Judith Leyster, 17th Century Dutch master

[Alexandra Tyng]

Originally Posted by Enzie Shahmiri

Or the work of females gets attributed to that of a male?

Enzie, this has actually happened to some of Leyster's work. Several were attributed to Hals, then reattributed to her.

Here is a quote from Germaine Greer's famous book, The Obstacle Race, on female artists. She writes about Judith Leyster:

"If Judith Leyster had not been in the habit of signing her work with the monogram JL attached to a star. . .her works might never have been reattributed to her. . .As a result of the discovery that The Jolly Companions bore Leyster's monogram, the English firm which had sold the painting to Baron Schlichting in Paris as a Hals attempted to rescind their own purchase and get their money back from the dealer, Wertheimer, who had sold it to them for 4,500 pounds not only as a Hals but 'one of the finest he ever painted'. The. . .case. . .was setled in court. . .with the plaintiffs agreeing to keep the painting for 3,000 pounds plus 500 pounds costs. The gentlemen of the press made merry at the experts' expense, for all they had succeeded in doing was in destroying the value of the paintiung... . At no time did anyone throw his cap in the air and rejoice that another painter, capable of equalling Hals at his best, had been discovered."

How sad! There may be more of her paintings out here, but there is no real incentive to go through them or reattribute them.

[Alexandra Tyng]

Here are two more by Judith Leyster:

1) The Jolly Companions, which was sold by A. Wertheimer as a Hals and then reattrbuted.

2) The Proposition

I think her work is wonderful. It has a sensitivity quite different from Hals' work, and the brushstrokes are expressive but less energetic than Hals'. To me her work is very distinct from that of other artists of her time.

I found that Amazon carries a book of her work:
Judith Leyster: A Dutch Master and Her World

[Thomasin Dewhurst]

Lovely work you've shown us, Alex. I do know of Judith Leyster but hadn't looked at her paintings for a while. A nice mixture of Bruegel and Rembrandt.

(A refreshing tonic for me after looking at a highly biased collection of banal and self-consciously post-modern figurative painters. I am extricating myself from this contemporary art that has "something-to-say" or, rather, "something-to-ram-down-your-throat".

I am going to paint like a dead European!)

[Enzie Shahmiri]

Ah, why am I not too surprised! Thank you for bringing our attention to this.

[Alexandra Tyng]

Thomasin and Enzie, glad to know you share my enthusiasm. it's such a pleasure just looking through her work and deciding which ones to post!

There's an exhibit now in New York, Dutch Portraits: The Age of Rembrandt and Frans Hals. I learned about it through a portrait client who had just seen the show and was raving about it. He brought out the catalog, and I went crazy looking at all the pictures.17th Century Dutch painting is high on my list. Suddenly realized I hadn't seen any Leysters. Granted, she didn't produce much work, but then her work is ranked up there with the best. Plus, she produced several very fine portraits. I looked through the index and realized to my disappointment that she was not included in the show. Her name wasn't even mentioned in the index. It was very disappointing. I would have liked the opportunity to see some of her work in person. It also put me off from seeing the how--but I think I will have to get over it and go to NY because I just heard from another friend that it was amazing.

[Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco]

Alex, I have seen the show in London and it is truely amazing, especially in the juxtaposition of Hals' and Rembrandt's works on similar subject (guilds portraits and anatomy lesson).
The whole thing is a little sombre and dark, plenty of black coats lightened by exquisit white collars. After coming out of it one needs a little Matisse though, just to freshen the eyes.
Ilaria

[Alexandra Tyng]

Thanks, Ilaria, I will definitely have to see it. And maybe hit the Museum of Modern Art afterwards.