Caterina van Hemessen (1528-c.1587)

"Self Portrait" 1548.

Detail

This oil on panel, executed in Basel when the artist was just 20 years old, is one of the earliest surviving self portraits in oils by a female painter. Remarkably, it is also thought to be the first self portrait to depict a painter sitting before an easel.

Van Hemessen was the daughter of the artist Jan Sanders Van Hemessen and she is the earliest Flemish female painter for whom there is extant work. She painted intimate, sombre portraits of wealthy figures, usually against a dark background. She travelled widely and enjoyed a highly successful career with many wealthy patrons as well as three male students who worked under her.