Michaelina Wautier

This catalog accompanies the exhibition Michaelina Wautier, presented by the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna and the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Celebrating one of the most remarkable yet long-overlooked painters of the seventeenth century, the show brings Michaelina Wautier (1604–1689) back into the spotlight as a master of astonishing range and skill.

Active in Brussels during the Baroque era, Wautier defied expectations for women artists of her time. Her work spans grand history paintings, portraits, still lifes, and scenes of everyday life—genres that few women of the period were permitted to explore. Her bold compositions and psychological depth reveal an artist equal to her celebrated male contemporaries.

Published by the Royal Academy of Arts in collaboration with the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, this richly illustrated volume gathers the latest research and newly attributed works. Essays by leading scholars trace Wautier’s career, her connections to the Habsburg court, and her rediscovery in recent decades.