{"id":83160,"date":"2025-05-09T08:23:58","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T07:23:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=83160"},"modified":"2026-02-23T13:29:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T12:29:07","slug":"michaelina-wautier-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/khm\/michaelina-wautier-exhibition\/","title":{"rendered":"Michaelina Wautier exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/wautiersmallnew.jpg\" alt=\"Exhibition poster\" class=\"wp-image-86265\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/wautiersmallnew.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/wautiersmallnew-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Discover the remarkable artistry of the long-forgotten baroque painter Michaelina Wautier at the Kunsthistorisches Museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Almost all surviving works on show<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Look for the magnificent <em>Bacchanal<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Includes art by such contemporaries as van Dyck &amp; Rubens<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Runs Sept 30, 2025 &#8211; Feb 22, 2026<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/khm\/overview\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1446\">The Kunsthistorisches Museum<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/events\/exhibitions\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"37363\">Art exhibitions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Painter, woman, genius<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"381\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wautier1.jpg\" alt=\"The Bacchanal painting by Michaelina Wautier\" class=\"wp-image-83148\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wautier1.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wautier1-300x229.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(<em>Bacchanal<\/em>, Michaelina Wautier, before 1659, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gem\u00e4ldegalerie; press photo \u00a9 KHM-Museumsverband)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the benefits of social progress is we can acknowledge the creative talents of those who previous eras might have elbowed to one side for, say, not being able to grow a beard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A glance through galleries of 17th-century paintings, for example, reveals an obvious and inevitable gender bias. The baroque art world was not an equal opportunities employer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks to an exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in a cooperation with London&#8217;s Royal Academy of Arts, we can now (re)discover the genius of a female painter long neglected by art history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In recent times, Michaelina Wautier (1613\/18\u20131689) has become recognised as a remarkable proponent of baroque painting. The <em>Michaelina Wautier, Painter<\/em> exhibition shows how this extraordinary artist deserves mention in the same breath as the likes of Rubens or van Dyck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sadly, Wautier&#8217;s biography and education remain a partial mystery with not even a reliable birthdate available. But we have some of her paintings, and most of those surviving works appear in the exhibition.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/wautier4.jpg\" alt=\"View of paintings hung along a wall in an art museum\" class=\"wp-image-86253\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/wautier4.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/wautier4-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Exhibition view of the paintings that make up <em>The Five Senses<\/em>; press photo \u00a9 KHM-Museumsverband)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Incidentally, we can thank the enlightened 17th-century purchases of one Archduke Leopold Wilhelm for blessing the Kunsthistorisches Museum with what is the world&#8217;s most important Wautier collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those paintings offer evidence of an exceptional talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Quite apart from the artistry and ability across genres (from still-life to monumental historical paintings and portraiture), certain touches reveal an artist of courage, humour and a seemingly cast-iron self-confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Such qualities become more impressive when you consider the limited access afforded to women for formal art training at the time that Wautier lived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what can you see?<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"373\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/wautier2.jpg\" alt=\"Portrait of two baroque children\" class=\"wp-image-86251\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/wautier2.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/wautier2-300x224.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(It&#8217;s not for me to say, but I found Wautier&#8217;s portraits of children particularly impressive. Michaelina Wautier around um 1655, oil on canvas, 89.7 \u00d7 122 cm; photo by Rik Klein Gotink, K\u00f6nigliches Museum f\u00fcr Sch\u00f6ne K\u00fcnste Antwerpen \u2013 Fl\u00e4mische Gemeinschaft)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Juxtapositions of Wautier&#8217;s works with those of such luminaries as the aforementioned van Dyck and Rubens, allowing a direct (and favourable) comparison of relative skills<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Biographical context. This includes works by brother Charles, with whom Wautier may have learned her trade, and books and more from the time. A ledger belonging to Archduke Wilhelm&#8217;s Dance Master notes a purchase of a painting from Wautier<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Inspirational context with paintings and sculptures that might have influenced the artist<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wautier&#8217;s <em>Five Senses<\/em> cycle (viewable in its entirety for the first time in Europe). Each allegorical pose features a young male: a convention-breaking approach at the time<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <em>Bacchanal<\/em> or <em>Triumph of Bacchus<\/em>: another convention shattering masterpiece<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>That <em>Bacchanal<\/em> painting makes you wish you could crack open a bottle of wine, sit around a table with Wautier, and get to know her character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The work has Bacchus surrounded (unusually for the motif) by male nudes: a choice given added resonance by the fact that women weren&#8217;t even allowed to study the male body back then.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"332\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/wautier3.jpg\" alt=\"Self-portrait of a female baroque artist\" class=\"wp-image-86252\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/wautier3.jpg 332w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/wautier3-249x300.jpg 249w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 332px) 100vw, 332px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(Self-portrait by Michaelina Wautier around 1650, oil on canvas, 120 \u00d7 102 cm, private collection; press photo \u00a9 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This monumental painting also has Wautier herself (probably) in self-portrait. She stares directly at the viewer with one breast showing and a look that says\u2026well, I like to think it&#8217;s a wry challenge to even dare to question her artistic choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even Wautier&#8217;s stance seems to subtly dismiss those around her as if she&#8217;s above them all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We learn more of Wautier&#8217;s character from her self-portrait that sits next to the <em>Triumph of Bacchus<\/em>, where she presents herself in the act of painting. Another self-confident expression, perhaps tinged with a little mystery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The joy of seeing those works and revelling in their quality is tempered only by wondering how many other great talents lay forgotten because of bias or simple bad luck. How many other Michaelina Wautiers and Jane Austens might we never learn about&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"tickets\">Dates, tickets &amp; tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Enjoy Wautier&#8217;s genius from September 30th, 2025 to February 22nd, 2026. Access to the museum&#8217;s major exhibitions require a time slot ticket, which you can book online from the museum in advance or purchase on-site (assuming slots are available on that day) to upgrade a basic museum entrance ticket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, the museum&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/khm\/paintings\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1487\">permanent picture galleries<\/a> contain numerous masterpieces from the same era. And a smaller special exhibition running throughout <em>Michaelina Wautier, Painter<\/em> focuses on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/khm\/pieter-claesz-exhibition\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"83607\">still life paintings<\/a> by a contemporary: Pieter Claesz (ends March 15th, 2026).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get there<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Follow the travel tips at the bottom of my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/khm\/overview\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1446\">museum overview<\/a>, but the central location makes it easy to find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Address: Burgring 7, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1Ls0bHnAFYwdqHpA-vPBaMhgV1Fw\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Discover the remarkable artistry of the long-forgotten baroque painter at the Kunsthistorisches Museum<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86265,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-83160","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-khm","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83160"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88828,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83160\/revisions\/88828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}