The Facts
On October 29, 2026, The Frick Collection announced “Painting with Fire: Susanne de Court and the Art of Enamel,” the first exhibition ever dedicated to the French enameler Susanne de Court, to be presented in spring and summer 2027. Active around 1600, De Court is the only woman known to have made painted enamels in her era and is widely believed to have been the only woman to lead a workshop in Renaissance Limoges. The exhibition brings together about forty-five signed works, nearly half of her surviving oeuvre, drawn from US and European collections and anchored by three Frick holdings, including a pair of Orpheus saltcellars acquired in 1916 and an oval medallion depicting Apollo and the Muses. Lenders include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre, the V&A, and the British Museum; Marie-Laure Buku Pongo organized the show.
The Signal
By reuniting works that have been dispersed for centuries—some in private hands for more than two hundred years—the show positions De Court as a singular female master of the French Renaissance and challenges traditional narratives that have centered male ateliers. The accompanying catalogue’s technical and archival research may also sharpen attributions, encouraging collectors and institutions to look anew at unsigned Limoges enamels and deepening recognition of this rare artist.
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- Artists: Susanne de Court
- People: Susanne de Court, Marie-Laure Buku Pongo, Ian Wardropper
- Museums: The Frick Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Detroit Institute of Arts, Legion of Honor, Musée du Louvre, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Limoges, MAK Vienna, Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Ashmolean Museum, Waddesdon Manor, Victoria and Albert Museum, British Museum
- Locations: New York
- Prices: $50
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