The Art Newspaper reported that Catharina van Hemessen painted her Self-portrait at the Easel in 1548 at the age of 20. The Kunstmuseum Basel holds the signed panel, which a National Gallery assessment found represents the earliest known self-portrait by a female artist. It also stands as the first surviving oil painting to show an artist of any gender at work complete with easel, brushes, palette and mahlstick. The Latin inscription on the work reads I Catharina van Hemessen have painted myself 1548 Her age 20 according to the museum’s records.
A joint announcement by the Snijders&Rockox House and the National Gallery detailed plans for the exhibition which will reunite most of van Hemessen’s surviving works for the first time in nearly 500 years. The comprehensive show Van Hemessen and Father opens at the Antwerp museum on 15 October 2026 and runs through 31 January 2027 before a more focused version arrives at the National Gallery on 4 March 2027 for a run through 30 May. Dr Christine Seidel serves as curator for the London presentation which the National Gallery said will bring together signed paintings from international collections.
Van Hemessen was the daughter of Jan Sanders van Hemessen an Antwerp Mannerist painter influenced by Italian Renaissance art the exhibition organisers noted in their joint statement. She ranks as the earliest known female artist to sign her panel paintings which she typically did prominently according to archival material cited by The Art Newspaper. The upcoming exhibition will also display works by her father and incorporate ongoing archival research into the family workshop.
The National Museum of Norway reported that its concurrent Woman Painter exhibition opening in October 2026 will feature 51 paintings by 19 different women artists active across Northern Europe and Italy between 1550 and 1650. That show includes pieces by Sofonisba Anguissola Artemisia Gentileschi Lavinia Fontana Clara Peeters Judith Leyster and Margareta de Heer as organisers highlighted in their preview materials. Such programming reflects a broader surge in institutional focus on female artists from the period.
An analysis published by The Art Newspaper of Paris auction records from 1700 to 1850 identified around 500 sales of works by women artists. The data showed that eight artists accounted for 70 percent of those transactions by volume with Elisabetta Sirani emerging as a particular standout even though she had been inactive during much of the period covered. Recent years have seen renewed market momentum with a Gentileschi self-portrait selling for $5.69 million at Christie’s in early 2026 according to auction house reports.
The National Gallery stated that van Hemessen remains the earliest European female painter whose works can be identified with certainty because of her consistent signatures. Technical analysis of multiple versions of her self-portrait is planned as part of the exhibition preparation the curators added. The Antwerp venue’s emphasis on the family workshop will allow visitors to examine how van Hemessen established her professional practice in a male-dominated field.
