Courtesy of Museum With No Fronteirs
Josefa de Óbidos has often been, as many female artists of her time are, regarded as an inconsequential still life painter. Carmen Ripollés, associate professor of art and art history at Portland State University, wishes to challenge this perception. On Sept. 8, Ripollés visited Lewis & Clark and gave a presentation doing exactly that. Her presentation centered around Josefa de Óbidos as a figure of Global Baroque art and a significant, historical female artist. The presentation was repurposed from when Ripollés presented at the international symposium in London on July 3. One aspect of this event was the celebration of the first English language monograph on de Óbidos, authored by Ripollés herself. Until this book, de Óbidos had been given very little attention by English speaking scholars. Portugal often falls to the sidelines of art that we study. Ripollés commented on the significance of her book.
“I thought it was really important to bring her story to life for an English speaking language because she kind of defies what maybe we may think about a lot of women artists at the time. She was (an) independent, professional artist. She did all kinds of things, not just still life. She was famous. And we didn’t know about her, right? So … I thought it was important that we also knew about her work.”
Ripollés’s perspective on the work of de Óbidos first changed when she visited an exhibition at the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (National Museum of Antique Art) in Lisbon. The 2015 exhibition was entitled “Josefa de Óbidos e a Invenção do Barroco Português,” translating to “Josefa de Óbidos and the Invention of the Portuguese Baroque.” This exhibit was a collection of paintings and prints by the artist that featured varied subject matter while maintaining a stylistic coherence. It is in this coherence that we see key elements of baroque art. Her poses are dynamic and energetic. Her paintings made use of bold contrast and vibrancy with light and color, especially between the background and the subjects. She painted crucifixion, saints, blood, tears, whips, animal guts and royalty. These subjects were considered much less feminine than those of still lives. At the time, it was male artists that would depict such dramatic, emotional scenes. Despite still life paintings being what de Óbidos was known for, she only signed four. Seeing the exhibit inspired Ripollés.
“It was important for me to treat her as you would treat any other artist, like any male artist … being very kind of, okay, how did she get here?”
To answer this question, Ripollés examined pieces such as the engraving entitled “Saint Catherine of Alexandria,” which de Óbidos created at 16 years old. Though it was an early study, she still signed her name alongside the date and location. As Ripollés put it, “It was as if she wanted to say, ‘I was here, I was doing this.’” Throughout her life, de Óbidos often painted strong female figures like St. Catherine. Eventually, she grew to become one such powerful and respected individual herself. She never married and held the title of Donzela Emancipada, Portuguese for emancipated maiden, meaning she could accept commissions, own land or grow a business independently.
The next major development in the work of de Óbidos was oil paintings on copper plates. The copper surface creates some incredible visual effects allowing for paintings to be incredibly detailed, vibrantly saturated, and appear to glow when the light bounces off of them. This adds a sense of preciousness to them. Ripollés said, “they were almost like jewels, if you will.”
As she gained popularity in Portugal, de Óbidos was commissioned to paint a large altarpiece in the Church of Santa Maria. One painting in the triptych was composed of the “Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine.”
The “Mystical Marriage” was reproduced from one of her smaller oil-on-copper works. It also displays one of the more notable characteristics of her art, the presence of elements and stylistic features from all around the world. Notably, the carpet depicted is Iranian in origin. As Ripollés put it, “… she brings this very particular introduction of global art from around her that we don’t really see in so many other artists that much, which is a very Portuguese particular thing as well, but I think that’s also something that is really unique about her works.”
This article is only a portion of the life of de Óbidos. Her story is deeply intertwined with the culture of her time and the place where she grew up. Her art reflects that. So next time you think of Josefa de Óbidos, think of her as she was: an icon of Portuguese Baroque.
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