Colophon from "Rebel Women from the Apocrypha"

Hanselaar's powerful series of etchings based on the women of the old testament draws on a traditional theme but her raw, political, women-centered figuration places the themes squarely in our time. She came to the subject through the old masters in particular through 16th-century prints in which subjects like Jael and Sisera, Judith with the Head of Holofernes, Joseph and Potiphar's Wife are common themes. She writes: "I noticed that their stories were mostly told from a male point of view and were partly meant to reaffirm the social mores of patriarchy. In contrast, I wanted to add a female voice and a contemporary take on the deeds of these fierce, witty women..." Her masterful handling of etching and aquatint harks back to Goya and Rembrandt. The artist has also gifted design drawings and proof impressions related to the prints that llustrate her process and the multiple stages of etching and scraping that lead her to her final image.