The Nivaagaard Collection Acquires Rare 17th-Century Paintings by Flemish Female Artist

From Tuesday, June 17, 2025, visitors to The Nivaagaard Collection can experience two rare works by a 17th-century female artist: Two Flower Still Lifes (c. 1687–1688?) by Flemish painter Catharina Ykens II. With this acquisition, the museum includes the first woman artist in its collection of Dutch Baroque paintings.

Catharina Ykens II (1659 – after 1689) was born into a family of artists in Antwerp. Her father, uncle, and brother were all painters, and she is also recorded as being a painter in official records. The phrase “filia devot” added after her inscribed signature suggests a connection to the Church, though she was likely a lay sister rather than a nun.

Many female Baroque painters in the Netherlands specialized in still lifes with flowers and fruits—subjects that were long considered of lesser importance by art historians. Today, however, these works are appreciated for their aesthetic qualities, historical significance, and particular expressive affordances.

Only up to six paintings by Ykens II are known to have survived, including this pair of pendant works. They display a refined sensitivity in the depiction of the details: Chinese porcelain vases are filled with floral arrangements featuring bulbous pink roses, lily of the valley, auriculas, narcissus, honeysuckle, hyacinth, orange blossom, jasmine, and garden nasturtium. The compositions are executed with technical finesse and a good grasp of light and structure.

Museum Director Andrea Rygg Karberg remarks:

“Surviving works by female painters from the Dutch Baroque are extremely rare, and we are deeply grateful to have succeeded in acquiring these two beautiful pieces by Catharina Ykens II. Floral still lifes are a hallmark of Flemish painters of the period, but have not previously been represented in our Dutch Baroque collection. We look forward to presenting her floral compositions and being able to create new connections across the collection—not only with the museum’s other Dutch 17th-century works, but also with the female Renaissance artists Sofonisba Anguissola and her sister Europa Anguissola, as well as with floral traditions from other periods, such as the still lifes painted by the 19th-century Danish artist C.L. Jensen.”

The works were acquired with support from the Augustinus Foundation and Sportgoodsfonden.

Catharina Ykens II
(1659–after 1689)
Two Still Lifes with Flowers, c. 1687-1688?
Oil on panel, each 23,2 x 17,2 cm