Rijksmuseum shows four centuries of women artists

Women on Paper and the research project have been made possible in part by the Women of the Rijksmuseum Fund. The exhibition in the print cabinets is on display from 3 December 2022 to 5 June 2023.

Women on Paper

The world of art on paper is populated by many women artists. Women often used to be educated within the family, and as with other professions, the production and publishing of prints was often a family business. Printmakers Diana Mantuana and Barbara van den Broeck developed into independent and enterprising engravers, and the 15th- and 16th-century print cabinet is dedicated to their work. The display in the 17th-century cabinets centres on the work of Magdalena de Passe and Gesina ter Borch. De Passe, like her three brothers, was trained as an engraver, and her work was highly regarded. Ter Borch came from an artistic family and devoted her life to art. On display are watercolours characterised by originality, humour and beauty, alongside highly personal poems, writing and drawings by Ter Borch and her family. The display in the 18th-century print cabinet focuses on flora and fauna, with watercolours by artists including Dorothea Maria Graff and Alida Withoos, whose precise and colourful work was an important contribution to the developing natural sciences. Their travels took them to a wide range of destinations, as far afield as Suriname.

The final print room focuses on the 19th century, with work by artists including Thérèse Schwartze, Lizzy Ansingh, Julia Margaret Cameron and Eva Watson-Schütze. In the early 19th century, an exhibition circuit arose for drawings and pastels, through which many women artists achieved recognition and commercial success. The advent of photography brought another art form that was embraced by women for its many artistic possibilities.

Audio tour

An audio tour is available to accompany the exhibition. Visitors can hear the tour free of charge in the Rijksmuseum app.

Also at the Rijksmuseum

• Irma Boom: art + books
  Until 7 May 2023
  A book without ink or consisting only of covers – each book by Irma Boom is unique. More than 30 books are on display alongside artworks from the Rijksmuseum collection – art that has inspired her and art for which she feels a strong affinity. This display is a celebration of the Rijksmuseum’s more than 20-year partnership with Irma Boom.

• Modern Japanese prints from the Für Elise Foundation donation
  Until 16 April 2023
  Innovation and modern life, but also a longing for the past. Sixty prints show the development of the shin-hanga and sōsaku-hanga movements in the early 20th century and reveal the variety of Elise Wessels’ collection.

• Duurzaam / Sustain / Tene
  Until 15 January 2023
  What does sustainability look like in the Netherlands and the six Dutch Caribbean islands? For Document Nederland, Sharelly Emanuelson explores the relationship between humans and their environment in light of climate change and the impact of everyday actions on it.