The National Gallery to stage the first exhibition for one of Europe’s earliest women painters

4 March – 30 May 2027
The National Gallery
Room 1 (The H J Hyams Room), Admission free

The first ever exhibition in the UK solely dedicated to the painter Catharina van Hemessen (1527/28–after 1565) will open at the National Gallery in spring 2027.

'Catharina van Hemessen' (4 March – 30 May 2027) will aim to bring together for the first time, from international collections, most of the signed paintings of this trailblazing artist. 

Flemish Renaissance artist van Hemessen is the earliest European female painter whose works can be identified without doubt because she signed them.  

Known for her small-scale portraits of women completed between the late 1540s and early 1550s, van Hemessen is the earliest woman artist in the National Gallery’s collection. She is one of only four female painters mentioned by the influential art historians Vasari and Guicciardini as having worked in Antwerp in the 16th century, and the only one of them for whom an undisputable corpus of works can be established.

Dr Christine Seidel, Curator of Catharina van Hemessen, says: ’Catharina van Hemessen’s significant beginnings in Antwerp, the most prolific centre of artistic production in northern Europe in the 16th century, secured her rank among the best-known women painters of the early modern period.’

Catharina van Hemessen was the daughter of Jan Sanders van Hemessen (about 1500–after 1563), a prominent Mannerist painter in Antwerp who had studied Italian art. Her father is believed to have been her teacher, and she may have collaborated in his workshop.

'Catharina van Hemessen' is curated by Dr Christine Seidel, Associate Curator of Renaissance Painting at the National Gallery.  

Exhibition organised by the National Gallery and the Museum Snijders&Rockoxhuis, Antwerp.

'Van Hemessen & Father: The Antwerp Workshop of Jan and Catharina van Hemessen' will open at the Museum Snijders&Rockoxhuis, Antwerp from 15 October 2026 to 31 January 2027.  

 
The H J Hyams Exhibition Programme
Supported by The Capricorn Foundation

Notes to editors

Picture credit

Catharina van Hemessen (1527/8 – after 1565)
'Portrait of a Woman', 1551
oil on wood, 22.8 × 17.6 cm
The National Gallery. Presented by Mrs D.E. Knollys, 1934
© The National Gallery, London

Publicity images can be obtained from https://press.nationalgallery.org.uk/ 

Catharina van Hemessen 
4 March – 30 May 2027
The National Gallery
Room One, Admission free

Press view: Tuesday 30 June 2026

Tour

'Van Hemessen & Father: The Antwerp Workshop of Jan and Catharina van Hemessen' Museum Snijders&Rockoxhuis, Antwerp (15 October 2026 – 31 January 2027)

In the winter of 2026–2027, the Snijders&Rockoxhuis proudly presents the very first comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the 16th-century Van Hemessen family. This exhibition brings a forgotten lineage of artistic pioneers back into the spotlight and rewrites the story of the Antwerp Renaissance from a fresh and unexpected perspective: that of a creative family enterprise where father, sons, and daughter collaborated, experimented, and left a lasting mark on art history.

Active from around 1520 to 1556, Jan van Hemessen stands as a pivotal figure in Antwerp's evolving art scene between Quinten Massys and Pieter Bruegel the Elder. His evocative body of work, poised between medieval mysticism and humanist realism, features saints and sinners, lovers and fools alike. Despite the enduring appeal of his imagery, his name has faded into complete obscurity over the centuries. 

Among Jan's children, one shines with particular brilliance: Catharina van Hemessen. Today, her name may even sound more familiar than her father's. As the first female artist from the Habsburg Netherlands whose work has survived, she made history in a time when painting was largely a male domain. Catharina distinguished herself through determination and finesse. Her small-scale paintings, of which an impressive selection will be presented during the exhibition, reveal both technical mastery and remarkable psychological depth. She signed her works with pride and was celebrated in her lifetime by connoisseurs across Europe, including Guicciardini and Vasari. Around 1556, she even moved to Spain, where she found herself among the noble entourage of Mary of Hungary.

'Van Hemessen & Father' is far more than a traditional monographic display. It presents an untold story of artistic innovation, of family as a creative ecosystem, of the role of women in art, and of Antwerp as a cradle of bold ideas. This exhibition connects masterpieces with fresh insights and invites reflection on how a love for art is born, passed on, and transformed into lasting beauty. 'Van Hemessen & Father: The Antwerp Workshop of Jan and Catharina van Hemessen' is curated by Dr Maarten Bassens, Curator at the Snijders&Rockoxhuis in Antwerp. 

The artist

Catharina van Hemessen (1528 – after 1565)
Catharina van Hemessen is the earliest Flemish woman artist for whom verifiable work survives. She was the daughter of Jan van Hemessen, a painter in Antwerp. In 1556 she was apparently in Spain with Mary of Hungary. Most of the signed pictures are small portraits.

Only eight portraits and very few devotional paintings signed by Catharina survive in public collections around the world, with several attributed works in public and private collections in need of further study.

Trained in the workshop of her father, the prolific Antwerp painter Jan Sanders van Hemessen, Catharina produced refined small-scale portraits and religious scenes. Her sitters’ bearings and attire conform to official portrait types popular at the Habsburg court. The small format turns them into intimate marvels that showcase the painter’s skill. The Florentine writer Ludovico Guicciardini, who had lived several years in the Netherlands, praised her as one of only four women artists from Antwerp in his description of the Low Countries ('Descrittione di tutti i Paesi Bassi', 1567). He does not fail to mention that she and her husband, a famed organist, followed Mary of Hungary to Spain, where they stayed until the queen’s death in 1558 before returning to the Netherlands.

The National Gallery

The National Gallery is one of the greatest art galleries in the world. Founded by Parliament in 1824, the Gallery houses the nation’s collection of paintings in the Western European tradition from the late 13th to the early 20th century. The collection includes works by Artemisia Gentileschi, Bellini, Cezanne, Degas, Leonardo, Monet, Raphael, Rembrandt, Renoir, Rubens, Titian, Turner, Van Dyck, Van Gogh and Velázquez. The Gallery’s key objectives are to care for and enhance the collection and provide the best possible access to visitors. Admission free. nationalgallery.org.uk  

For more information and images

National Gallery Press Office on 020 7747 2865 or email press.external@nationalgallery.org.uk