Feb 21, 2023
Feb 21, 2023

A Scientist Seated at a Desk by Candlelight

A Scientist Seated at a Desk by Candlelight

c. 1767

Anna Dorothea Therbusch

(German, 1721/22–1782)

Oil on canvas

Canvas: 100 x 81 cm (39 3/8 x 31 7/8 in.); Framed: 121.9 x 103.5 cm (48 x 40 3/4 in.)

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2023.1

Location

Did you know?

Therbusch’s painting career began when she was in her 40s, after her children had grown.

Description

Candlelight subjects were unfashionable in Paris where Anna Maria Therbusch nonetheless submitted one for candidacy to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. She was denied one of three positions allotted to female artists on the grounds that a woman could not have painted such an accomplished work, Therbusch agreed to be observed painting by the male committee and was admitted to membership on her second attempt.

See also
Type of artwork: 
Painting
Medium: 
Oil on canvas

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