I am delighted to announce our sale of Marcelle Hanselaar's Rebel Women from the Apocrypha to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
The Met has acquired the full set of fifteen etchings w/aquatint that comprise this series for their permanent collection.
This marks Hanselaar's second major acquisition by the Met, following our 2018 sale of The Crying Game, a series of thirty prints that explored themes of conflict, power, horror, grief and transformation.
In Rebel Women from the Apocrypha, Hanselaar gives her own contemporary take on forgotten characters, histories and mythologies, and the overlooked role of women in sacred and literary narratives that remain as relevant as ever.
Brava Marcelle!
Big thanks to Nadine and Jennifer
Marcelle Hanselaar
Rebel Women from the Apocrypha (2022)
A series of fifteen etchings/aquatints
Plate size 20 x 25 cm
Sheet size 38 x 43 cm
Edition of 30, plus 5 APs
Printed by the artist on 300gsm Somerset paper
Published by Julian Page
“Many years ago, my friend Lex van Delden gave me Great Women of the Bible, a large book which illustrated the tales of feisty women of old through existing artworks. Eve, Lilith, Delilah, Salome, Jezebel, Judith, to name a few. Throughout my life I had heard references to these heroines: “Don't be a Jezebel” or “You look like the witch of Endor”. I was curious to find out more about them.
They were the antithesis of nice, good, servile women that society expected us all to be. Furthermore, the outrageous nature of their acts thrilled me. Clearly, like many women these days, they were merely demanding a position of equal power, respect and freedom in a patriarchal society and they got this through wit, ingenuity and occasional violence.
It just so happened that at the beginning of the year, while searching for something else, this particular book caught my eye again and I remembered my old friend, when he gave it me, saying - “this is so you”. While skimming through the pages, I concentrated on finding an image, sentence or paragraph which would hit the spot. When it did, I would close the book and let my imagination take me wherever it wanted to go.
I began with Eve, traditionally accused of the downfall of men. I retold her story, depicting her as playfully taking the upper hand while comforting a bewildered, apprehensive Adam. From then on, a whole array of disobedient, strong-willed women followed: those who got their own back or who changed the laws of predictability.
The different ways these heroines outsmarted powerful men with their skill, wit and determination have inspired countless interpretations throughout the ages. We all want in one way or another to activate this subversive energy. As it was then, so it is now.
To all the rebel women out there.
I salute you.”
Marcelle Hanselaar
