Judith Leyster. Judith Jans Leyster was a Dutch Golden Age painter.
She painted genre works, portraits and still lifes. Although her work was highly regarded by her contemporaries, Leyster and her work became almost forgotten after her death.
Her entire oeuvre was attributed to Frans Hals or to her husband, Jan Miense Molenaer, until 1893. Leyster was born in Haarlem, the eighth child of Jan Willemsz Leyster, a local brewer and clothmaker.
While the details of her training are uncertain, she was mentioned in a Dutch book by Samuel Ampzing titled Beschrijvinge ende lof der stadt Haerlem. Some scholars speculate that Leyster pursued a career in painting to help support her family after her father's bankruptcy.
She may have learned painting from Frans Pietersz de Grebber, who was running a respected workshop in Haarlem in the 1620s. During this time her family moved to the province of Utrecht, and she may have come into contact with some of the Utrecht Caravaggisti. Her first known signed work is dated 1629. By 1633, she was a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke. There is some debate as to who was the first woman registered by the Guild, with some sources saying it was Leyster in 1633 and others saying it was Sara van Baalbergen in 1631. Dozens of other female artists may have been admitted to the Guild of St. Luke during the 17th century; however, the medium in which they worked was often no
She painted genre works, portraits and still lifes. Although her work was highly regarded by her contemporaries, Leyster and her work became almost forgotten after her death.
Her entire oeuvre was attributed to Frans Hals or to her husband, Jan Miense Molenaer, until 1893. Leyster was born in Haarlem, the eighth child of Jan Willemsz Leyster, a local brewer and clothmaker.
While the details of her training are uncertain, she was mentioned in a Dutch book by Samuel Ampzing titled Beschrijvinge ende lof der stadt Haerlem. Some scholars speculate that Leyster pursued a career in painting to help support her family after her father's bankruptcy.
She may have learned painting from Frans Pietersz de Grebber, who was running a respected workshop in Haarlem in the 1620s. During this time her family moved to the province of Utrecht, and she may have come into contact with some of the Utrecht Caravaggisti. Her first known signed work is dated 1629. By 1633, she was a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke. There is some debate as to who was the first woman registered by the Guild, with some sources saying it was Leyster in 1633 and others saying it was Sara van Baalbergen in 1631. Dozens of other female artists may have been admitted to the Guild of St. Luke during the 17th century; however, the medium in which they worked was often no
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