving character to a portrait; and knows how to group her figures and paint them in strong and sombre tones. Mme. Mesdag van Houten, of the Hague, wife of the famous marine painter, affects the landscape at dark, and realises fully the melancholy tenderness of the hour.
It may be interesting now to name a truly remarkable artist who never exhibits—Mlle. Barbara van Houten, niece of Mme. Mesdag van Houten. She is an excellent painter of figure pictures and still-life; her etchings are of the highest quality, and embrace a large number of subjects—interiors with lamp effects, children's heads, landscapes, dead birds, bouquets of enormous sunflowers and gaudy tulips. Further, she has interpreted in masterly fashion, Eugène Delacroix, Jules Dupré, Gustave Courbet and other great masters of the French School.
Mention must be made of Mme. Bisschop-Robertson, who paints popular subjects with astounding vigour; Mme. Marie Heyermans, whose pictures deal with the life and surroundings of the poor; Mlles. Anna Abrahams and Anna Kerling, whose charming still-life pieces are coloured now in bright, now in sombre, tones; Mme. la baronne Hogendorp S' Jacob, of the Hague, who has turned her attention to flower painting; Mlle. Nelly Bodenheim, who does some very clever comic scenes, for the benefit of children; and Mlle. Wally Moes, of Amsterdam, a painter of portraits and peasant subjects.
Last we come to Mlle. Marius, whose fair-tinted and most distinguished still-life works have been seen and admired. She is an excellent art critic, and is now publishing an important work on Dutch painting of the 19th century.
N. JANY.
Flemish School, 1552
PORTRAIT OF A FLEMISH GENTLEMAN.
AFTER THE ORIGINAL PAINTING IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON,
FROM A CARBON PRINT BY BRAUN, CLÉMENT & CO.,
PARIS
Catharina van Hemessen, Painter
16th Century
Dutch School, XVII Century
YOUNG MAN ENCOURAGING A GIRL TO SMOKE AND DRINK.
FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY W. A. MANSELL & CO.,
AFTER THE ORIGINAL PICTURE IN A PRIVATE COLLECTION
Judith Leyster, Painter
1600(?)-1660
Dutch School, XVII and XVIII Centuries
PICTURE OF FRUIT WITH INSECTS AND LIZARDS.
FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDERSON
AFTER THE ORIGINAL MASTERPIECE IN THE PITTI GALLERY, FLORENCE
Rachel Ruysch, Painter
1664-1750
Dutch and Flemish Schools, late XIX Century
AFTER A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL PAINTING.
Mme. Gilsoul-Hoppe, Painter
Belgium
AFTER A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL PAINTING
Baronne van Hogendorp, Painter
Holland
STUDY OF STILL LIFE: ROSES IN A BASKET.
FROM A TRANSLATOR'S-ETCHING BY P. ZILCKEN
Madame G. J. van de Sande Bakhuyzen, Painter
Holland, 1826-1895
Dutch School, between 1880-1890
LANDSCAPE NEAR OOSTERBEEK
FROM THE ORIGINAL CHALK DRAWING
Mevrouw Marie Philippine Bilders van Bosse, Painter
1837-1900
Dutch School, late XIX Century
A BLEAK PASTORAL SCENE
AFTER THE ORIGINAL WATER-COLOUR
Madame Mesdag van Houten, Painter
WINDMILL AT HEELSUM
AFTER THE ORIGINAL OIL PAINTING
Madame Marie Philippine Bilders van Bosse, Painter
1837-1900
Dutch School, Contemporary
PORTRAIT STUDY OF A GIRL
AFTER THE ORIGINAL PICTURE
Mlle. Barbara van Houten, Painter
ORPHANS.
FROM A PHOTOGRAVURE OF THE ORIGINAL PICTURE
PAINTED IN 1887
Mlle. Thérèse Schwartze, Painter
Dutch School, Contemporary
PORTRAIT OF MLLE. THÉRÈSE SCHWARTZE.
PAINTED BY HERSELF FOR THE UFFIZI GALLERY, FLORENCE,
BY REQUEST OF THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT.
REPRODUCED FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY BROGI
Mlle. Thérèse Schwartze, Painter
Dutch and Flemish Schools, Contemporary
A POOL NEAR OOSTERBEEK.
AFTER THE ORIGINAL PAINTING
Madame Bilders van Bosse, Painter
1837-1900
WITH THE POOR AT HOME.
REPRODUCED FROM A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL PAINTING
Mademoiselle E. Marcotte, Painter
Belgium
Dutch School, Contemporary
PORTRAITS OF THE CHILDREN OF MR A. MAY, AMSTERDAM.
REPRODUCED FROM A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL PASTEL
Mademoiselle Thérèse Schwartze, Painter and Pastellist
Dutch School, Contemporary
"LOUTJE."
FROM A SKETCH
Mlle. Barbara van Houten, Painter
PORTRAIT OF A. G. C. VAN DUYL, AUTHOR.
FROM A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL PASTEL
Mlle. Thérèse Schwartze, Pastellist and Painter
Flemish School, Contemporary
STUDY OF STILL LIFE: GRAPES AND PARTRIDGES.
AFTER A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL PAINTING
Mademoiselle Berthe Art, Painter
Flemish School, Contemporary
PORTRAIT STUDY OF THE COUNTESS FLORENCE FABBRICOTTI
Baroness Lambert de Rothschild, Painter
PORTRAIT OF MONSIEUR GEVAERT.
REPRODUCED FROM THE ORIGINAL PAINTING
Baroness Lambert de Rothschild, Painter
Flemish and Dutch Schools, Contemporary
PORTRAIT OF MLLE. DETHIER.
AFTER A PROOF OF THE ORIGINAL ETCHING
Mlle. Louise Danse, Painter-Etcher
Belgium
A DUTCH PEASANT WOMAN.
FROM A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL PAINTING
Madame Suse Bisschop-Robertson, Painter
Holland
Flemish School, Contemporary
"THE LAST MOVE."
REPRODUCED FROM THE ORIGINAL PAINTING
BY PERMISSION OF MESSRS. BRAUN, CLÉMENT & CO., PARIS,
OWNERS OF THE COPYRIGHT
Madame Henriette Ronner, Painter
Flemish School, Contemporary
NEW TENANTS—NOUVEAUX LOCATAIRES.
AFTER THE ORIGINAL PICTURE,
FROM A CARBON PRINT BY BRAUN, CLÉMENT & CO., PARIS,
OWNERS OF THE COPYRIGHT
Madame Henriette Ronner, Painter
Flemish School, Contemporary
STUDY OF A HERON.
FROM A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL PAINTING
Mlle. Georgette Meunier, Painter
THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS.
AFTER MATTEO DI GIOVANNI DA SIENA
Madame Marie Destrée-Danse, Etcher
Flemish School, Contemporary
A SUNSET IN THE CAMPINE.
REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION FROM AN ETCHING
AFTER THE PAINTING BY JOSEPH COOSEMANS
IN THE BRUSSELS MUSEUM
Mademoiselle E. Wesmael, Etcher
Flemish School, Contemporary
LILIES IN THE COURTYARD OF A HOUSE OF REST AT BRUGES.
AFTER A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL PAINTING
Madame Juliette Wytsman, Painter