tant; her great service to letters was the result of the
sympathy and encouragement she gave to others.
Wherever she might be, she was the centre of a literary
and religious circle, as well as of the society in which she
moved. She was in full sympathy with her brother in
making his " Collige*^ an institution in which greater lib-
erty was accorded to the expression of individual opinion
than had before been known in France, and by reason of
her protection of liberty in thought and speech she suf-
fered much in the esteem of the bigots of her day.
. The beautiful Mlle.de Heilly — theDuchessed'Etampes
— whose influence over Francis I. was pre-eminent, while
her character was totally unlike that of his sister, was de-
scribed as " the fairest among the learned, and the most
learned among the fair." When learning was thus in
favor at Court, it naturally followed that all capacity for
it was cultivated and ordinary intelligence made the most
of; and the claim that the intellectual brilliancy of the
women of the Court of Francis I. has rarely been equalled
is generally admitted. There were, however, no artists
among them— they wielded the pen rather than the brush.
In England, as in France, there was no native school of
art in the sixteenth century, and Flemish, Dutch, and
German artists crossed the channel when summoned to
Digitized by
Googk
xxii WOMEN IN THE FINE ARTS
the English Court, as the Italians crossed the Alps to
serve the kings of France.
English women of this century were far less scholarly
than those of Italy and France. At the same time they
might well be proud of a queen who " could quote Pindar
and Homer in the original and read every morning a por-
tion of Demosthenes, being also the royal mistress of
eight languages." With our knowledge of the queen's
scholarship in mind we might look to her for such patron-
age of art and literature as would rival that of Lorenzo the
Magnificent; but Elizabeth lacked the generosity of the
Medici and that of Marguerite de Valois. Hume tells us
that " the queen's vanity lay more in shining by her own
learning than in encouraging men of genius by her libe-
rality."
Lady Jane Grey and the daughters of Sir Anthony
Cooke are familiar examples of learned women, and many
English titled and gentlewomen were well versed in Greek
and Latin, as well as in Spanish, Italian, and French.
Macaulay reminded his readers that if an Englishwoman
of that day did not read the classics she could read little,
since the then existing books — outside the Italian — would
fill a shelf but scantily. Thus English girls read Plato,
and doubtless English women excelled Englishmen in
their proficiency in foreign languages, as they do at pres-
ent.
In Germany the relative position of Art and Letters was
the opposite to that in France and England. The School
of Cologne was a genuinely native school of art in the
Digitized by
Googk
INTRODUCTION xxiii
fourteenth century. Although the Niebelungen Lied and
Gudrun, the Songs of Love and Volkslieder, as well as
Mysteries and Passion Plays, existed from an .early date,
we can scarcely speak of a German Literature before the
sixteenth century, when Albert Diirer and the younger
Holbein painted their great pictures, while Luther, Me-
lanchthon and their S)anpathizers disseminated the doc-
trines of advancing Protestantism.
At this period, in the countries we may speak of collec-
tively as German, women artists were numerous. Many
were miniaturists, some of whom were invited to the
English Court and received with honor.
In 1521 Albert Diirer was astonished at the number of
women artists in different parts of what, for conciseness,
we may call Germany. This was also noticeable in Hol-
land, and Diirer wrote in his diary, in the above-named
year: "Master Gerard, of Antwerp, illuminist, has a
daughter, eighteen years of age, named Susannah, who
illuminated a little book which I purchased for a few
guilders. It is wonderful that a woman could do so
much!"
Antwerp became famous for its women artists, some of
whom visited France, Italy, and Spain, and were honor-
ably recognized for their talent and attainments, wherever
they went.
In the later years of the sixteenth century a difference
of opinion and purpose arose among the artists of Italy,
the effects of which were shown in the art of the seven-
teenth century. Two distinct schools were formed, one
Digitized by
Googk
xxiv WOMEN IN THE FINE ARTS
of which included the conservatives who desired to pre-
serve and follow the manner of the masters of the Cin-
quecento, at the same time making a deeper study of Na-
ture — thus the devotional feeling and many of the older
traditions would be retained while each master could in-
dulge his individuality more freely than heretofore. They
aimed to unite such a style as Correggio's — who belonged
to no school — with that of the severely mannered artists
of the preceding centuries. These artists were called
Eclectics, and the Bolognese school of the Carracci was
the most important centre of the movement, while Do-
menichino, a native of Bologna — 1581-1631 — was the most
distinguished painter of the school.
The original aims of the Eclectics are well summed up
in a sonnet by Agostino Carracci, which has been trans-
lated as follows : " Let him who wishes to be a good painter
acquire the design of Rome, Venetian action and Venetian
management of shade, the dignified color of Lombardy —
that is of Leonardo da Vinci — the terrible manner of
Michael Angelo, Titian's truth and nature, the sovereign
purity of Correggio's style and the just symmetry of a
Raphael, the decorum and well-grounded study of Tibaldi,
the invention of the learned Primaticcio, and a littk of
Parmigianino's grace; but without so much study and
weary labor let him apply himself to imitate the works
which our Niccol6 — dell Abbate — left us here." Kugler
calls this "a patchwork ideal," which puts the matter in a
nut-shell.
At one period the Eclectics produced harmonious pict-
ures in a manner attractive to women, many of whom
Digitized by
Googk
INTRODUCTION xxv
studied under Domenichino, Giovanni Lanfranco, Guido
Reniy the Campi, and others. Sofonisba Anguisciola,
Elisabetta Sirani, and the numerous women artists of
Bologna were of this school.
The greatest excellence of this art was of short dura-
tion; it declined as did the literature, and indeed, the
sacred and political institutions of Italy in the seventeenth
century. It should not, however, be forgotten, that the
best works of Guercino, the later pictures of Annibale
Carracci, and the important works of Domenichino and
Salvator Rosa belong to this period.
The second school was that of the Naturalists, who pro-
fessed to study Nature alone, representing with brutal
realism her repulsive aspects. Naples was the centre of
these painters, and the poisoning of Domenichino and
many other dark and terrible deeds have been attributed
to them. Few women were attracted to this school, and
the only one whose association with the Naturalisti is re-
corded— Aniella di Rosa — ^paid for her temerity with her
life.
In Rome, Florence, Bologna, Venice, and other Italian
cities, there were, in the seventeenth century, many wom-
en who made enviable reputations as artists, some of
whom were also known for their literary and musical at-
tainments. Anna Maria Ardoina, of Messina, made her
studies in Rome, She was gifted as a poet and artist, and
so excelled in music that she had the distinguished honor
of being elected to the Academy of Arcadia.
Not a few gifted women of this time are remembered
Digitized by
Googk
XXVI WOMEN IN THE FINE ARTS
for their noble charities. Chiara Varotari, under the in-
struction of her father and her brother, called Padovanino,
became a good painter. She was also honored as a skilful
nurse, and the Grand Duke of Tuscany placed her por-
trait in his gallery on account of his admiration and re-
spect for her as a comforter of the suffering.
Giovanna Garzoni, a miniaturist, conferred such bene-
fits upon the Academy of St. Luke that a monument was
there erected to her memory. Other artists founded con-
vents, became nuns, and imprinted themselves upon their
age in connection with various honorable institutions and
occupations.
French Art in the seventeenth century was academic
and prosaic, lacking the spontaneity, joyousness, and in-
tensely artistic feeling of Italian Art— a heritage from
previous centuries which had not been lost, and in which
France had no part. The works of Poussin, which have
been likened to painted reliefs, afford an excellent exam-
ple of French Art in his time — 1594-1665 — ^and this in
spite of the fact that he worked and studied much in
Rome,
The Academic des Beaux-Arts was established by Louis
XIV., and there was a rapidly growing interest in art.
As yet, however, the women of France affected literature
rather than painting, and in the seventeenth century they
were remarkable for their scholarly attainments and their
influence in the world of letters.
Madame de Maintenon patronized learning ; at the H6tel
Rambouillet men and women of genius met the world of
Digitized by
Googk
INTRODUCTION xxvii
rank and fashion on common ground. Madame Dacier,
of whom Voltaire said, "No woman has ever rendered
greater services to literature," made her translations from
the classics; Madame de Sevign6 wrote her marvellous
letters; Mademoiselle de Scud^ry and Madame Lafayette
their novels ; Catherine Bernard emulated the manner of
Racine in her dramas ; while Madame de Guyon inter-
preted the mystic Song of Solomon.
Of French women artists of this period we can men-
tion several names, but they were so overshadowed by
authors as to be unimportant, unless, like Elizabeth
Charon, they won both artistic and literary fame.
The seventeenth century was an age of excellence in
the art of Flanders, Belgium, and Holland, and is known
as the second great epoch of painting in the Netherlands,
this name including the three countries just mentioned.
After the calamities suffered under Charles V. and
Philip II., with returning peace and prosperity an art was
developed, both original and rich in artistic power. The
States-General met in 1600, and the greatest artists of the
Netherlands did their work in the succeeding fifty years;
and before the century closed the appreciation of art and
the patronage which had assured its elevation were things
of the past.
Rubens was twenty-three years old in 1600, just ready
to begin his work which raised the school of Belgium to
its highest attainments. When we remember how essen-
tially his art dominated his own country and was admired
elsewhere, we might think-r-I had almost said fear — that
Digitized by
Googk
xxviii WOMEN IN THE FINE ARTS
his brilliant, vigorous, and voluptuous manner would at-
tract all artists of his day to essay his imitation. But
among women artists Madame O'Connell was the first who
could justly be called his imitator, and her work was done
in the middle of the nineteenth century.
When we turn to the genre painting of the Flemish and
Dutch artists we find that they represented scenes in the
lives of coarse, drunken boors and vulgar women— works
which brought these artists enduring fame by reason of
their wonderful technique ; but we can mention one woman
only, Anna Breughel, who seriously attempted the prac-
tice of this art. She is thought to have been of the fam-
ily of Velvet Breughel, who lived in the early part of the
seventeenth century.
Like Rubens, Rembrandt numbered few women among
his imitators. The women of his day and country affected
pleasing delineations of superficial motives, and Rem-
brandt's earnestness and intensity were seemingly above
their appreciation — certainly far above their artistic pow-
ers.
A little later so many women painted delicate and m-
sipid subjects that I have not space even for their names.
A critic has said that the Dutch school "became a nurs-
ery for female talent." It may have reached the Kinder-
garten stage, but went no farther.
Flower paintmg attained great excellence in the seven-
teenth century. The most ekiborate masters in this art
were the brothers De Heem, Willem Kalf, Abraham
Mignon, and Jan van Huysum. Exquisite as the pict-
ures by these masters are, Maria van Oosterwyck and
Digitized by
Googk
INTRODUCTION xxix
Rachel Ruysch disputed honors with them, and many
other women excelled in this delightful art.
An interesting feature in art at this time was the ulti-
mate association of men and women artists and the dis-
tinction of women thus associated.
Gerard Terburg, whose pictures now have an enormous
value, had two sisters, Maria and Gezina, whose genre
pictures were not unworthy of comparison with the works
of their famous brother. Gottfried Schalken, remarkable
for his skill in the representation of scenes by candle
light, was scarcely more famous than his sister Maria.
Eglon van der Neer is famous for his pictures of elegant
women in marvellous satin gowns. He married Adriana
Spilberg, a favorite portrait painter. The daughters of
the eminent engraver Cornelius Visscher, Anna and
Maria, were celebrated for their fine etching on glass,
and by reason of their poems and their scholarly acquire-
ments they were called the "Dutch Muses," and were
associated with the learned men of their day. This list,
though incomplete, suggests that the co^ucation of art-
ists bore good fruit in their co-operation in their profes-
sion.
In England, while there was a growing interest in
painting, the standard was that of foreign schools, espe-
cially the Dutch. Foreign artists found a welcome and
generous patronage at the English Court. Mary Beale
and Anne Carlisle are spoken of as English artists, and a
few English women were miniaturists. Among these
was Susannah Penelope Gibson, daughter of Richard Gib-
Digitized by
Googk
XXX WOMEN IN THE FINE ARTS
son, the Dwarf. While these women were not wanting in
artistic taste, they were little more than copyists of the
Dutch artists with whom they had associated.
In the early years of the seventeenth century there
were a number of Danish women who were painters, en-
gravers, and modellers in wax. The daughter of Kmg
Christian IV., Elenora Christina, and her daughter, Hele-
na Christina, were reputable artists. The daughter of
Christian V., Sophie Hedwig, made a reputation as a por-
trait, landscape, and flower painter, which extended be-
yond her own country; and Anna Crabbe painted a series
of portraits of Danish princes, and added to them descrip-
tive verses of her own composition.
The Art of Spain attained its greatest glory in the
seventeenth century — the century of Velasquez, Murillo,
Ribera, and other less distinguished but excellent
artists.
In the last half of this century women artists were
prominent in the annals of many Spanish cities. In the
South mention is made of these artists, who were of ex-
cellent position and aristocratic connection. In Valencia,
the daughter of the great portrait painter Alonzo Coello
was distinguished in both painting and music. She
married Don Francesco de Herrara, Knight of Santiago.
In Cordova the sister of Palomino y Vasco — the artist
who has been called the Vasari of Spain on account of his
Museo Pictorio— was recognized as a talented artist. In
Madrid, Velasquez numbered several noble ladies among
Digitized by
Googk
INTRODUCTION xxxi
his pupils; but no detailed accounts of the works of these
artists is available — if any such exist — and their pictures
are in private collections.
The above outline of the general conditions of Art in
the seventeenth century will suggest the reasons for there
being a larger number of women artists in Italy than else-
where — especially as they were pupils in the studios of
the best masters as well as in the schools of the Carracci
and other centres of art study.
Italian artists of the eighteenth century have been
called scene painters, and, in truth, many of their works
impress one as hurried attempts to cover large spaces.
Originality was wanting and a wearisome mediocrity pre-
vailed. At the same time certain national artistic quali-
ties were apparent; good arrangement of figures and
admirable effects of color still characterized Italian paint-
ing, but the result was, on the whole, academic and unin-
teresting.
The ideals cherished by older artists were lost, and
nothing worthy to replace them inspired their followers.
The sincerity, earnestness, and devotion of the men who
served church and state in the decoration of splendid
monuments would have been out of place in the service of
amateurs and in the decoration of the salons and boudoirs
of the rich, and the paintmg of this period had little per-
manent value, in comparison with that of preceding cen-
turies.
Italian women, especially in the second half of the cen-
Digitized by
Googk
xxxii WOMEN IN THE FINE ARTS
tury, w6re professors in universities, lectured to large au-
diences, and were respectfully consulted by men of science
and learning in the various branches of scholarship to
which they were devoted. Unusual honors were paid
them, as in the case of Maria Portia Vignoli, to whom a
statue was erected in the public square of Viterbo to com-
memorate her great learning in natural science.
An artist, Matilda Festa, held a professorship in the
Academy of St. Luke in Rome, and Maria Maratti,
daughter of the Roman painter Carlo Maratti, made a
good reputation both as an artist and a poetess.
In Northern Italy many women were famous in sculpt-
ure, painting, and engraving. At least forty could be
named, artists of good repute, whose lives were lacking
in any unusual interest, and whose works are in private
collections. One of these was a princess of Parma, who
married the Archduke Joseph of Austria, and was elected
to the Academy of Vienna in 1789.
In France, in the beginning of this century Watteau.
1684-1721, painted his interesting pictures of La Belle
Sociiti^ reproducing the court life, costumes, and manners
of the reign of Louis XIV. with fidelity, grace, and vivac-
ity. Later in the century, Greuze, 1725-1805, with his
attractive, refined, and somewhat mannered style, had a
certain influence. Claude Vemet, 1714-1789, and David,
1748-1825, each great in his way, influenced the nine-
teenth as well as the eighteenth century. Though Vien,
1716-1809, made a great effort to revive classic art, he
found little sympathy with his aim until the works of his
Digitized by
Googk
INTRODUCTION xxxiii
pupil David won recognition from the world of the First
Empire.
French Art of this period may be described by a single
word — eclectic — and this choice by each important artist
of the style he would adopt culminated in the Rococo
School, which may be defined as the unusual and fantastic
in art. It was characterized by good technique and pleas-
ing color, but lacked purpose, depth, and warmth of feel-
ing. As usual in a pot-poutriy it was far enough above
worthlessness not to be ignored, but so far short of excel-
lence as not to be admired.
In France during this century there was an army of
women artists, painters, sculptors, and engravers. Of a
great number we know the names only; in fact, of but
two of these, Adelaide Vincent and Elizabeth Vigte Le
Brun, have we reliable knowledge of their lives and works.
The eighteenth century is important in the annals of
women artists, since their numbers then exceeded the col-
lective number of those who had preceded them — so far as
is known—from the earliest period in the history of art.
In a critical review of the time, however, we find a general
and active interest in culture and art among women rather
than any considerable number of noteworthy artists.
Germany was the scene of the greatest activity of
women artists. France held the second place and Italy
the third, thus reversing the conditions of preceding
centuries.
Many German women emulated the examples of the
earlier flower painters, but no one was so important as to
Digitized by
Googk
xxxiv WOMEN IN THE FINE ARTS
merit special attention, though a goodly number were
elected to academies and several appointed painters to the
minor courts.
Among the genre and historical painters we find the
names of Anna Amalia of Brunswick and Anna Maria,
daughter of the Empress Maria Theresa, both of whom
were successful artists.
In Berlin and Dresden the interest in art was much
greater in the eighteenth than in previous centuries, and
with this new impulse many women devoted themselves
to various specialties in art. Miniature and enamel paint-
ing were much in vogue, and collections of these works,
now seen in museums and private galleries, are exquisite-
ly beautiful and challenge our admiration, not only for
their beauty, but for the delicacy of their handling and
the infinite patience demanded for their execution.
The making of medals was carried to great excellence
by German women, as may be seen in a medal of Queen
Sophie Charlotte, which is preserved in the royal collec-
tion of medals. It is the work of Rosa Elizabeth Schwin-
del, of Leipsic, who was well known in Berlin in the begin-
ning of the century.
The cutting of gems was also extensively done by
women. Susannah Dorsch was famous for her accom-
plishment in this art. Her father and grandfather had
been gem-cutters, and Susannah could not remember at
what age she began this work. So highly was she es-
teemed as an artist that medals were made in her honor.
As frequently happens in a study of this kind, I find
long lists of the names of women artists of this period of
Digitized by
Googk
INTRODUCTION xxxv
whose lives and works I find no record, while the events
related in other cases are too trivial for repetition. This
is especially true in Holland, where we find many names
of Dutch women who must have been reputable artists,
since they are mentioned in Art Chronicles of their time;
but we know little of their lives and can mention no pict-
ures executed by them.
A national art now existed in England. Hogarth, who
has been called the Father of English Painting, was a
man of too much originality to be a mere imitator of for-
eign artists. He devoted his art to the representation of
the follies of his time. As a satirist he was eminent, but
his mirth-provoking pictures had a deeper purpose than
that of amusing. Lord Orf ord wrote : " Mirth colored his
pictures, but benevolence designed them. He smiled like
Socrates, that men might not be offended at his lectures,
and might learn to laugh at their own folly."
Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough were
bom and died in the eighteenth century; their famous
works were contemporary with the founding of the Royal
Academy in 1768, when these artists, together with An-
gelica Kauff man and Mary Moser, were among its origi-
nal members.
It was a fashion in England at this time for women to
paint; they principally affected miniature and water-color
pictures, but of the many who called themselves artists
few merit our attention; they practised but a feeble sort
of imitative painting; their works of slight importance
cannot now be named, while their lives were usually com-
Digitized by
Googk
xxxvi WOMEN IN THE FINE ARTS
monplace and void of incident. Of the few exceptions to
this rule I have written in the later pages of this book.
The suggestion that the nineteenth century cannot yet
be judged as to its final effect in many directions has
already been made, and of nothing is this more true than
of its Art. Of one phase of this period, however, we may
speak with confidence. No other century of which we
know the history has seen so many changes — such prog-
ress, or such energy of purpose so largely rewarded as
in the century we are considering.
To one who. has lived through more than three score
years of this period, no fairy tale is more marvellous than
the changes in the department of daily life alone.
When I recall the time when the only mode of travel
was by stage-coach, boat, or private carriage — when the
journey from Boston to St. Louis demanded a week
longer in time than we now spend in going from Boston
to Egypt — when no telegraph existed — when letter post-
age was twenty-five cents and the postal service extreme-
ly primitive — ^when no house was comfortably warmed and