Catharina Ykens II
Two Still Lifes with Flowers, c. 1687-1688?
Inventory number: 0259NMK
Oil on panel, 23,2 x 17,2 cm
Acquired with funds from the Augustinus Foundation and Sportgoodsfonden, 2025
Find the pendant painting HERE

Catharina Ykens II was born into a family of artists in Antwerp. The addition “filia devot” after her signature indicates that she was an unmarried woman affiliated with the Church, although
not a nun. Today, up to six paintings by Ykens II are known, including these two pendants. Female Baroque painters in the Netherlands often specialized in still lifes with flowers and fruit
– here, the Chinese porcelain vases hold roses, lily of the valley, auriculas, double narcissus, honeysuckle, hyacinths, orange blossoms, jasmine, and nasturtiums.

Catharina Ykens II (1659–after 1689)
Catharina Ykens II was born into an artist family in Antwerp. Her father, uncle, and brother were all painters, and Ykens II’s own profession was likewise recorded as painter. The addition “filia devot” after her name in the paintings’ inscriptions indicates that she was likely affiliated with a pious order, although without being a nun. In the Netherlands, many unmarried women at the time lived as so-called beguines. Beguine communities allowed women to engage in charitable work, gain access to education, and to some extent express themselves creatively as, among other things, writers, composers, and artists.