Newspaper Article

Riveting exhibit of Leyster's works

Magiera, Frank

1993

Overview

[Judith Leyster] painted herself with a gracious, confident countenance, unlike the way any male artist of the period painted women - unlike even the way Leyster painted other women. Her head is swung back. Her eyes gaze directly into the viewer's. Her lips are parted as if she was about to speak. Part of the pleasure and importance of this exhibition is, of course, rediscovering Leyster. She was a professional anomaly in her time whose art had been virtually lost to us since her death in 1661. Another part, however, is the way the exhibition seeks to cast Dutch painting in a somewhat different light. It includes many more paintings by Leyster's contemporaries like her husband, Jan Miense Molenaer; Frans Hals and his brother, Dirck; and the de Grebber family, to demonstrate the close similarities in style and subject matter. In the end, the exhibition's obvious sympathy for Leyster needs no rationalization. She clearly was an unusual and inspired artist who carved out a niche in a world dominated by men. Add the allure sparked by all the mystery that surrounds her, and Judith Leyster becomes the stuff of legend.

• Publisher: GateHouse Media, Inc
• Subject: Leyster, Judith