Judith Leyster’s The Concert (c. 1633) is bursting with personality. Three musicians crowd together in jovial expression, instruments in hand, caught mid-song.

One figure turns toward us with a grin, breaking the fourth wall with mischievous energy.

The painting feels immediate, playful, and alive. Yet for over 200 years, no one knew about the woman who painted it.

Her work disappeared into the shadows of the Dutch Golden Age, misattributed to male contemporaries like artist Frans Hals or credited to her husband, Jan Miense Molenaer.

Leyster’s style was lively and loose, strong enough to stand beside the work of Hals, which is precisely why it was so often mistaken for his.

She had been one of the very few women admitted to the Haarlem Painters Guild, allowing her to open a studio, train students, and sell work professionally. But after her death in 1660, her name faded from the historical record entirely.

That is, until 1892, when an art historian noticed a unique signature across a number of paintings: the initials J.L., topped with a star.

Leyster means “lodestar” or “guiding star,” and that’s precisely what her signature became.

​​​​​​​​​​​Since the rediscovery, about 35 paintings have been rightfully attributed to her name.

Scholars suggest the central figure in this piece might be a kind of self-portrait, Leyster capturing her own spirited presence on canvas.

Like the star she signed her paintings with, Leyster shines again.

What draws you to her work, the playfulness, rediscovery, or something else?

Email us with your thoughts and a suggestion for the next picture of the month: marketing@sothebysinstitute.com

Image: Judith Leyster, The Concert, c. 1633, oil on canvas, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington.