BAD GIRLS ONLY – Women and the Seven Deadly Sins

Rarely seen works from the MMFA’s collection of prints and drawings

Hieronymus Wierix (1553-1619), after Philip Galle (1537-1612), Pride, from the series “The Seven Deadly Sins”, between 1585 and 1612, engraving, only state, 18.2 x 13.2 cm. MMFA, purchase, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ Employee Fund.

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is presenting a bold new exhibition that brings together close to thirty works from its graphic arts collection by some of the biggest names in art history. These prints and drawings, dating from the Early Modern period (late 15th through the 17th century), depict female allegories of the Seven Deadly Sins: pride, sloth, wrath, envy, greed, gluttony, and lust. Bad Girls Only tells the story of how women became associated with sin, the role art played, and how that history shows up in our lives today.

Since the Middle Ages, the Seven Deadly Sins have been traditionally represented as female allegories, each with their own identifying physical characteristics and attributes. This Christian morality code formally established in the 6th century had a particularly strong impact on the lives of women, who were viewed as naturally inclined towards sin and generally lacking in physical and moral stature. By turning our gaze on the role these images played in society, this exhibition examines the underlying reasons why the female body – often eroticized – was used to illustrate sin.

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), Adam and Eve (The Fall of Man), 1504, engraving, state IV/V, 24.8 x 19.2 cm. MMFA, purchase, Miss Olive Hosmer Fund. Photo MMFA, Jean-François Brière

“Visitors will leave Bad Girls Only with a vivid snapshot of a fascinating and ever-relevant period in history. The exhibition reveals the exceptional quality of the Museum’s collection of works on paper, and helps us to better understand the codes and conventions that shape the way we navigate the world around us,” says Mary-Dailey Desmarais, Chief Curator at the MMFA.

“These historical depictions of the Seven Deadly Sins merit appreciation, not only for what they can tell us about women’s lived experiences in the past, but also for their originality and the remarkable skill it took to create them. The diversity, expressiveness and rich detail of the exhibited works will captivate audiences,” adds Chloé M. Pelletier, Curator of European Art (before 1800) at the MMFA.

The exhibition features two prints by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) as well as an impressive series of preparatory drawings by Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617). These highlights of the MMFA’s drawings collection will be shown for the first time since 1980 alongside Jacob Matham’s (1571-1631) prints made after them. Additional works by Matham and a series by Hieronymous Wierix (1553-1619) enrich the exhibition.

View of the exhibition Bad Girls Only: Women and the Seven Deadly Sins.
Photo MMFA, Julie Ciot

Engaging didactic materials – including a vitrine of materials and a process video featuring a local artist – help audiences understand the technically and artistically sophisticated process of translating drawing into print.

Bad Girls Only concludes with an interactive wall featuring question cards that invite visitors to reflect on the ways that rhetoric around the Seven Deadly Sins shows up in our daily lives. The goal of these questions, ranging from profound to playful, is to identify and then reframe the sense of shame that is naturalized in so many of us around these seven traits deemed sinful by society over a millennium ago.

Until August 10, 2025

For more information, including opening hours and ticket prices, visit: www.mbam.qc.ca