Judith Leyster

Judith Jans Leyster (also Leijster) (1609 - 1660) was a Dutch artist known for her genre scenes, portraits and still life paintings.

Leyster was born in Haarlem, the eighth child of a brewer and clothmaker.

By 1633, she was a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke, one of only two women (the other was a house painter) who gained entrance into the group. Within two years of her entry into the guild, she had taken on three male apprentices. Check out the wikipedia article for an interesting anecdote about her students and rivalry with her contemporary, Frans Hals: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Leyster

In 1636, she married another artist, Jan Miense Molenaer and they moved to Amsterdam. They had five children, only two of whom survived to adulthood.

Most of Leyster's dated works are from 1629-1635, which coincides with the period before she had children. There are only two known pieces painted after 1635; two illustrations in a book about tulips from 1643 and a portrait from 1652.

Today, art lovers can purchase a tulip variety, pictured at right, named after Judith Leyster.

In 1893, The Louvre had purchased a Frans Hals only to find that it had been in fact painted by Judith Leyster. A dealer had changed the monogram that she used as a signature.

Leyster painted genre scenes, or scenes from everyday life, often depicting quiet scenes of women at home, as well as portraits and still lifes.

Any age student will enjoy doing a project in the style of Judith Leyster.

Project ideas: Do a self-portrait in the style of Judith Leyster. Pose in front of a mirror holding some objects that represent your interests, such as a book, bat and baseball or a musical instrument. Lightly sketch yourself with pencil, filling the whole page. Use the medium of your choice to add color: oil pastels, crayons, colored pencils or watercolor paint.

Take some objects from your kitchen and arrange them with some flowers for a still life. Lightly sketch the objects with a pencil, drawing them big to fill up the space. Add color to the still life with the medium of your choice.

Try a genre scene. Sketch some members of your family in a scene from every day life, such as playing a game together, preparing a meal, or watching television. Try to fill the whole page. Add color with the medium of your choice.

source for biographical information: wikipedia