Paint doesn't last as long as some other art forms, so premodern painters of any gender are tricky to find. Nevertheless, there is scattered evidence of women painting everything from prehistoric rock paintings to Roman portraits to Indian villages to medieval illuminated manuscripts.
I also delve into why none of the women in this series will be on the same name-recognition level as Michelangelo, Monet, or Picasso. In the words of art historian Linda Nochlin, "our stars, our hormones, our menstrual cycles or our empty internal spaces, it's in our institutions and our education." Nevertheless, this episode kicks off a series of excellent female painters from around the world.
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