Few women worked as professional artists in the 16th century. A new exhibition in Antwerp, Belgium, seeks to restore this Flemish painter to the pantheon of art history giants

October 21, 2026 12:01 p.m.

Catharina van Hemessen's 1548 self-portrait is on view in a new exhibition in Antwerp, Belgium. Snijders and Rockoxhuis

When Catharina van Hemessen was 20, she painted what is widely believed to be the earliest known self-portrait of an artist at work.

In the 1548 scene , van Hemessen dons a black gown with red velvet sleeves and a modest hair covering. Instead of meeting the viewer’s gaze directly, she looks beyond them, her attention momentarily pulled away from the unfinished painting on her easel.…