Vanitas and Women Artists: A Brief of Mortality

Using many symbols, such as skulls, flowers, books, clocks, and other items, vanitas artists created pieces that were heavily inspired by religion, as it was Christianity during the Medieval times that incorporated the belief that all earthly pleasures are futile and only the spiritual world matters. The artists were mainly men, as it was common at that time. However, there were also women artists who painted beautiful, elegant, and timeless vanitas paintings. So, let’s learn more about vanitas and women artists.

The Historical Background of Vanitas

During the Middle Ages, the church issued a stern warning about the dangers of earthly wealth, emphasizing its worthlessness and the eternal damnation it led to. As a result, we have the earliest pictorial representations pairing luxury items with skulls during this period. However, these depictions gained momentum in the 17th century, particularly in the aftermath of the Thirty Years’ War. This era was marked by a convergence of challenges including warfare, epidemics, economic crisis following the discovery of America, religious schism, and the turmoil of the Protestant Reformation, plunging humanity into profound crisis.

Amidst this turmoil, 17th-century Western art witnessed a heightened demand for artworks that reflected the human condition, portraying mankind as often subject to the capriciousness of fate. Despite the prevailing crisis, vanitas thrived in northern Europe, particularly in Protestant regions where it prompted contemplation of individual spirituality. Holland, in particular, emerged as a hub for this genre between the 16th and 17th centuries, influencing the works of renowned Flemish masters.

The Origins and the Traits of Vanitas

The term “vanitas” originates from the Bible, specifically from the phrase vanitas vanitatum, meaning vanity of vanities. In its literal sense, it conveys transience, making it an apt choice to symbolize a pictorial iconography with moralistic aims. Its purpose is to urge viewers to prioritize eternal salvation over fleeting worldly pleasures and desires.

Vanitas paintings have very specific characteristics. In contrast to other meticulously arranged still-life artworks, the objects in these depictions are deliberately disordered. This disorder symbolizes the disruption that materialism can introduce into a devout life. Traditional still-life art, on the other hand, primarily aims to demonstrate the artist’s mastery of painting rather than imparting profound moral messages.

Observing the paintings, one can see several common objects that symbolize different things. For example, books, maps, and musical instruments symbolize science and art. Purses, jewelry, and gold objects represent wealth and power. Soap bubbles, clocks, hourglasses, skulls, burning candles, and flowers stand for death and transience. Ears of corn and springs of laurel or ivy are symbols of resurrection and eternal life.

Vanitas and Women Artists

As aforementioned, Vanitas flourished during the 17th century in Holland, that is the Dutch Golden Age. During this time, some of the most famous and talented artists emerged: Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Frans Hals, and many others. The era produced a wide range of art genres, including portraits, landscapes, still lifes, and scenes of everyday life. Male artists were the main professionals. They enjoyed a relatively high social status and were often members of prestigious guilds, which provided them with professional recognition, networking opportunities, and access to patrons. Many of them received commissions from wealthy clients, including aristocrats, merchants, and civic institutions.

Unfortunately, that was not the case for female artists. Women faced significant barriers to entry into the painting profession.  Social norms dictated that their primary roles were in the domestic sphere, and pursuing a career as an artist was generally not socially acceptable. Moreover, formal art education and apprenticeships were typically inaccessible to women, further hindering their artistic development.

Women who aspired to become painters often encountered resistance from their families and societal expectations. Even if they managed to acquire artistic training, they struggled to find opportunities for patronage and public recognition. Gender bias and discrimination within the art world meant that women’s works were often undervalued and marginalized compared to those of their male counterparts. Nevertheless, some women painters overcame the societal obstacles, but only to face those of the profession: the confinement to specific subjects, deemed “suitable” for their gender, such as still lifes, portraits, and domestic scenes. Their artistic expression was constrained by prevailing gender norms, limiting their ability to explore more diverse themes and styles.

Maria van Oosterwijck

Maria van Oosterwijck was a prominent Dutch Golden Age painter, notable for her exquisite floral still lifes, along with Rachel Ruysch. She showed an early aptitude for art and received training from prominent painters such as Jan Davidsz de Heem and Jan Porcellis. She became famous for her meticulously detailed floral still lifes, which often featured arrangements of flowers, fruits, and insects.

Her paintings were characterized by their vibrant colors, precise rendering of botanical specimens, and exquisite attention to detail. Despite the floral still lifes, she also created beautiful vanitas paintings, which included skulls, maps, and globes. Van Oosterwijck gained recognition and patronage from wealthy clients, including members of the Dutch aristocracy and European royalty. Collectors sought after her works eagerly, allowing her to command high prices for her paintings.

The artist employed a meticulous painting technique known as “fine painting,” which involved building up layers of thin glazes to achieve luminous effects and intricate textures. In addition, she arranged her compositions with a sense of balance and harmony, showcasing her mastery of composition and design. On the contrary, her vanitas paintings followed the rules of the genre and they were chaotic, with darker colors. Flowers were the most common trait of all her paintings. They symbolized transience, mortality, and the fleeting beauty of life.

She is recognized as one of the leading female painters of the Dutch Golden Age, defying societal expectations to achieve success in a male-dominated profession.

Catarina Ykens

Catarina Ykens is another Flemish artist whose vanitas paintings are worth mentioning. Information about her is relatively scarce compared to more well-known artists of the era. She was the daughter of the Flemish painter Frans Ykens the Elder and the sister of another painter, Frans Ykens the Younger. She likely received artistic training and inspiration from her father, Frans Ykens the Elder, who was also a still-life painter.

Ykens specialized in still-life painting, particularly floral arrangements and fruit compositions. However, as we see in the painting, she also thrived in vanitas, but in her own way. In this example, she used a skull as the face of a female aristocrat to symbolize in a direct way that death is certain, no matter the social class. Furthermore, her works often featured vibrant colors and thorough attention to detail, reflecting the influence of the Flemish Baroque tradition.

Overall, while Catarina Ykens remains relatively understudied in comparison to other artists of her time, her contributions to Flemish still-life painting offer valuable insights into the diversity of artistic talent during the 17th century.

Sara van Baalbergen

Sara van Baalbergen was another female Dutch Golden Age painter known for her portraits and genre scenes. Information about her work and life is very limited but we do know a little about her painting. She often depicted subjects in domestic settings, portraying scenes of daily life and social interactions. However, she was also very good at creating vanitas paintings.

She got married to Barent van Eysen and they worked closely together. They worked so closely that it is difficult to attribute her paintings to her, as they are often attributed to her husband or her teacher, Vincente van der Vinne, like the painting shown above.