Lecture Series: Women in Art

Lecture Series: Women in Art

The lecture series Women in Art is dedicated to exploring the transformations in the history of European art from antiquity to the twentieth century, viewed from a female perspective. Selected lectures by art historians and experts from related fields will focus on the roles of women as artists, creators, patrons, and commissioners, while addressing the broader issue of women's place in art history. The series will also reflect on the feminist movements of the 19th and 20th centuries and their influence on contemporary art and the discipline.

Lectures are held every other Thursday at 18:45 in Lecture Hall P2 (Faculty of Arts, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31A, České Budějovice). Admission is free. More information can be found on the Faculty of Arts website and the social media of Budějovice 2028.

📅 October 3rd

Mgr. Theodora Georgievová, Seminar of Art History, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University in Brno

From San Vitale to the Roman Catacombs: The Female Portrait in Late Antiquity

📅 October 10th

Prof. Mgr. Ondřej Jakubec, Ph.D., Seminar of Art History, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University in Brno and Department of Art History, Faculty of Arts, Palacký University in Olomouc

Strong Women of the Renaissance

📅 October 24th

Mgr. Helena Dáňová, Ph.D., Institute of Art History, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague

General Topic: Women in Medieval Society

📅 November 7th

Julia Secklehner, M.Phil., Ph.D., Seminar of Art History, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University in Brno (the lecture will be in English)

General Topic: Fashion Design and Folklore in Women’s Art Practice

📅 November 21st

Prof. PhDr. Milena Lenderová, CSc., Institute of Historical Sciences, Faculty of Arts, University of Pardubice

From Patroness to Painter

📅 December 5th

Mgr. Marta Filipová, Ph.D., Seminar of Art History, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University in Brno

General Topic: The Art of Czechoslovak Peasant Women Has Its Charm, Even in America

📅 December 19th

Mgr. Marianna Placáková, Ph.D., Institute of Art History, Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague (the lecture will exceptionally start at 1 PM)

(Dis)continuities: Post-War Generations of Women Artists and Their Emancipation

Mgr. Theodora Georgiev

The first lecture dedicated to women in late antiquity will be presented by Mgr. Theodora Georgiev from the Department of Art History at Masaryk University in Brno, titled "From San Vitale to Roman Catacombs: Female Portraiture in Late Antiquity."

In her current research at the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza," Mgr. Georgiev focuses on the latest methodology for visual and textual representations of women in Urbs Aeterna, exploring how their roles changed across different communities and centuries, which she examines in her dissertation project: "Between Projecta and St. Agnes: Representations of Women in Rome from the Late 4th to the 7th Century." Her research builds on previous studies and collaborations with the Center for Early Medieval Studies at the Department of Art History, led by Professor Ivan Foletti at Masaryk University in Brno.

The lecture will take place on Thursday, October 3rd, at 6:45 PM in lecture hall P2 (Faculty of Arts, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31A, České Budějovice). Admission is free.

Prof. Mgr. Ondřej Jakubec, Ph.D.


The second part of our series will feature a lecture by Prof. Mgr. Ondřej Jakubec, Ph.D., from the Department of Art History at Masaryk University in Brno and the Department of Art History at Palacký University in Olomouc, focusing on "Strong Women of the Renaissance."

Prof. Jakubec has long concentrated his research on the history of the Renaissance and the cultural-historical aspects of this period, including the relationship between art and professionalism in the early modern era in the Czech lands. He has contributed to numerous publications and exhibitions, including "Olomouc Baroque: Artistic Culture from 1620 to 1780," for which he received the Gloria musealis award in 2011.

The lecture will take place on Thursday, October 10th, at 6:45 PM in lecture hall P2 (Faculty of Arts, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31A, České Budějovice). Admission is free.

Mgr. Helena Dáňová, Ph.D.


The lecture by art historian Mgr. Helena Dáňová, Ph.D., from the Institute of Art History at the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague will focus on "Women in Medieval Society."

Mgr. Dáňová specializes in medieval, particularly late Gothic sculpture. Since 2001, she has worked as a curator of the Old Art Collection at the National Gallery in Prague, focusing on late medieval art and contributing to projects such as "Silesia: A Pearl in the Czech Crown" and "Charles IV (1316–2016)." Since 2014, she has been a research fellow at the Institute of Art History, concentrating on late medieval art and architecture of the 14th and 15th centuries.

The lecture will take place on Thursday, October 24th, at 6:45 PM in lecture hall P2 (Faculty of Arts, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31A, České Budějovice). Admission is free.

Julia Secklehner, M.Phil., Ph.D.


As part of our only English lecture, we are pleased to present Austrian art historian Julia Secklehner, M.Phil., Ph.D., from the Department of Art History at Masaryk University in Brno and Constructor University in Bremen, Germany, who will speak on the topic "Fashion Design and Folklore in Women's Art Practice."

Julia Secklehner is currently researching modernism beyond the metropolis in interwar Central Europe. She has a long-standing interest in modern art and design, with a particular focus on issues of gender and the representation of minorities. She has also explored the history of satirical magazines, caricature, and cartoon humor in Central Europe.

The lecture will take place on Thursday, November 7th, at 6:45 PM in lecture hall P2 (Faculty of Arts, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31A, České Budějovice). Admission is free.

Prof. PhDr. Milena Lenderová, CSc.

Prof. PhDr. Milena Lenderová, CSc., is affiliated with the Institute of Historical Sciences at the Faculty of Arts, University of Pardubice. In this series, she will present a lecture titled "From Patron to Painter," focusing primarily on women of the 19th century.

In her research, Prof. Lenderová specializes in the history of everyday life in the 19th century, gender history, and the history of Czech-French relations. She has published numerous scholarly works, including "K hříchu i k modlitbě" (1999), "Zdenka Braunerová" (2000), "Žena v českých zemích od středověku do 20. století" (co-authored with B. Kopičková, E. Maurem, and J. Burešová, 2009), and "Vše pro dítě! Válečné dětství 1914–1918" (co-authored with T. Jiránek and M. Halířová, 2015), for which she received the Magnesia Litera award.

The lecture will take place on Thursday, October 21st, at 6:45 PM in lecture hall P2 (Faculty of Arts, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31A, České Budějovice). Admission is free.

Mgr. Marta Filipová, Ph.D.

Mgr. Marta Filipová, Ph.D., focuses her research on issues of identity—whether political, national, or gendered—and their relationship to modern art and design. Recently, she has explored this topic by examining exhibition cultures and the representation of interwar Czechoslovakia at world exhibitions. Currently, she is also investigating gender issues in connection with folk art in the project "From the Countryside to the World: Folk Art and Culture as Actors of Modernity, 1918-1945."

The lecture will take place on Thursday, December 5th, at 6:45 PM in lecture hall P2 (Faculty of Arts, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 31A, České Budějovice). Admission is free. For more information, please visit the FF JU website and the social media pages of České Budějovice 2028 – European Capital of Culture.

The lecture series was created in collaboration with the University of South Bohemia and the Womanpedia project as part of České Budějovice 2028 – European Capital of Culture.