Schurman, Anna Maria van, 1607-1678

nna Maria van Schurman (November 5, 1607 – May 4, 1678) was a Dutch painter, engraver, poet, classical scholar, philosopher, and feminist[1] writer who is best known for her exceptional learning and her defence of female education.[1][2] She was a highly educated woman, who excelled in art, music, and literature, and became a polyglot proficient in fourteen languages, including Latin, Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, Aramaic, and Ethiopic, as well as various contemporary European languages.[3] She was the first woman to unofficially study at a Dutch university.[4]

Life
Engraving of Anna Maria van Schurman
Engraving of Anna Maria van Schurman

Cornelis van Dalen the Younger after Cornelis Jonson van Ceulen, Anna Maria van Schurman, c. 1657, engraving
Van Schurman was born in Cologne, at the time part of the Holy Roman Empire, a daughter of wealthy parents, Frederik van Schurman, from Antwerp (d. 1623) and Eva von Harff de Dreiborn. At four years old she could read.[5] When she was six, she had mastered creating highly intricate paper cut-outs that surpassed every other child her age. At the age of ten, she learned embroidery in three hours. In some of her writings, she talks about how she invented the technique of sculpting in wax, Between 1613 and 1615, her family moved to Utrecht, and about ten years later they moved again, this time to Franeker in Friesland. From about 11 years old, Schurman was taught Latin and other subjects by her father along with his sons, an unusual decision at a time when girls in noble families were not generally tutored in the classics. She excelled at painting, paper-cutting, embroidery, and wood carving. Another art form that she experimented with was calligraphy, which she learned just from looking at a model-book. Once she mastered that, she invented styles that allowed her to write in many of the languages she knew.[6] After her father's death, the family moved back to Utrecht in 1626.[7] In her 20s, Schurman's home became a meeting point for intellectuals. Among her friends were Constantijn Huygens, Johan van Beverwijck, Jacob de Witt, Cornelius Boy, Margaretha van Godewijk and Utricia Ogle.[9] In the 1630s she studied engraving with Magdalena van de Passe.[7] Combining the techniques of engraving with her skills in calligraphy, her renowned engraved calligraphy pieces gained the attention of all who saw them, including her contemporaries.[10] In 1634, due to her distinction in Latin, she was invited to write a poem for the opening of the University of Utrecht. I Van Schurman was born in Cologne, at the time part of the Holy Roman Empire, a daughter of wealthy parents, Frederik van Schurman, from Antwerp (d. 1623) and Eva von Harff de Dreiborn. At four years old she could read.[5] When she was six, she had mastered creating highly intricate paper cut-outs that surpassed every other child her age. At the age of ten, she learned embroidery in three hours. In some of her writings, she talks about how she invented the technique of sculpting in wax, Between 1613 and 1615, her family moved to Utrecht, and about ten years later they moved again, this time to Franeker in Friesland. From about 11 years old, Schurman was taught Latin and other subjects by her father along with his sons, an unusual decision at a time when girls in noble families were not generally tutored in the classics. She excelled at painting, paper-cutting, embroidery, and wood carving. Another art form that she experimented with was calligraphy, which she learned just from looking at a model-book. Once she mastered that, she invented styles that allowed her to write in many of the languages she knew.[6] After her father's death, the family moved back to Utrecht in 1626.[7] In her 20s, Schurman's home became a meeting point for intellectuals. Among her friends were Constantijn Huygens, Johan van Beverwijck, Jacob de Witt, Cornelius Boy, Margaretha van Godewijk and Utricia Ogle.[9] In the 1630s she studied engraving with Magdalena van de Passe.[7] Combining the techniques of engraving with her skills in calligraphy, her renowned engraved calligraphy pieces gained the attention of all who saw them, including her contemporaries.[10] In 1634, due to her distinction in Latin, she was invited to write a poem for the opening of the University of Utrecht. I Schurman produced delicate engravings by using a diamond on glass, sculpture, wax modelling, and the carving of ivory and wood. She painted, especially portraits, becoming the first known Dutch painter to use pastel in a portrait. She gained honorary admission to the St. Luke Guild of painters in 1643, signalling public recognition of her art.

Schurman corresponded with the Danish noblewoman Birgitte Thott, who translated classical authors and religious writings. In her 60s Schurman emerged as one of the principal leaders of the Labadists.[18] Many of Schurman's writings were published during her lifetime in multiple editions, although some of her writings have been lost. Her most famous book was the Nobiliss. Virginis Annae Mariae a Schurman Opuscula Hebraea Graeca Latina et Gallica, Prosaica et Metrica (Minor works in Hebrew, Greek, Latin and French in prose and poetry by the most noble Anne Maria van Schurman). It was published 1648 by Friedrich Spanheim, professor of theology at Leiden University through the Leiden-based publisher Elzeviers.[11]When Anna Maria van Schurman demonstrated her artistic talent early on, her father sent her to study with the famous engraver, Magdalena van de Passe, in the 1630s.[7] Her first known engraving was a self-portrait, created in 1633.[13] She found it difficult to depict hands and thus found ways to hide them in all of her self-portraits.[13] In another self-portrait engraving she created in 1640, she included the Latin inscription "Cernitis hic picta nostros in imagine vultus: si negat ars formā[m], gratia vestra dabit." This translates in English to "See my likeness depicted in this portrait: May your favor perfect the work where art has failed."[7]

Published works