This symposium will be held in parallel with the exhibition “Belles de jour, femmes artistes, femmes modèles” to be presented at the Musée Sainte-Croix from 18 June to 9 October 2016.

The status of women artists in the West has undergone many transformations during the modern and contemporary periods, that is to say from the 17th century to the present day. But it has also been broadly dependent, at any one time and place, on the social, economic and cultural conditions in which the young women were born, trained and could practise their art. More so than men, they were reliant on their family situation and, most often, of the role that the men closest to them played. By examining case studies and specific issues, the symposium wishes to explore the relationships within the couple or close family in which these women found themselves, and aims to highlight the many varied situations and a number of constant aspects they experienced. It may also shed light on the question of kinship as a subject and/or mainspring of creativity.