Female Court Artists: Women’s Career Strategies in the Courts of the Early Modern Period

Abstract

Based on a survey of the careers of forty-three female artists who worked at European courts c. 1500–1800, Christina Strunck argues that female court artists’ roles, obligations, and career strategies differed significantly from those of their male colleagues. Women artists at court were often regarded as mirabilia (marvels) – a notion many actively encouraged by cultivating unusual artistic techniques. Nevertheless, the reduced range of artistic activities permitted women at court reflected the general hierarchy of the sexes there. Thus, the courts perpetuated a situation in which only men could achieve the status of ‘genius’ while, it is suggested, commissions from the middle class ultimately helped ambitious female painters gain greater autonomy.