Caterina van Hemessen

Catarina van Hemessen (* 1527/28 in Antwerp, † after 1583 ) was a Flemish portrait painter of the Renaissance, which was active in Antwerp. In addition to portraits she painted religious images.

Her father was the painter Jan Sanders van Hemessen (ca. 1500 -ca. 1566), which she taught until about the age of 20 in painting. It is considered the first Flemish artist with signed and dated paintings. In 1548, she made a self-portrait in three variants, thus creating the earliest picture in which is located a painter working.

Your realistic paintings always have a dunkelen background. The sitters never look at the viewer (except the self-portraits ).

She married in 1554 the Antwerp organ player Chretian de Morien. From that time, they no longer painted.

One of their biggest sponsors was Maria of Castile, Archduchess of Austria, Princess of Spain and Queen of Bohemia and Hungary. You set up a foundation in favor of the spouses van Hemessen.

Works

• Self Portrait, Oil on canvas, 1548, Public Art Collection Basel, inv 1361 ( Switzerland )
• Self Portrait, 1548 Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg (Russia)
• Self Portrait, 1548, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam ( Inv. No. SK -A- 4256 )
• Portrait of a woman, Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge ( United Kingdom )
• Portrait of a woman with rosary
• Portrait of a Woman, 1551
• Portrait of a man - each National Gallery, London (United Kingdom )
• Portrait of a young woman in 1550, Bowes Museum, Durham ( United Kingdom )
• Spinettspielende woman, 1548, Wallraf -Richartz- Museum & Fondation Corboud Cologne
• Rest on the Flight to Egypt
• Jesus and Veronica, privately owned