Sofonisba Anguissola

One of the women artists in focus this week is Sofonisba Anguissola, who was an Italian painter during the Renaissance. Uniquely, she was both placed in an artist apprenticeship and educated in the humanist tradition from a young age. She became a famous artist, notably acting as Court Painter in Spain and as Lady-In-Waiting to the Queen of Spain. She also employed new techniques in painting, as well as lived in various places throughout Europe. As a woman, her creativity provided her with prestige and money, which enabled her to travel and live a life of her own choosing in many ways. However, her status did not, until more recently, secure her fame after death. For example, the National Museum of Women in the Arts explains that “Anguissola’s fame slowly disappeared towards the eighteenth century with many of her works being ascribed to male artists.” One has to wonder how it is possible that a woman in such a public light, having such a documented presence was not given due credit only a century after her death in 1625? Perhaps, patriarchy had changed its shape by the eighteenth century, strengthening its hold on culture and thus, artwork as a means of expression, revising women’s roles in the art world during the Renaissance and ignoring the tradition of women’s public participation in art even dating to the Ancient world. In addition, Anguissola more than likely does not represent the average woman during the Italian Renaissance, yet her story can demonstrate that women used their means or talents to further their own agency and were not only accepted in, but were inherently a part of the public and cultural sphere.

Source: http://clara.nmwa.org/index.php?g=entity_detail&entity_id=116



The Chess Game -1555
Her most famous painting, showing her three sisters and a servant.
http://favourite-paintings.blogspot.com/2011/03/sofonisba-anguissola-chess-game.html



Self-Portrait, 1554
http://www.csupomona.edu/~plin/women/anguissola.html



Elizabeth of Valois (Spanish Queen)
Sofonisba Anguissola 1565

http://www.mystudios.com/women/abcde/sofonisba_valois.html