Did you know that German naturalist painter Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), an insect fanatic, laid the foundations of modern zoology with fantastic illustrations of over 200 species of insects? Have you heard of the English paper collagist Mary Delany (1700-1788), the Japanese post-war photographer Ishiuchi Miyako (b. 1947) and the Venezuelan minimalist Gego (Gertrud Goldschmidt, 1912-1994)?
After reading Katy Hessel The history of art without men (WW Norton & Company, 2023, US edition), many educators may yearn to rethink their art history inquiries and curricula—and perhaps trade Picassos or Pollocks for Merians and Gegos.
The book is a well-researched, readable, and accessible study that presents some hard truths. I flinched when I read that the highly sought-after Swiss neoclassical painter Angelica Kauffman had been denied access to training and opportunities in 18th-century London. Also, rather than being painted as a figure, his presence was reduced to a simple painted sculptural bust, displayed in a corner, in the Official Portrait of Painters of the Royal Academy of Arts.
Bearing in mind that Western male artists have been painting nude women since antiquity and sculpting them since prehistoric times, Hessel provides further damning facts. For example, it took a century for the Academy to admit another female painter after Kauffmann. And another 30 years passed before women got the right to paint nude figures from live models. This reflects some of the gender-based biases against female artists by art institutions then prominent.
In her introduction, Hessel notes, among her motivations for pursuing this line of research, the limited number of female artists in art historical literature and contemporary exhibitions. The book features the practices of many lesser-known but prolific artists active between 1500 and 2020 with whom readers may not be familiar, including Indian sculptor Mrinalini Mukherjee (1924-2015), American artist Judith Scott (1943-2005) and the African American, Gee’s Bend Community Quilters. The global roster of artists spans in geography from Brazil to Japan and beyond, and in genre from painting and performance sculpture to traditional craft mediums such as textiles, fibers and ceramics.
Hessel also addresses issues of representation explored by contemporary artists through portrait paintings and photography. For example, multiple complex notions of identity that encompass race and sexuality are channeled into the works of non-binary South African artist Zanele Muholi (b. 1972). Discussing current discussions around these themes, Hessel writes: “Neglected artists are not a trend. Female artists are not a trend. Queer artists are not a trend. Color artists are not a trend. Thus, readers are encouraged to beware of social media-fueled fads that oversimplify the works of these artists, thereby diminishing their prominence in art historical literature.
The history of art without men is a measured study, even, although sometimes presenting the artist as “heroic”, while lacking in depth analysis (which could offer an opportunity for future research). It may be best to think of the volume as an introductory survey of several female artists who have not yet been appreciably researched or entered the canon of art.
We can review the modes of recording the history of art, but does this open the way to an omnipresent representation? Global institutions continue to exhibit and collect far fewer works by female artists than by their male counterparts. The art market places less monetary value on works created by women. However, the revised literature that becomes the core of updated educational programs or social media debates is not enough. A cultural, social and economic shift in the way we value women’s art must be our goal. Katy Hessel sought to achieve this goal by updating readers’ impressions of female artists, in a positive way. Perhaps the next book will allude to the success of this one by simply being an art story.
The history of art without men by Katy Hessel (2023) is published by WW Norton & Company and is available online and in bookstores.
