Michaelina Wautier

27 Mar-21 Jun 2026

Overview

A 17th century trailblazer rediscovered.

Active in Brussels in the middle of the 17th century, Michaelina Wautier challenged the limits imposed on female artists at the time by working on an unusually varied range of subjects: from flowers and portraits to grand history paintings - which was a format usually reserved for her male counterparts.

In her most famous painting, Bacchanal, she painted herself as a pagan bacchante in monumental scale, looking squarely at the viewer and confidently asserting her position as the maker.

Although Wautier was hugely successful in her time, her breathtaking paintings and her place in art history were almost lost in the 18th century.

This exhibition puts Wautier back in her rightful place as one of Europe’s most important artists.