Mayken Verhulst, also known as Marie Bessemers, was a sixteenth-century miniature, tempera and watercolor painter, identified by Lodovico Guicciardini in 1567 as one of the four most important female artists in the Low Countries. She was actively engaged in the workshop of her husband, Pieter Coecke van Aelst, posthumously publishing his works. While she is recognized as an exceptionally skilled artist, little is known about her works or life as there are few surviving attributable sources of information.
Following Pieter Coecke's death in 1550, she likely oversaw the publication of a large woodcut series Ces Moeurs et Fachons de Faire des Turcz . This print was originally designed by van Aelst as a tapestry design, strategically published by Verhulst as a print after his death to showcase his work. Additionally, she waited until about twenty years following her husband's death to publicize his legacy, argued by Di Furia as an intentional decision meant to honor Charles V, a great admirer of Turkish culture, as he withdrew from public service in 1555. Thus, Verhulst displayed great agency through her strategy, independence, and creativity. No works survive that can be securely attributed to Verhulst, although she is frequently identified as the person behind several works assigned to the Master of the Brunswick Monogram. Verhulst may also have been the author of a painting in the Kunsthaus Zürich with a self-portrait with her husband.
Verhulst was the first teacher of her grandsons, Pieter Brueghal the Younger and Jan Brueghal the Elder, both of which are prolific Northern Renaissance Master painters. Ironically, her close relation to such prominent artists has muted her long-lasting effect on art history, as she is most often mentioned within discussions of their heritage as opposed to her accomplishments. Published by Mayken Verhulst, her husband's composition Ces Moeurs et fachons de faire de Turcz now resides at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, evidencing her significant impact on Northern Renaissance printmaking.
Surviving artifacts
Her house and former painter's workshop, is a historic monument in Mechelen. It is a museum named. Zurich's Kunstaus houses the only possible surviving portrait of Verhulst.
