The Mirror and the Palette

Rebellion, Revolution and Resilience: 500 Years of Women's Self-Portraits

Preview

Failed to add items

Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.

Add to basket failed.

Please try again later

Add to wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Remove from wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Adding to library failed

Please try again

Follow podcast failed

Unfollow podcast failed

LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Get this deal

Offer ends on 15 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.

More purchase options

The Mirror and the Palette

By: Jennifer Higgie

Narrated by: Jennifer Higgie

Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £14.35

Until the twentieth century, art history was, in the main, written by white men who tended to write about other white men. The idea that women in the West have always made art was rarely cited as a possibility. Yet they have - and, of course, continue to do so - often against tremendous odds, from laws and religion to the pressures of family and public disapproval.

In THE MIRROR AND THE PALETTE, Jennifer Higgie introduces us to a cross-section of women artists who embody the fact that there is more than one way to understand our planet, more than one way to live in it and more than one way to make art about it. Spanning 500 years, biography and cultural history intertwine in a narrative packed with tales of rebellion, adventure, revolution, travel and tragedy enacted by women who turned their back on convention and lived lives of great resilience, creativity and bravery. This is a dazzlingly original and ambitious book by one of the most well-respected art critics at work today.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Jennifer HiggieJennifer HiggieWeidenfeld & Nicolson

Art

Gender Studies

Social Sciences

Women

Art Gender Studies Social Sciences Women

Critic reviews

A bewitching, invigorating history of women artists, the work they've made and the impossibly hard conditions in which it was produced. I can't think of a more satisfying riposte to anyone who asks why there have been no great women artists than to present them with this incandescent book (OLIVIA LAING)

Brilliant . . . reveals an until-now hidden history of women's self-portraiture. A gift that keeps on giving (Ali Smith)

Sumptuous as well as fascinating (Rachel Cooke)

Most relevant

I studied art history in the nineties and was never taught about these greats of art history. Really recommend this to anyone re looking at history and the exclusion of women from it.