Unforgettable I

Unforgettable I: Women Artists from Antwerp to Amsterdam 1600-1750
at the MSK (Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent) 
from 7 March – 31 May 2026 
I: Building a Career
Monday, 3 August at 6pm

In Spring this year the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent staged the most comprehensive exhibition about women in the visual arts I have seen so far. Drawing together the extensive research that has taken place over the past few decades, it presented a more thoroughly grounded way of looking at the artists: who they were, how they organised their careers, and how they managed to become artists in the first place. Far rather than being ‘freak’ phenomena, women worked regularly in the arts, and were often hugely successful. Although the exhibition has been and gone, it is well worth looking back at the remarkable wealth of material it presented – so much so, indeed, that I have decided to dedicate two talks to it. You can book for either separately, or, on a different link, both together at a reduced price. 

Focussing on artists in the ‘Greater Netherlands’ (my term – what we now call The Netherlands and Belgium),  and looking at the 17th and 18th centuries, the exhibition was arranged into themes. Individual artists reappear as consistent threads linking the different sections, thus filling out our understanding of their careers and  their place within the artistic community. Far more than monographic rooms dedicated to single artists, this approach helps to show how much they were part of the different communities to which they belonged, rather than being isolated from their male colleagues as curiosities or wonders. 

In the first talk we will explore the first few themes. ‘Identities’ presents images of women at work, in both portraits and self portraits, while ‘Tradition and Ambition’ considers the extent to which the artists took a traditional approach – or broke with it – while furthering their careers. Many were related to other members of the artistic community – both men and women – and this is explored in ‘Family Ties’. 

Please remember, I do not record my talks.