Aart Heering
The Museo di Roma in Palazzo Braschi has an interesting scoop. In the monumental palace between Piazza Navona and Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 23 paintings – portraits, self-portraits, still lifes, landscapes, historical scenes – by female painters from the 150th century can be seen until March 16e to the 19e were active in Rome during the century.
Among the 56 artists in total are women of renown such as Artemisia Gentileschi, Lavinia Fontana and the Swiss Roman Angelica Kaufmann. Most of them were completely unknown until now and have now been rescued from oblivion.
The exhibition is the result of years of research in private collections, archives, museum depots (including those of the Museo di Roma itself), auction catalogues and (centuries-old) reports.
The two art historians who set up the exhibition came across much more material than they had expected. It turned out that several female painters were indeed famous during their lifetime, but disappeared from art historical literature in later years.
Of course, this did not only happen in Rome and this exhibition fits into a broad museum trend to pay more attention to more or less forgotten groups such as women and minorities. In doing so, many objects are unearthed that have never been exhibited to the public before, such as in Palazzo Braschi.
Roma Painter. Artist at work from the 16th to the 19th century (Rome painter. Female artists at work between the XNUMXth and the XNUMXth century.)
Until March 23, 2025 at Museo di Roma – Palazzo Braschi. Tue-Sun 10am-19pm. www.museodiroma.it
Comments