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Elizabeth A.Sackler Center for Feminist Art

Maria de Coste Blanche

b. circa 1520, Paris; d. before 1584, probably Paris

The correct spelling of this name is MARIE DE COTTEBLANCHE.

Daughter of a lawyer for the Parlement of Paris, the erudite Marie de Cotteblanche was well-versed in languages, philosophy, science, and mathematics. Her breadth of knowledge, mastery of difficult subjects, and superb linguistic skills were amply demonstrated in her only known work, the 1566 translation of a best-selling text by the Spanish encyclopaedist Pedro Mexía entitled Trois dialogues de M. Pierre Messie, touchant la nature du soleil, de la terre et de toutes les choses qui se font et apparaissent en l’air (Three Dialogues … on the Sun and the Earth).