Katharina, or Catharina Rozee (1632,

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

– 1682,

), was a

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands which roughly lasted from 1588, when the Dutch Republic was established, to 1672, when the '' Rampjaar'' occurred. During this period, Dutch trade, scientific development ...

artist. She is remembered for her ability to create exceptionally realistic images in the medium of

embroidery Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...

Biography

Rozee was born in the city of Leiden in the Netherlands. Accounts of her life claim that she was able to depict landscapes, animals, flowers, and insects with such detail and naturalism that her work was often mistaken for an

oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

. One work in particular, described by the biographer Jacob Weyerman, depicted the trunk of a tree with a spider spinning its web and was said to have sold for “five hundred guilders”. In fact, Rozee’s work was so realistic that she was stigmatized as a

witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

and

sorceress A sorceress is a female practitioner of sorcery (disambiguation), sorcery. Other uses include: Film * Sorceress (1982 film), ''Sorceress'' (1982 film), a fantasy film directed by Jack Hill * Sorceress (1987 film), ''Sorceress'' (1987 film) releas ...

. According to Houbraken she made clever designs with silk fibers on panels of landscapes, animals, flowers and insects that looked so real that they confounded their viewers and common folk claimed she must be a magician.Katharina Rozee Biography
in ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'' (1718) by

Arnold Houbraken Arnold Houbraken (28 March 1660 – 14 October 1719) was a Dutch people, Dutch Painting, painter and writer from Dordrecht, now remembered mainly as a biographer of Dutch Golden Age painters. Life Houbraken was sent first to learn ''threadt ...

, courtesy of the Digital library for Dutch literature Her works were in great demand, and one of her works with "a landscape with a tree stump and a spider in its web" fetched 500 guilders. Houbraken's source was

Michiel Carré Michiel Carree or Carré (1657 – October 1727) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Carree was born in The Hague. He received his first instructions from his elder brother Hendrik Carré, and afterwards became the scholar of Nicolaas Berchem, bu ...

, who told him about a portrait she made with such natural skin tones "that it looked like an oil painting". One of her best works was purchased by the Grand Duke of Florence. She died unmarried at age 50. Rozee’s artwork was owned by well-known figures including

(1657-1747), the court painter of the

King of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

, and Cosimo III de’ Medici, the

Grand Duke of Tuscany Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), se ...

. Miss Rozee died at age fifty and no known works survive.

Biography

References

Further reading