Between 1888 and 1893, the Circle of the Women painters of Brussels organized four exhibitions that gathered 400 paintings by about 80 women who were deemed mere dilettante in their life-time. However, a scientific analysis shows that some of them reached a professional level that opposite the neglect they are still subject to today. Several parameters demonstrate this level of professionalization: network, visibility in official exhibitions, marks of legitimacy, price of artworks, etc. In the end, the study brings out around 30 women artists that ought to be integrated into the 19th century Belgium canon.