Judith Leyster

Judith Leyster

Young Flute Player

1635

Judith Leyster Self-Portrait

1630

Judith Leyster's Life

Type of Art

Influences

• Influenced by the Baroque style (style of art in Europe at the time of her works), her works included many intricate details.
• Her art was also influenced by the artist Frans Hals who may have been her mentor.
• Included characteristics of the caravaggesque style such as realistic figues and high contrast between dark and light.
• Unlike many females at the time she painted people instead of subjects such as flowers.

• Judith Leyster. Young Flute Player, 1635. Oil on canvas
• Includes natural lighting possibly from a window not depicted in the work.
• The work shows a young boy dressed for the style at the time, playing the flute.
• The use of colors in the boy's outfit contrast with the grey background.
• One of Leyster's many works of a musician playing an instrument.

• Leyster was a painter.
• Largely painted people in the form of portraits, musical subjects and different scenes of people.
• In her life she painted many tavern scenes.

• Born: 1609, Haarlem, Netherlands
• Died: 1660, Heemstede, Netherlands
• Produced most of her paintings between 1629 and 1635, but did not receive much credit for them until 1693, after her death.
• In 1621 she was mentioned in a book by Samuel Ampzing titled Description and Praise of the City Haarlem in Poetry.
• As a child prodigy she continued painting even when her family faced bankruptcy.
• In 1628 Leyster moved to Utrecht with her family. In Utrecht she came across other painters.
• In 1629, Leyster and her family returned to Haarlem.
• In 1633, she became a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke. At the time she was one of two women who were members of the group.
• Leyster had three male apprentices within two years of her entry into the guild.
• In 1636, she married Jan Miense Molenaer, who was also an artist. They moved to Amsterdam in search of an area that was more financially stable for artist.
• They remained in Amsterdam for 11 years and had five children. Only two lived to become adults.
• The family then moved to Heemstede near Amsterdam. There they shared a studio. Her husband created the most paintings as Judith was more dedicated to taking care of the family. The shared studio resulted in the couple having some of the same objects in both of their works.

The Proposition

1631

A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel

• Judith Leyster. The Proposition, 1631. Oil on canvas, 11 11/16" by 9 1/2". Mauritshuis, The Hague.
• Uses a monochromatic background to bring attention to the people.
• Single lighting source, the candle/ flame.
• Contrast that comes from the use of light.
• Depicts a women, interested in her embroidery, as a man offers her with a handful of coins.

• Judith Leyster. A Boy and a Girl with a Cat and an Eel, 1635. Oil on wood, 49 x 59 cm.
• Style: Baroque
• Genre: portrait
• Suggested that it is a warning against troublesome behaviors. Uses children to warn the adults of society.
• The boy uses the eel to catch the cat and teases the cat with it. The girl then further agrivates the cat by pulling it's tail.
• The picture goes with the Dutch saying: 'He who plays with cats gets scratched'.