PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Catharina van hemessen was a Flemish Renaissance painter known as the first female Flemish artist and is famous for a series of small scale portraits.
Catharina was born in 1528 in Belgium. Her father Jan Sanders Van Hemessen was also a painter. It is said that catharina was inspired and later taught to paint by her father. Later on it is believed that she collaborated with him on many of his paintings.
She went on to become a famous and successful artist. Allot of support to her recognition was given by Maria of Austria who at the time was ruling the Low Countries on behalf of her brother. In 1554 Catharina married Cristian de Morien who at the time was working as an organist at the Antwerp Cathedral.
In1556 Catharina and her husband moved in with Maria when she returned from Spain. In 1558 when Maria died Catharina and Cristian received a substantial pension. Later on, around 1561 the couple moved to 's-Hertogenbosch because of the husbands work appointment.
Although Catharina did create two religious artworks she was mainly recognised for her small minimalist portraits of wealthy people. Surprisingly she did not follow her fathers footsteps of the Italianate style but instead followed her schools Flemish primitive technique.
Catharina’s death date is unknown but experts estimate that it was sometime after 1565. At the time the training that females had to go through was very hard and took many years. Catharina managed to surpass those obstacles and still become a successful artist of the time. In her lifetime she was also mentioned by two Italian artist biographers during 1567 and 1568.
Today Catharina Van Hemessen is still known for her amazing artwork and inspiring story as a rare female artist of the Renaissance era.
