In this video, we consider how understanding art differently can allow us to delve into the creative lives of women in the past. Needlework was an area that was increasingly associated with women from the early sixteenth century, and understood as a creative art by some commentators. Equally women were thought to have a special understanding of nature, and excelled in still lives and flower painting. We take Giovanna Garzoni's work as a case study. How can feminist approaches to art history challenge traditional Vasarian narratives?