Rediscovered artist's mastery on show

The first time Katljine von der Stighelen cast her eyes over The Triumph of Bacchus, it made her question her judgment.

- Philip Oltermann

The Dutch art historian and Rubens expert was visiting Vienna's Kunsthistorisches museum in 1993 and had asked to see a Van Dyck in the archives. On her way out she caught a glimpse of a vast, 2.7-metre by 3.5-metre painting of a wild and drunken parade writhing with naked bodies young and old.

"I couldn't believe my eyes," von der Stighelen recalled. "When I saw this picture I could not match it with anything I knew." The archivist informed her of an intriguing fact: it was believed to be the work of a woman.

Three decades later, The Triumph of Bacchus is the centrepiece of a new show - and its creator is no longer nameless.

Opening on 30 September, the exhibition Michaelina Wautier, Painter for the first time gathers all known works by an artist who is belatedly coming to be recognised as one of the old masters of her age.

It includes monumental history paintings, portraits and still lives as well as allegorical treatments such as The Five Senses, a series of five paintings showing boys experiencing sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. The latter will be on display in Europe for the first time since Wautier's rediscovery.