We are proud to announce that The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, has acquired a full set of prints by Dutch artist Marcelle Hanselaar for their permanent collection.
The series Rebel Women from the Apocrypha is exemplary of Hanselaar’s uncompromising interrogation of mythology, religion and the role of women in sacred and literary narratives.
Hanselaar says: “I initially learnt about these feisty heroines from early paintings and began researching their stories out of curiosity. Not only are these women early feminists, standing up to male domination, but what is so fascinating is the illogicality of these texts. They read like the uttering of an oracle and have, throughout time, been open to many interpretations. I have given my own, contemporary take as these themes are as relevant as ever. Assertiveness in women is still often criticised or curtailed and I feel that these ancient, imaginary narratives give us a much-needed energising subversiveness.”
This marks Hanselaar’s second major acquisition by The Met, following their 2020 purchase of The Crying Game, a series of 30 prints that explored themes of power, grief, and transformation.
The news follows Hanselaar’s recent inclusion in Unit’s group exhibition ‘Dante’s Inferno’, which explored themes of morality, judgment, and the human condition through contemporary interpretations of the 14th-century epic. Her practice, rooted in the tradition of printmaking, remains a powerful force in reimagining lost voices through visual storytelling.
Watch below to discover Marcelle’s unique take on the Dante’s Inferno show, and read her personal descriptions on each of the 15 prints from the Rebel Women from the Apocrypha series.
“To all the Rebel Women out there, I salute you.” – Marcelle Hanselaar
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Discover the Series
Marcelle Hanselaar
Rebel Women from the Apocrypha
A series of 15 prints
Etching/aquatint, 38 x 43 cm, plate size 20 x 25 cm, ed 30, 2022
The Split, Adam & Eve
After Lilith, Adam’s first wife had left him for not wanting to be subservient to him, I like to imagine that Eve decided on a different pro-active approach. She steps out of Adam’s body, sexy, dressed in net stockings and high heels, tenderly comforting Adam bemused and fearful awakening to a reality not so under his control as he was promised. A little dog licks comfortingly his toes while the maker watches without interfering.
Temptation, Potiphar’s Wife
Potiphar’s wife lusted after Joseph, a young and beautiful slave in her household, but he kept evading her. One day, when everyone in the house had gone to a festival, she pretended to be sick in order to stay at home alone with him. When the seductress jumps up from her bed to seize him, Joseph makes a hasty retreat and she grabs only his coat.
The Taboo, the Witch of Endor
The woman soothsayer at the cave in Endor had been in great demand until King Saul forbade fortune-telling under penalty of death. Yet Saul, in the darkest hour of his life, asks such a creature to help him.
All other remedies have failed him; no dreams or prophets appear to him and he has been cursed by priests. The witch points out to this stranger that she might be in danger of persecution as he demands of her what is forbidden. He reassures her that she will be protected and its only when he asks her to bring Samuel back from the dead that she recognises who he is.
The Secret, The Queen of Sheba
The Queen came to Solomon with a great revenue, bearing many rich gifts as she wanted to test him with hard questions. When the Queen enters Solomon’s palace, he is sitting on a magnificent throne in a hall whose floor is laid out with crystal, something which she had never seen before. Thinking the king surrounded by water, she lifts her dress so he sees what he had heard, namely that she has hairy legs. He insults her by saying, “your beauty is that of a woman, your hairy legs are those of a man”. She ignores his insult and begins to ask him her questions.
Genesis, Lilith, Queen of the Night
Lilith was Adam’s first wife who refused to lie under him and be subservient to him. They quarrelled and she left him. She was therefore demoted to a nightly spirit who clings to men but sleeps alone. Amongst other things she is considered the lover of the snake god and can take on the shape of snakes. Her seductive beauty, especially her magnificent hair, is mentioned as a warning for those who are tempted to embrace her.
The Knowing, Sisera’s Mother
From the window, Sisera’s mother looked out, watching for his return, saying, ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why don’t we hear the sound of chariot wheels? Sisera’s nameless mother and an attendant wait in vain for her son to return home from war. His mother muses that the soldiers must be dividing the spoil, including “a womb or two for the head of each man”. Her crude reference to the human spoil she anticipates prompts a parallel with what Jael has done to her son.
The Treasure, Sarah and Abraham
Abraham hid his wife Sarah in a box when abroad to conceal her from the Egyptian custom officials. When they inquire about the contents he answers ‘barley’. “No”, they say, it’s wheat.” “Alright”, Abraham says, “I shall pay the higher toll for wheat”. But then they charge that the box contains pepper, then gold, then precious stones. Abraham gives in every time. This behaviour arouses only suspicion and he is forced to open the box. When the officials discover Sarah’s beauty, they inform the Pharaoh, who dispatches an army to bring her to his Palace.
The Last Laugh, Tamar
A woman infiltrating the power structure. Tamar ’s first husband died and – as was the custom – she was to marry the second brother. But he refused, fearing that her offspring would not be his, and he died as well. She was now instructed to wait until the third son reached adulthood, but she was not given to him. So when her father in law’s wife died, Tamar decided to force the issue. She veiled herself, sat at the roadside and when Judah, her father-in-law saw her, he desired her but did not know who she was. She asked, in return for their lovemaking, three tokens from him which, later on, when she was pregnant, she showed to prove that he was the father. Thus, instead of being burned as a whore, Judah gave Tamar her well-deserved position.
The Condemned, Lot and his Daughters
Two angels in disguise came to town and Lot invited them to stay. The people of the town demanded that Lot sent out his guest so that they could have their pleasure with them. Lot defended their honour as their host. In order to satiate the towns peoples lust he pushed out his daughters instead. The next day the cities of Sodom and Gomorra was destroyed because of the sinful behaviour of its inhabitants, only Lot and his family were spared as they were considered virtuous.
Looking Back, Lot’s Wife
The next day the cities Sodom and Gomorra were destroyed, fire and brimstone rained from the heavens and destroyed both cities and the lands around it. However Lot, his wife and two daughters were the only ones to be saved. While they were fleeing into the desert, they were warned by the angels ‘Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain or you will be swept away’.Yet Lot’s wife did look back to that was lost and for her disobedience she was turned into a Pillar of Salt.
The Refusal, Queen Vashti
Queen Vashti was a queen of Persia and the first wife of Persian King Ahasuerus. When the King was merry with wine, he commanded to bring the Queen before him wearing the royal crown so he could impress the peoples and the officials with her great beauty. When she point blank. refused to be ogled at by the drunken guests of the king’s banquet he dethroned her for her dissent. The King later chose Esther to succeed her.
Unguarded, Samson and Delilah
Samson was a god-fearing man of remarkable physical strength. He was in love with Delilah who belonged to an enemy tribe. She was asked by her people to ferret out the secret of his strength but each time she asked him Samson lied about the real source of his strength. But at last he told her that his hair had never been cut and cutting it would sap his strength. So when, after making love, he fell asleep on her lap she informed her tribe of his secret and they came and cut off his hair and gouged out his eyes.
Vindication, Judith and Holofernes
Nebuchadrezzar, king of Assyria, sent his general Holofernes on an expedition against Palestine. A beautiful widow named Judith left the besieged city of B in pretended flight and foretold to Holofernes that he would be victorious. Entranced by her beauty and wit he invited into his tent, where she cut off his head as he lay in drunken sleep. She and her servant hid it in a bag to take it with her to the city where it was nailed to the city walls. When the army saw their leader’s head they panicked and dispersed.
Beauty and the Beasts, Salome
Herod Antipas had imprisoned John the Baptist for condemning his marriage to Herodias, the divorced wife of his half brother, but Herod was afraid to have the popular prophet killed. After Salome danced before Herod and his guests at a festival, he promised to give her whatever she asked. Prompted by her mother, who was infuriated by John’s condemnation of her marriage, the girl demanded the head of John the Baptist on a platter, and the unwilling Herod was forced by his oath to have John beheaded. Salome took the platter with John’s head and gave it to her mother.
The Untamed One, Jezebel
Jezebel is one of the most intriguing women in the Scriptures, a bloodstained yet strong-willed, politically astute, and courageous woman. A Phoenician princess who worships Baal, the pagan god of fertility, Jezebel marries King Ahab of Israel. She persuades him to tolerate her alien faith, then becomes entwined in the vicious religious conflict that ends in her death.
When she hears her fate is sealed, Jezebel calmly and courageously prepares herself for the inevitable. While a blood-soaked military commander gallops to her home she paints her eyes with kohl, dresses her hair, and awaits his arrival in an upper window of the palace. On arrival he orders her eunuchs to toss her out of the window and let the dogs in the courtyard tear her apart and devour her body.