Van Hemessen & Father

Van Hemessen & Father
at the Snijders&Rockoxhuis, Antwerp
until 31 January 2027
Monday 7 December at 6:00pm 

Catharina van Hemessen is famous for painting the first known self portrait of an artist, brush in hand, working at an easel. She was also the first woman to sign and date an oil painting in Europe. Like so many women who shared this profession, she was the daughter of an artist, Jan - but unlike many of her contemporaries, and later women, she has not yet benefitted from a solo exhibition.

As a first step towards this, the Snijders&Rockoxhuis - located just a few streets away from where she lived and worked - is staging the first exhibition to show her paintings alongside those of her father, exploring his workshop, his working methods, and his collaborations to give us a greater understanding of her background.

The one-woman exhibition will come next year, a version of the Antwerp show, and based on the same thorough and revealing research. From 4 March - 15 May the National Gallery will host Catharina van Hemessen: Signature Works - which promises to include some paintings which could not travel to Belgium. Rather than waiting for that, I have decided to explore the Antwerp exhibition in depth, so that, with a better understanding of Catharina's origins, we will be better prepared to understand the National Gallery's display of her delicate, elegant and minutely-observed portraits.

Please remember, I do not record my talks.