Art History Course

WOMEN ARTISTS: Artemisia Gentileschi to Tracey Emin

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Until recently it was quite easy believe there were no significant women artists in the entire history of Western Art. None appeared in key texts, such as Ernst Gombrich's 'The Story of Art' (first published, 1950) or H.W. Janson's 'The History of Art' (1963) and few were represented in major art collections.

Feminist art historians faced a challenging detective task. Where was the evidence? Where were the art works? Were they correctly signed and attributed? Did they even utilize techniques, or depict subjects, acceptable to the Academies as 'Fine Art'?

This course will consider how women artists accessed training and sustained careers. It will ask what happened to their works and their reputations in following centuries.

Join me to discover Old Mistresses from the Renaissance court portraitist Sofonisba Anguissola and the pioneering history painter Artemisia Gentileschi to well-known contemporary artists such as Tracey Emin.