Discover the remarkable artistry of the long-forgotten baroque painter Michaelina Wautier at the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
- Almost all surviving works on show
- Look for the magnificent Bacchanal
- Includes art by such contemporaries as van Dyck & Rubens
- Book a classical concert experience* for your Vienna stay
- Runs Sept 30, 2025 – Feb 22, 2026
- See also:
Painter, woman, genius
(Bacchanal, Michaelina Wautier, before 1659, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie; press photo © KHM-Museumsverband)
One of the benefits of social progress is we can acknowledge the creative talents of those who previous eras might have elbowed to one side for, say, not being able to grow a beard.
A glance through galleries of 17th-century paintings, for example, reveals an obvious and inevitable gender bias. The baroque art world was not an equal opportunities employer.
Thanks to an exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in a cooperation with London’s Royal Academy of Arts, we can now (re)discover the genius of a female painter long neglected by art history.
In recent times, Michaelina Wautier (1613/18–1689) has become recognised as a remarkable proponent of baroque painting. The Michaelina Wautier, Painter exhibition shows how this extraordinary artist deserves mention in the same breath as the likes of Rubens or van Dyck.
Sadly, Wautier’s biography and education remain a partial mystery with not even a reliable birthdate available. But we have some of her paintings, and most of those surviving works appear in the exhibition.
(Exhibition view of the paintings that make up The Five Senses; press photo © KHM-Museumsverband)
Incidentally, we can thank the enlightened 17th-century purchases of one Archduke Leopold Wilhelm for blessing the Kunsthistorisches Museum with what is the world’s most important Wautier collection.
Those paintings offer evidence of an exceptional talent.
Quite apart from the artistry and ability across genres (from still-life to monumental historical paintings and portraiture), certain touches reveal an artist of courage, humour and a seemingly cast-iron self-confidence.
Such qualities become more impressive when you consider the limited access afforded to women for formal art training at the time that Wautier lived.
So what can you see?
(It’s not for me to say, but I found Wautier’s portraits of children particularly impressive. Michaelina Wautier around um 1655, oil on canvas, 89.7 × 122 cm; photo by Rik Klein Gotink, Königliches Museum für Schöne Künste Antwerpen – Flämische Gemeinschaft)
Well, for example:
- Juxtapositions of Wautier’s works with those of such luminaries as the aforementioned van Dyck and Rubens, allowing a direct (and favourable) comparison of relative skills
- Biographical context. This includes works by brother Charles, with whom Wautier may have learned her trade, and books and more from the time. A ledger belonging to Archduke Wilhelm’s Dance Master notes a purchase of a painting from Wautier
- Inspirational context with paintings and sculptures that might have influenced the artist
- Wautier’s Five Senses cycle (viewable in its entirety for the first time in Europe). Each allegorical pose features a young male: a convention-breaking approach at the time
- The Bacchanal or Triumph of Bacchus: another convention shattering masterpiece
That Bacchanal painting makes you wish you could crack open a bottle of wine, sit around a table with Wautier, and get to know her character.
The work has Bacchus surrounded (unusually for the motif) by male nudes: a choice given added resonance by the fact that women weren’t even allowed to study the male body back then.
(Self-portrait by Michaelina Wautier around 1650, oil on canvas, 120 × 102 cm, private collection; press photo © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
This monumental painting also has Wautier herself (probably) in self-portrait. She stares directly at the viewer with one breast showing and a look that says…well, I like to think it’s a wry challenge to even dare to question her artistic choices.
Even Wautier’s stance seems to subtly dismiss those around her as if she’s above them all.
We learn more of Wautier’s character from her self-portrait that sits next to the Triumph of Bacchus, where she presents herself in the act of painting. Another self-confident expression, perhaps tinged with a little mystery.
The joy of seeing those works and revelling in their quality is tempered only by wondering how many other great talents lay forgotten because of bias or simple bad luck. How many other Michaelina Wautiers and Jane Austens might we never learn about…
Dates, tickets & tips
Enjoy Wautier’s genius from September 30th, 2025 to February 22nd, 2026. Access to the museum’s major exhibitions require a time slot ticket, which you can book online from the museum in advance or purchase on-site (assuming slots are available on that day) to upgrade a basic museum entrance ticket*.
Of course, the museum’s permanent picture galleries contain numerous masterpieces from the same era. And a smaller special exhibition running throughout Michaelina Wautier, Painter focuses on still life paintings by a contemporary: Pieter Claesz (1597/98 – 1660).
How to get there
Follow the travel tips at the bottom of my museum overview, but the central location makes it easy to find.
Address: Burgring 7, 1010 Vienna