Sandpaper: Anna Dorothea Therbusch

By Vicki Cooke 2012

Kevin Thomas

Drawing and Illustration

Dimensions
76cm x 54cm

Born into an artistic Prussian family, Therbush (1723-1782) was taught to paint by her father. Though her talent was noted at the time, she married an innkeeper and gave up painting in order to help her husband. It wasn't until 1761, as "a short-sighted, middle aged woman" that she returned to painting, yet in a short time, became court painter to the duke of Stuttgart, and later, Frederick the Great of Prussia. She was elected to the French Royal Academy of Art and Design, but struggled to make ends meet in Paris. As a contemporary noted: "She does not lack the talent to arouse interest in a country like ours; she lacks beauty, youth, modesty and coquetterie" Prints are available to buy

Vicki Cooke

Many women were making art in the 17th and 18th century, but much of their work has disappeared without a trace. How do we choose to remember the past when what we see is always incomplete? The ghosts of the forgotten are haunting, but through the action of drawing, they are remembered. Featuring in the series 'A Woman of Genius', rediscovering the lives of women artists. Fratellini ran a successful studio in Florence in the Baroque period and painted portraits and religious scenes.