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.