Mayken Verhulst (1518–1596 or 1599), also known as Marie Bessemers,Greer, p. 26. was a sixteenth-century

miniature A miniature is a small-scale reproduction, or a small version. It may refer to: * Portrait miniature, a miniature portrait painting * Miniature art, miniature painting, engraving and sculpture * Miniature (chess), a masterful chess game or problem ...

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...

and

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

painter, identified by

Lodovico Guicciardini Lodovico Guicciardini (19 August 1521 – 22 March 1589) was an Italian writer and merchant from Florence who lived primarily in Antwerp from 1542 or earlier. He was the nephew of historian and diplomat Francesco Guicciardini. ''Description of ...

in 1567 as one of the four most important female artists in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. She was actively engaged in the workshop of her husband,

Pieter Coecke van Aelst Pieter Coecke van Aelst or Pieter Coecke van Aelst the Elder ( Aalst, 14 August 1502 – Brussels, 6 December 1550) was a Flemish painter, sculptor, architect, author and designer of woodcuts, goldsmith's work, stained glass and tapestries.

, posthumously publishing his works. While she is recognized as an exceptionally skilled artist, little is known about her works or life as there are few surviving attributable sources of information.

Life

Mayken Verhulst was born in

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

in 1518. She was the second wife of the painter

, and the mother-in-law of

Pieter Brueghel the Elder Pieter Bruegel (also Brueghel or Breughel) the Elder (, ; ; – 9 September 1569) was the most significant artist of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, a painter and printmaker, known for his landscapes and peasant scenes (so-called genre ...

, and, according to

Karel van Mander Karel van Mander (I) or Carel van Mander I (May 1548 – 2 September 1606) was a Flemish painter, poet, art historian and art theoretician, who established himself in the Dutch Republic in the latter part of his life. He is mainly remembe ...

, the first teacher of her grandsons

Pieter Brueghel the Younger Pieter Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Younger (, ; ; between 23 May and 10 October 1564 – between March and May 1638) was a Flemish painter, known for numerous copies after his father Pieter Bruegel the Elder's work as well as h ...

and

Jan Brueghel the Elder Jan Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Elder (, ; ; 1568 – 13 January 1625) was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. He was the son of the eminent Flemish Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel the Elder. A close friend and frequent collaborato ...

. Her sister Lysbeth was married to the engraver and painter

Hubert Goltzius Hubert Goltz or Goltzius (30 October 1526 – 24 March 1583) was a Renaissance painter, engraver, and printer from the Southern Netherlands. He is not to be confused with the much more famous Hendrik Goltzius, who was his cousin, once remove ...

, and her sister Barbara was married to the painter

Jacob de Punder Jacob de Punder or Jacques de Punder (1527 – c.1570), was a Flemish Renaissance painter mainly known for his portrait paintings. Biography Jacob de Punder was born in Mechelen. The early Flemish biographer Karel van Mander states in the '' ...

. According to Slater (2019), she died in Brussels in 1596, approximately eighty years old., but most authority notices state that she died in Malines in 1599.

Works

Following Pieter Coecke's death in 1550, she likely oversaw the publication of a large

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

series ''Ces Moeurs et Fachons de Faire des Turcz'' (''Manners and Customs of the Turks'') (1553). This print was originally designed by van Aelst as a tapestry design, strategically published by Verhulst as a print after his death to showcase his work. Additionally, she waited until about twenty years following her husband's death to publicize his legacy, argued by Di Furia as an intentional decision meant to honor Charles V, a great admirer of Turkish culture, as he withdrew from public service in 1555. Thus, Verhulst displayed great agency through her strategy, independence, and creativity. No works survive that can be securely attributed to Verhulst, although she is frequently identified as the person behind several works assigned to the Master of the Brunswick Monogram. Verhulst may also have been the author of a painting in the

Kunsthaus Zürich The Kunsthaus Zürich is in terms of area the biggest art museum of Switzerland and houses one of the most important art collections in Switzerland, assembled over the years by the local art association called '. The collection spans from the Medi ...

with a self-portrait with her husband (panel, 50.5 x 59 cm).

Legacy

Status

While little is definitively known about her life and works, Guicciardini's ''Descrittione'' places her alongside

Susanna Horenbout Susanna(h) Hornebolt or Horenbout (1503–c.1554) was the first known female artist in England
HistoryofWomen.org (H ...

Levina Teerlinc Levina Teerlinc (1510s – 23 June 1576) was a Flemish Renaissance miniaturist who served as a painter to the English court of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. She was the most important miniaturist at the English court between ...

, and

Caterina van Hemessen Caterina or Catharina van Hemessen (1528 – after 1565) was a Flemish Renaissance painter. She is the earliest female Flemish painter for whom there is verifiable extant work. She is mainly known for a series of small-scale female portrai ...

, suggesting her remarkable talents.

Impact

Verhulst was the first teacher of her grandsons, Pieter Brueghal the Younger and Jan Brueghal the Elder, both of which are prolific Northern Renaissance Master painters. Ironically, her close relation to such prominent artists has muted her long-lasting effect on art history, as she is most often mentioned within discussions of their heritage as opposed to her accomplishments. Published by Mayken Verhulst, her husband's composition ''Ces Moeurs et fachons de faire de Turcz'' now resides at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, evidencing her significant impact on Northern Renaissance printmaking.

Surviving artifacts

Her house and former painter's workshop, is a historic monument in Mechelen. It is a museum named . Zurich's Kunstaus houses the only possible surviving portrait of Verhulst.

Notes

Sources

* Bergmans, Simone. "Le Problème de Jan van Hemessen, monogrammatiste de Brunswick," in ''Revue belge d'archéologie et d'histoire de l'art'', vol. 24, 1955, pp. 133–57. * Di Furia, Arthur J., "Towards an Understanding of Mayken Verhulst and Volcxken Diericx", in ''Women Artists and Patrons in the Netherlands, 1500–1700'' edited by Elizabeth A. Sutton, 157-177. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2019. * Greer, Germaine. ''The Obstacle Race'', p. 26. * King, Catherine. "Looking a Sight: Sixteenth-Century Portraits of Woman Artists," in ''Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte'', vol. 58, 1995, pp. 381–406. * Op de Beeck, Jan. "Pieter Bruegel, Mayken Verhulst en Mechelen". In: De Zotte Schilders. (p. 17–29. Ed. Snoeck.2003. . * Op de Beeck, Jan, ''Mayken Verhulst (1518–1599). The Turkish Manners of an Artistic Lady''. Mechelen: Museum Het Zotte Kunstkabinet, 2005. . * Piland, Sherry, ''Women artists : an historical, contemporary and feminist bibliography.'' London: The Scarecrow Press. 1994. * Ruby, Louisa Wood, "An early wooded landscape by Jan Brueghel the Elder", ''The Burlington Magazine'', 1312, vol. 154 (2012): 476–481. * Slater, Alexis Diane, ''Mayken Verhulst: A Professional Woman Painter and Print Publisher in the Sixteenth-Century Low Countries.'' Austin: The University of Texas at Austin, 2019. * "Woodcut offers panoramic view of 16th-century Muslim life.
''Yale Bulletin & Calendar'' 18 January 2002.
(accessed 21 May 2007)
Haar naam was Mayken
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verhulst, Mayken 1518 births 1599 deaths Artists from Mechelen Flemish Renaissance painters Flemish women painters Portrait miniaturists Flemish printmakers Bruegel family Women printmakers 16th-century women artists 16th-century printers Artists from the Habsburg Netherlands