A Feminist History of Art I: Discovering female creativity through the ages. From Hildegard Von Bingen to the Guerrilla Girls

A Feminist History of Art

What would Art History look like if we rewrote it from the margins?

The Feminist History of Art is a four-part (6h) lecture series that reimagines the story of art through the radical, visionary, and often overlooked creativity of women artists across centuries. Moving from the beginning of modernity to the present day, the course introduces twelve extraordinary figures whose work unsettles dominant narratives and reveals a parallel history — one of persistence, brilliance, and quiet revolution.

Instead of returning to familiar, institutionalized names, we turn our attention to artists who have been partially erased, underestimated, or framed within male-dominated movements. Through their art — and through their lives — we encounter stories of resistance, ambition, struggle, and reinvention.

Together, we will explore:

How women navigated exclusion from academies and artistic networks

The strategies they developed to claim space and authorship

The recurring patterns of silencing in art history

The ways they forged audiences, communities, and legacies despite systemic barriers

Across four dynamic sessions, we will meet:

Hildegard of Bingen

Sofonisba Anguissola

Angelica Kauffman

Maria Bashkirtseff

Katsushika Ōi

Edmonia Lewis

Suzanne Valadon

Hilma af Klint

Loïs Mailou Jones

Alina Szapocznikow

Agnes Denes

Zanele Muholi

This course is for anyone who wants to rethink the canon, rediscover hidden genealogies, and encounter art history as a living, contested field — still being written.