Women Artists and their Companions at the Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg, until 28 January 2024 

One of the problems with so many monographic exhibitions - those dedicated to a single artist - is that they rarely give us a chance to understand the context in which an artist was working, or how they related to their contemporaries. What, indeed, was it that enabled them to become successful artists in the first place? Another problem is that each individual exhibition gives primacy to its subject, regardless of how well they were known or how successful they were: they might even seem like the only important artist of their day. A case in point is Artemisia Gentileschi, a great artist by anybody's reckoning, but one who now bears most of the weight as 'successful artist in history who just happened to be female': she was one of many, as you will know. 

For each artist there is a different reason why they were successful, and what it was that enabled their career. The Bucerius Kunst Forum in Hamburg is addressing these issues this autumn in an exhibition which includes the work of some thirty women, and around 150 paintings, stretching from the Renaissance to the Baroque. It will look at the social and familial networks which supported and promoted each woman's work, as well as considering the differences for women when painting before or after marriage, or when working within a royal court or art institution. It will also consider the sacrifices they made, and the rare advantages they had, on their road to success. 

In addition to the more famous women - such as Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana, Angelica Kauffman and Judith Leyster - the exhibition will also introduce artists who are perhaps not so well known, in the UK at least, such as Anna Dorothea Therbusch and Michaelina Wautier, and promises to be one of this year's most stimulating displays.