Call for Papers – Scholars’ Day Beyond the Exception: Reframing Judith Leyster
When: 10 May 2027
Where: Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, NL
Deadline: 1 November, 2026
In Rose Garrard’s Models Triptych: Madonna Cascade, the seventeenth-century painter Judith Leyster breaks the frame that surrounds her: a sculptural cascade of Madonna’s extending beyond the picture plane into the viewer’s space. The work offers a powerful reflection on the changing visibility of women artists within art history. Leyster herself long remained in the shadow of male contemporaries until she was firmly imbedded within the art historical canon thanks to major publications and exhibitions (Frima Fox Hofrichter 1989; exh. cat. Haarlem 1993; exh. cat. Washington, DC/Haarlem 2009/2010).
Since then, previously unknown paintings attributed to Leyster have surfaced on the art market and have been incorporated into her oeuvre, prompting renewed discussions concerning attribution and workshop practice. Meanwhile, developments in technical art history, combined with the increasing accessibility and digitization of archival sources, have opened up further new avenues for research. In parallel, interdisciplinary research on women and gender in the early modern Dutch Republic has expanded considerably, generating new perspectives on women’s agency, professional networks, and collaboration. Whereas Leyster was long regarded as an exceptional female talent within an overwhelmingly male art world, women artists are now increasingly recognized as structural participants in the public and creative sphere – a shift recently reflected in the exhibition Unforgettable (Washington & Ghent, 2025-2026), in which Leyster’s work was presented alongside that of more than forty other early modern women artists from the Low Countries.
Almost four hundred years after Leyster registered with the Haarlem Guild of Saint Luke in 1633, these developments call for a reassessment of Judith Leyster’s life, work, reputation, and broader position within the seventeenth-century art world. The Frans Hals Museum, in collaboration with the University of Amsterdam, therefore organizes a Scholars’ Day that brings together researchers to assess the current state of research on Leyster and to explore new perspectives. Possible topics for discussion include:
- Oeuvre and attributions
- Materials and technique
- Workshop practice and collaboration
- The art market and social networks
- Leyster and female artistic practice in the Dutch Republic
- Patronage and provenance
- Reception history
Both completed and ongoing research, as well as research proposals, are welcome. We particularly encourage submissions presenting original research that has not yet been published or presented elsewhere.
First and foremost, this gathering aims to foster scholarly exchange on Judith Leyster. In addition, the outcomes of the day will serve as the foundation for a scholarly edited volume on Leyster in the Frans Hals Studies series published by Taylor & Francis, as well as for a new exhibition devoted to Judith Leyster at the Frans Hals Museum, both tentatively planned for 2030-2031. Researchers interested in participating are invited to submit an abstract (max. 250 words) and a short CV to c.klinkert@franshalsmuseum.nl and j.f.j.noorman@uva.nl by November 1, 2026.
Organizers:
Christi Klinkert (Frans Hals Museum), c.klinkert@franshalsmuseum.nl
Marleen Puyenbroek (Frans Hals Museum), m.puyenbroek@franshalsmuseum.nl
Judith Noorman (University of Amsterdam), j.f.j.noorman@uva.nl