Women Masters

Giovanna Garzoni, Still Life with Melon on a Dish, Grapes and a Snail, ca. 1650, Museo Nazionale della Natura Morta di Poggio a Caiano.

Artemisia Gentileschi, Angelica Kauffmann, Clara Peeters, Rosa Bonheur, Mary Cassatt, Berthe Morisot, María Blanchard, Natalia Goncharova, Sonia Delaunay and Maruja Mallo were celebrated artists in their lifetimes who are now enjoying renewed recognition in response to their erasure from the art-historical account alongside others who broke moulds with creations of undoubted excellence.

Featuring nearly 100 works, including paintings, sculptures, works on paper and textiles, Women Masters is curated from a feminist viewpoint by Rocío de la Villa. It presents a survey from the late 16th century to the early decades of the 20th century through eight contexts important within women’s path towards emancipation. Starting from the contemporary notion of sisterhood, it focuses on groups of female artists, patrons and gallerists who shared values as well as favourable socio-cultural and theoretical conditions despite the patriarchal system. Employing a structure principally based on the conjunction of historical periods, artistic genres and themes, the exhibition reveals how these artists approached important issues of their day, established their positions and contributed new iconographies and alternative gazes.

The eight sections of the exhibition are presented in detail on the exhibition website.