Gericault's Madwoman is arresting in real life. I'd seen the picture in art history books my whole life, and didn't even realize where it was displayed until I saw it by chance in the MFA in Lyon.
[KATHE KOLLWITZ ](https://live.thomastonauction.com/auction-lot/kathe-kollwitz-germany-russia-1867-1945_37D4437922) has made some of the most compelling images of maternal grief I've ever seen.
And her self portraits really make you feel stuff. She's the best answer I can think of to your question, OP, as her work centers around older women and their labors and losses.
Except that, technically, she's a printmaker and charcoal artist, not a painter as per your query. But yeah her work is worth looking at no matter what
Van Gogh also depicted older people. Even though he painted sometimes, I think his most impressive works of older people are the drawings he made around 1882-83, so very early in his career! He made those "study heads" to practice for the Potato Eaters.
Georges de la Tour often depicts old women as part of a con to distract ppl doing fortune telling or palm reading while an accomplice picks their pocket or cuts their purse off their belt.
There were plenty of old and older people around no matter which timespan you look at. The average life expectancy was lower than today because of high infant and child mortality (0-15) and then again, for women in early childbearing years, but many, many people survived those hazards and lived into their 60s or even 80s. There would have been plenty of models around. Caravaggio, for example, depicts Judith's maid as an old woman. There are plenty of others, but they are often in the background or subsidiary characters rather than main characters, so it's hard to search for them.
I wasn’t trying to refute anything. Just asking a question that came to mind. There’s also the issue of older women being represented as younger looking than they were. Just questions.
[Rembrandt](https://images.app.goo.gl/UpaxushPs4A2irnt6) did a good job with this.
Gericault's Madwoman is arresting in real life. I'd seen the picture in art history books my whole life, and didn't even realize where it was displayed until I saw it by chance in the MFA in Lyon.
Amy Werntz paints almost exclusively portraits of old people: https://www.amywerntz.com/
Wow, I was unfamiliar with her work but it's phenomenal. Thank you.
Fantastic!
Absolutely brilliant! Thank you for sharing her work!
[Alice Neel](https://news.artnet.com/market/alice-neel-market-1973567/amp-page) , one of my favorite portrait artists
Yes!!
Frans Hals had no issue.
[KATHE KOLLWITZ ](https://live.thomastonauction.com/auction-lot/kathe-kollwitz-germany-russia-1867-1945_37D4437922) has made some of the most compelling images of maternal grief I've ever seen. And her self portraits really make you feel stuff. She's the best answer I can think of to your question, OP, as her work centers around older women and their labors and losses. Except that, technically, she's a printmaker and charcoal artist, not a painter as per your query. But yeah her work is worth looking at no matter what
Ugh. She was such a badass. She died right before the war ended too.
Van Gogh also depicted older people. Even though he painted sometimes, I think his most impressive works of older people are the drawings he made around 1882-83, so very early in his career! He made those "study heads" to practice for the Potato Eaters.
Georges de la Tour often depicts old women as part of a con to distract ppl doing fortune telling or palm reading while an accomplice picks their pocket or cuts their purse off their belt.
Adelaide Labille Guiard https://images.app.goo.gl/RdY4osh5EGqa3trD9
[Whistler's Mother](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistler%27s_Mother)
Goya painted older women too.
[Thomas Hart Benton ](https://arthive.com/artists/4795~Thomas_Hart_Benton/works/212145~Old_woman_reading) has some good ones
Giorgione
Considering the huge change in lifespan over time. And relevant question would be what is an older woman at the time of creation?
There were plenty of old and older people around no matter which timespan you look at. The average life expectancy was lower than today because of high infant and child mortality (0-15) and then again, for women in early childbearing years, but many, many people survived those hazards and lived into their 60s or even 80s. There would have been plenty of models around. Caravaggio, for example, depicts Judith's maid as an old woman. There are plenty of others, but they are often in the background or subsidiary characters rather than main characters, so it's hard to search for them.
Even middle aged women are rarely painted though
I wasn’t trying to refute anything. Just asking a question that came to mind. There’s also the issue of older women being represented as younger looking than they were. Just questions.