Sofonisba Anguissola
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Sofonisba Anguissola (also Anguisciola) (ca. 1532-1625) was an Italian female portrait painter.
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Biography
Sofonisba Anguissola was born in Cremona. She was the oldest of seven children, six of whom were daughters. Her father, Amilcare Anguissola, was a nobleman. Sofonisba's mother died shortly after her children were born. Amilcare, who bore a name from antiquity (i.e. the name of the Carthaginian Hamilcar, as did his son Asdrubale, named after Hasdrubal) named her after the tragic Carthaginian figure Sophonisba.
All of the daughters (Sofonisba, Elena, Lucia, Europa, Anna Maria and Minerva) possessed artistic talent. Asdrubale did not study painting, but studied music and Latin like his sisters did. Along with second oldest sister, Elena, Sofonisba formally studied art with Bernardino Campi, a local portrait painter. When Campi moved to another city, Sofonisba continued her studies with the painter Bernardino Gatti. Sofonisba's apprenticeship with local painters set a precedent for future women to be accepted as students of art.
Later in life, her sister Elena became a nun, and two sisters ended their art careers after marriage, whilst the last sister died at an early age.
In 1557, her father Amilcare wrote a letter to Michelangelo describing the talents of his daughter. By way of response, the prominent artist sent him a drawing for his daughter to copy, as was the custom of the time. Sofonisba drew "Child bitten by a crab" and sent it back to Michelangelo for criticism; her talent was immediately recognized by Michelangelo.
In 1559, in her late 20's, her talents recognized, she was invited to Spain to serve as a court painter and lady-in-waiting to the Queen, Elizabeth of Valois, whom she painted in 1565. Sofonisba remained for 10 years. She married twice. Her first marriage in 1570 was to Fabrizio de Moncada, a Sicilian. The wedding ceremony was celebrated with great pomp, and she received a dowry from the monarchs Philip II of Spain and Elizabeth. Sofonisba spent the next four years in Italy, but when her husband Fabrizio died, Sofonisba decided to return to the Spanish court. However, on her return voyage, she fell in love with the ship's captain, Orazio Lomellino, and they married on arrival to the port of Genoa.
Sofonisba became a wealthy patron of the arts after she became blind. She had three children and spent the rest of her life in Genoa and Palermo.
In 1624, one year before her death (she claimed to be 96 at the time), Sofonisba was visited by a young Anthony Van Dyck, who drew a portrait of her in his sketchbook and noted that, though Sofonisba was blind, was still quite mentally alert. Excerpts of the advice she gave him about painting also survive from this visit.
She died in Palermo in 1625.
Works and legacy
Her first dated work is her Self-Portrait of 1554. Some of her work was religious in nature, but the main body of work consists of self-portraits and portraits of her family. More than 30 signed pictures survive from her years in Cremona. She painted many self-portraits due to the fact that portraits of her were requested by many people due to her fame.
A total of about 50 works that have been securely attributed to her. Her works can be seen at galleries in Bergamo, Budapest, Naples, Siena, and Florence (Uffizi Gallery).
Sofonisba became the first internationally known woman artist, opening the way for subsequent female painters, such as Artemisia Gentileschi and Lavinia Fontana. Painters such as Gentileschi and Fontana were both daughters of painters, and were thus of lower social standing than Sofonisba, the daughter of a nobleman.
See also
References
- Chadwick, Whitney, Women, Art, and Society, Thames and Hudson, London, 1990
- Harris, Anne Sutherland and Linda Nochlin, Women Artists: 1550-1950, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Knopf, New York, 1976de:Sofonisba Anguissola
fr:Sofonisba Anguissola it:Sofonisba Anguissola pt:Sofonisba Anguissola sv:Sofonisba Anguissola