Carousing Couple

genre

Judith Leyster is one of the very few women to have been accepted as a member of the Haarlem Guild of Painters. Although a contemporary historian described her as a leading light in art (punning on her name Leyster, which means "lodestar") she remained unknown for a long time and her works were either believed lost, or were attributed to Frans Hals. She probably worked in his studio around 1630 and was also a friend of his family, for one year later she became godmother to Hals' daughter Maria.

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About the Artist

Judith Leyster

1609 – 1660

Dutch painter of genre scenes, portraits, and still-life, probably a pupil of Frans Hals in Haarlem, where she spent most of her career (she also worked in Amsterdam). In 1636 she married Jan Miense Molenaer, with whom she shared a studio, using the same models and props. Leyster was one of Hals's best followers and her work has sometimes passed as his, an example being the Lute Player in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Her monogram includes a star, a play on 'Ley/ster' (lode star).

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