In this exhibition you’ll discover nine Groningen women who created art in the 18th and 19th centuries.
These artists were renowned in their day. They won prizes and belonged to artistic societies. Their work hung on the walls in local houses. Why did it fall out of fashion, and why did they disappear from the art-historical scene? Curator Egge Knol’s farewell exhibition gives these women artists who “fell out of art” the attention they deserve.
Famous in their day
Works in the spotlight include paintings and drawings by Elisabeth Geertruida Wassenbergh, Albarta ten Oever, Geesje Mesdag-van Calcar, Henriëtte Guillemina Wolthers-Brockes and Hillegonda Adriana Meurs-Sibinga. Most of these artists came from wealthy families, and their affluence and status enabled them to take part in exhibitions. Stepping out of the domestic sphere and revealing themselves as artists was a risky thing to do. They were exposing themselves and their work to visitors’ critical gaze, as women rarely did then. But as a result, their art was seen and bought in Groningen, and hence it is being highlighted in this exhibition.
About the curator
Uit de kunst is curated by Egge Knol. After nearly 30 years, he is bidding farewell to the Groninger Museum, where he is the Groningen cultural history curator. He acquired many of the works in the exhibition during his tenure. A few others come from the Groninger Archieven, an institution with which the Groninger Museum works closely on projects related to Groningen cultural history.