Catharina van Hemessen

She probably received training in her hometown of Antwerp from her father, the famous artist Jan Sanders van Hemessen. In 1548, Catharina van Hemessen’s father was elected to the position of Dean of Antwerp’s St Lucas Guild, which probably meant she gained greater artistic freedom. That same year she painted a portrait of an anonymous woman that is now part of the Rijksmuseum collection. Self-portraits, especially by female artists, were very rare in the 16th century, but Van Hemessen painted one nonetheless: in 1548 she was the first female artist to depict herself at the easel. In 1556, the artist and her husband moved to Spain, at the invitation of the regent of the Netherlands and keen art collector Mary of Hungary, to work at the Habsburg Royal Court.