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Art and Thought in the Dutch Republic: Erasmus Lectures on the History and Civilization of the Netherlands and Flanders (Part 2)

A painting shows a seated female figure in an orange gown holding an artist’s palette and paintbrushes. She points to a portrait of a man in a black costume with a white collar on an easel to left. Another figure to her right stands in profile looking at the painting.
Gerard van Honthorst, Dutch, Portrait of Margareta Maria de Roodere and Her Parents Gerard de Roodere and Maria van Putten, 1652. Oil on canvas. Collection Centraal Museum Utrecht/Loan Rijksdienst Cultural Heritage, 20088.

Lecture

In collaboration with the Department of History of Art and Architecture, the Harvard Art Museums present Art and Thought in the Dutch Republic, a three-part lecture series delivered by Hanneke Grootenboer, professor of art history at Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands, and the 2021 Erasmus Lecturer on the History and Civilization of the Netherlands and Flanders at Harvard University.

Sensing the Self: Early Modern Female Artists

Arts and sciences flourished in the Dutch Republic during the 17th century. Women such as Anna Maria van Schurman, Margareta van Godewick, and Anna Roemer Visscher excelled in scholarly pursuits and art practice. They were greatly admired, but they were nonetheless categorized as exceptional cases and never possessed the freedom to voice ideas enjoyed by their male counterparts. Working in a variety of art forms, including miniature painting, drawing, embroidery, and paper cutting, these women often meant to address no other audience than the artist herself.

In this lecture, Professor Grootenboer sheds new light on early modern female artists by showing how their craft was a form of self-expression and a mode of thinking in visual form.

Led by:
Hanneke Grootenboer, Professor of Art History at Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands, and the 2021 Erasmus Lecturer on the History and Civilization of the Netherlands and Flanders at Harvard University

This talk will take place online via Zoom. The event is free and open to all, but registration is required. To register, please complete this online form.

Please read these instructions on how to join a meeting on Zoom. For general questions, email am_register@harvard.edu.

The Harvard Art Museums are committed to accessibility for all visitors. For anyone requiring accessibility accommodations for our programs, please contact us at am_register@harvard.edu at least 48 hours in advance.

The Harvard Art Museums have reopened to the public. Reservations are required for visitors and can be made up to three weeks in advance. Please visit the museum website for more information.

The 2021 Erasmus Lectures are presented by the Harvard Art Museums in collaboration with the Department of History of Art and Architecture at Harvard.

Please join us for the other lectures in this three-part series (all times Eastern):
Part 1, Friday, November 5, 4pm
Part 3, Friday, November 19, 4pm

Separate registration is required for each lecture.

The Erasmus Lectureship on the History and Civilization of the Netherlands and Flanders invites lecturers to spend a semester in any department of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. The lectureship was endowed in 1967 by donations from individuals and businesses in the Netherlands and from Dutch expatriates in the United States. In 1994, the endowment was enlarged by a donation from the Government of Flanders.