LEGENDARY LADIES

FEMALE ARTISTS OF THE ITALIAN IN SEARCH OF FAME

A Thesis

Presented to the faculty of the Department of Art

California State University, Sacramento

Submitted in partial satisfaction of The requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

in

Museum Studies with an Art Historical Emphasis

by

Sabrina Abbott

FALL 2013

2013

Sabrina Jayne Abbott

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii

LEGENDARY LADIES

FEMALE ARTISTS OF THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN SEARCH OF FAME

A Thesis

by

Sabrina Jayne Abbott

Approved by:

______, Committee Chair Catherine Turrill

______, Second Reader Patrick Ettinger

______Date

iii

Student: Sabrina Jayne Abbott

I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the thesis.

______, Dean ______Chevelle Newsome, Ph.D. Date

Office of Graduate Studies

iv

Abstract

of

LEGENDARY LADIES

FEMALE ARTISTS OF THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN SEARCH OF FAME

by

Sabrina Jayne Abbott

During the Italian Renaissance female artists were able to emerge from the confines of the convent and develop their skills in the outside world due to changing attitudes towards women and the heightened status of art. The intelligent and artistically talented woman was seen as a miraculous person and often compared more closely to a man. Due to their extraordinary status, it can be argued that these women behaved similarly to their male counterparts in their search for special consideration and legendary status.

This paper will contribute to the scholarly studies surrounding women in the visual arts in Renaissance Italy by analyzing writings, lifestyle, and the method of creation and content of the art, particularly the self-portrait paintings, of these women.

Through this analysis it will be revealed that these women used their special status to promote themselves and actively sought recognition and fame like their male predecessors and contemporaries.

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These women achieved legendary prominence through the careful navigation of their careers, setting a new precedent for women in the arts, laying the foundation for future female artists, and demonstrating that women could be just as capable as men.

______, Committee Chair Catherine Turrill

______Date vi

DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to my family and all the female artists, past and present and the men and women who believed in them.

vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my advisor, Professor Turrill, for her time, patience, and assistance in the creation of this thesis. A special thanks to Dr. Giovanna Giusti who sparked my interest in Renaissance self-portraiture and the Ford Family Foundation for their kindness and for funding my education. Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to my family. In particular I would like to thank my mother for her encouragement, my father for providing me with my first art education, and my husband, Alexander Golé, for his constant love and support.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Dedication ...... vii

Acknowledgments...... viii

List of Illustrations ...... x

Chapter

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 1

2. CREATING A CONTEXT

The Ascent of Visual Art ...... 2

A Woman’s Worth ...... 5

3. LEGENDARY LADIES

Becoming a Professional Female Artist Outside the Convent ...... 12

The Female Artists’ Pursuit of Fame ...... 15

Leaving a Legacy ...... 41

4. CONCLUSION ...... 43

Bibliography ...... 47

ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Illustration Page

1. , Self-Portrait with Medallion, ca. 1550s

( Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) ...... 21

2. Sofonisba Anguissola, Bernardino Campi Painting Sofonisba Anguissola, ca. 1559

(Pinacoteca Nazionale, ) ...... 25

3. Sofonisba Anguissola, Self-Portrait at the Easel, ca.1556

(Muzeum Zamek, Lancut) ...... 27

4. Sofonisba Anguissola, Self-Portrait, 1554

(Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna) ...... 28

5. Lavinia Fontana, Self-Portrait at the Keyboard with Maidservant, 1577

(Accademia di San Luca, ) ...... 31

6. Sofonisba Anguissola, Self-Portrait at the Keyboard with Maidservant, ca. 1550s

(Althorp House, Northampton) ...... 32

x

7. Lavinia Fontana, Self-Portrait in the Studiolo, 1579

(, ) ...... 36

8. Marietta Robusti, Self-Portrait, 1580

(Uffizi, Florence) ...... 38

9. Sofonisba Anguissola, The Chess Game, ca. 1555

(Muzeum Narodowe, Poznan) ...... 40

xi

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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

To become a successful artist has been a challenge throughout history, but the difficulty was even more pronounced for women. Societal changes that took place during the Italian Renaissance created a new vision of art and the artist. As Renaissance society embraced ideas from ancient Rome and Greece, including the ancients’ inclusion and admiration of female artists, some women were able to find acceptance as professional artists. In an attempt to justify their position in a male-dominated field and to ensure their names would be remembered, female artists in the Renaissance created artwork that was designed for self-promotion. Although these women presented themselves in a socially acceptable manner, through the action of self-promotion they demonstrated that they were exceptional and, like their male counterparts, aspired to achieve legendary status.

There is always a fear of applying contemporary views when analyzing people of the past, yet there are certain qualities that have always existed in human beings.

Emotions like love, sorrow, fear and courage are ingrained in our very nature. The desire for recognition and praise is another one of these inherent emotions. Nonetheless, suggesting that female artists of the Renaissance sought recognition and fame, and saw themselves as equal, if not superior to their male counterparts, may at first seem like viewing these women of the past with a contemporary lens. In order to present a credible analysis of the works of these female artists, a solid foundation will first be laid to demonstrate the likelihood of the validity of these arguments.

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Chapter 2

CREATING A CONTEXT

The Ascent of Visual Art

Male artists of the Early Italian Renaissance argued that good visual art was not just a craft, but a creative act that required intelligence similar to liberal arts like music and poetry. By presenting information that illustrated the need for intelligence in creating exceptional art and the precedent of a heightened regard for the visual arts and artists in ancient history, male Renaissance artists in Italy were able to raise the classification of the visual arts from craft to liberal art and raise the status of visual artists. Artists argued that in addition to being talented, an artist had to be educated and intellectual in order to create great works of art. Beginning in the 1300’s artists were describing the many talents needed for an artist to succeed. Cennino Cennini states in Craftsman’s Handbook that

“the occupation of painting calls for imagination and skill of hand…”1 Imagination, or fantasia, in the Renaissance was considered an intellectual and almost divine inspiration, a sign of genius, that was encouraged by princely patrons.2

Leon Battista Alberti’s treatise, On Painting, written in 1435, describes an artist’s need for mathematics and an understanding of nature and explains that the art of painting

1 Francis Ames-Lewis, The Intellectual Life of the Early Renaissance Artist (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), 177. 2 Joanna Woods-Marsden, Renaissance Self-Portraiture: The Visual Construction of Identity and the Social Status of the Artist (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998), 274.

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“has always been most worthy of liberal minds and noble souls”.3 Lorenzo Ghiberti in his Commentaries, written in 1450, provides not only the first coherent history of Italian art, but also attempts to describe in writing some of the scientific and intellectual principals of the visual arts, thereby demonstrating the intelligence and competence needed for an artist to succeed.4

In Alberti’s treatise, classical texts were used to illustrate that the ancients held painting in such high esteem that it was considered a suitable occupation for emperors and princes.5 This concept caught on, as revealed by later writers. Castiglione writes in

The Courtier, first published in 1528, that the ideal courtier should, among other things, be educated in painting and defends the esteem held for painting by providing historic examples of the high regard for art. (1511-1574), the famous artist and art historian, also gives several examples to show that people in antiquity revered both art and the artists in his book The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptures and

Architects, also known at The Lives of the Artists, first published in 1550. According to

Vasari,

The Romans themselves bore so great reverence for these arts that besides the respect that Marcellus, in sacking the city of Syracuse, commanded to be paid to a craftsman famous in them, in planning the assault of the aforesaid city they took care not to set fire to that quarter wherein there was a most beautiful painted

3 Leon Battista Alberti, On Painting, trans. John R. Spencer (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1970), 66. 4 Ames-Lewis, The Intellectual Life, 141. 5 Ibid., 18.

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panel6

Fortunately for female Renaissance artists, female artists were also mentioned and praised in ancient texts. The Humanist tradition of providing a historic precedent for a current situation aided female artists in overcoming societal constraints. This precedent, and the writings by men who commended the art of women, made it possible for women to advance as artists. Vasari mentions that ancient women were celebrated artists as if to defend the inclusion of more recent female artists in the second edition of his book The

Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. The section about

Properzia de’ Rossi begins with,

It is an extraordinary thing that in all those arts and all those exercises wherein at any time women have thought fit to play a part in real earnest, they have always become most excellent and famous in no common way, as one might easily demonstrate by an endless number of examples.7

The combination of a heightened status for artists as intellectuals, the recognition of art as a noble pursuit, and an ancient precedent of talented and famous women in the arts provided the ideal environment for female artists to emerge, be recognized, and strive for distinction in Renaissance Italy.

6 Giorgio Vasari, “Introduction,” in Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, trans. Gaston De Vere (New York: AMS Press, 1976 ), 1:Xl 7 Giorgio Vasari, “Properzia de Rossi,” in Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, trans. Gaston De Vere (New York: AMS Press, 1976 ) 5:123.

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A Woman’s Worth

In order to understand how female Renaissance artists saw themselves, appreciate their aspirations, and comprehend the effect of their lives and artwork, it is necessary to examine the social context surrounding Renaissance women in general. As Humanist ideals spread, discussions and writings regarding the role of women and their place in society became more frequent. The greater recognition of the worth of women and the precedent of women in the arts during the Classical period, made it possible for female artists of the Renaissance to achieve the heightened position of “artist.”

As illustrated in the writing of Giovanni Boccaccio, Christine de Pizan,

Baldassare Castiglione, and others, the late Medieval period through the Renaissance witnessed a revived interest in Classical history and philosophy which included the praise of ancient women and, in some cases, that women could be regarded as equal to men. In

1362, Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), a poet and author, wrote a book entitled On

Famous Women. Boccaccio’s book contains the biographies of one hundred and four women including an ancient Greek painter named Thamyris. As Boccaccio points out in his preface,

…women have had so little attention from writers…that they have gained no work devoted especially to them, although it can be clearly seen in the more

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voluminous histories that some women have acted with as much strength and valor (as men).8

Women also assisted in obtaining a new respect for their gender. One of the first and most famous women to defend both her status and gender was Christine de Pizan

(1363-1430). Christine was widowed when she was just twenty-five years old and needed to find a source of income to provide for her children, her widowed mother, and herself. Fortunately for Christine, she had received an education from her Italian father and managed to establish herself, thanks to her father’s employment and her privileged childhood, as a court poet in by the late-fourteenth century.9

A female court writer was unprecedented in the late Middle Ages and Christine knew that in order to protect her position she had to convince her opponents that an educated woman in an influential situation was not uncommon. As Christine’s writings became more popular, she felt secure enough to push societal constraints a little further and shift her focus from courtly poetry to social commentary. In 1401 Christine wrote a letter, Lesser Treatise on the Romance of the Rose, to contribute to the popular debate concerning Jean de Meun’s misogynist addition to the popular thirteenth-century poem,

The Romance of the Rose. 10 Christine stated that Jean de Meun “dared take it upon himself to defame and condemn without exception an entire sex” and that “…no matter

8Giovanni Boccaccio, Concerning Famous Women, Trans. Guido A. Guarino (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1963), xxxvii. 9 Christine de Pizan, Selected Writings, ed. Charity Cannon Willard (New York: Presia Books, 1994), xi. 10 Ibid., 151.

7 what he and all his accomplices in this matter may have sworn, and let none take offense, there have been, still are, and will be many more worthy women, more honorable, better bred, and even more learned who have done more good for the world than he ever did personally…”11

This debate led Christine to write a defense of the female sex in her 1405 book entitled, The Book of the City of Ladies. Knowing that her book would be contrary to beliefs espoused by many prominent scholars and held by many people, Christine began her piece by claiming she was visited by three divine women who gave her instruction.12

She took a Humanist approach, like her predecessor Boccaccio, and reminded her readers that her views had an ancient precedent. In her book Christine mentions the famous

Roman orator, Quintus Horentensius, who “had a daughter…whom he greatly loved for the subtlety of her wit” and whom he did not surpass in any way. And because of this woman’s accomplishments, Horentensius “began to support the cause of women.”13

Christine’s work influenced both men and women. Isotta Nogarola (1418-1466) was a Veronese Humanist and, according to Sarah Ross, is considered the “first woman to make numerous contributions to the Humanist education.”14 Although Isotta was called

“promiscuous” by some of her male contemporaries for her public writings and

11 Pizan, Selected Writings, 159, 156. 12 Ibid., 173. 13 Sarah Gwyneth Ross, The Birth of Feminism: Woman as Intellect in Renaissance Italy and England (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2009), 21. 14 Ibid., 38.

8 outspokenness, she was primarily regarded as an intellectual and did not cease writing.15

Isotta also maintained the Humanist tradition by citing ancient examples to defend her right to write and speak publicly.

Christine and Isotta presented a strategy that women would use to push for a higher status and contribute to intellectual endeavors. Despite the fact that these women had to defend their education and presence in philosophy and the arts with arguments first made and recorded by men, their ability to express their opinions and be heard set a precedent for future female artists. Educated women could defend their position by mentioning important historical female figures as precedents, as done previously by

Boccaccio.

Young women were being educated at least since 1338. According to Giovanni

Villani, a fourteenth–century chronicler in Florence, girls were already attending elementary school to “learn their letters.”16 And while it was not common for a young woman to receive much more than a basic education,17 there were some men that believed and argued for a full Humanist education of women. In 1426 the renowned

Humanist, historian, and statesman, Leonardo Bruni, made a case for the complete

Humanist education of women in his De Studiis et Litteris.18

15 Ross, The Birth of Feminism, 38. 16 Whitney Chadwick, Women, Art, and Society, 4th ed. (London; New York: Thames & Hudson, 2007), 68. 17 Ibid. 18 Ross, The Birth of Feminism, 32.

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A higher education and a heightened regard for women was also aided by the renewed interest in Plato that took place in the mid fifteenth-century. The fall of

Constantinople to the Turks in 1453 caused many Greeks to migrate to Italy, bringing with them their literature.19 Renaissance and Humanists encountered the “True

Aristotle” unadulterated by Arabic commentators. The Greek immigrants also brought with them the works of Plato, a philosopher whose writings were easier to adapt to

Christianity than those of Aristotle.20 With Church approval of ancient philosophers, classical writings became ever more prevalent. Ancient philosophies and histories provided fundamental examples that could return Italians to the glorious days of ancient

Rome and supported a heightened status for women.

Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499), one of the most influential Humanist philosophers in the Early Renaissance, took the notion a step further when he reconsidered the role and importance of women while attempting to combine the works of Plato and theology.21 He declares that Plato not only argues for the education of women, but in The Republic his character Socrates states that “women should participate equally in the running of state.”22

19 Peter Burk, The Italian Renaissance Culture and Society in Italy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986), 232. 20 James Hankins, “Florence,” in Plato in the Italian Renaissance, Vol. 1, (New York: E.J. Brill, 1990), 34. 21 Ian Maclean, The Renaissance Notion of Women: A Study in the Fortunes of Scholasticism and Medical Science in European Intellectual Life (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980), 24. 22 Maclean, The Renaissance Notion of Women, 60.

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The changing attitude and arguments surrounding a woman’s role in society are clearly expressed in ’s The Courtier, published in 1528. In this book, Castiglione presents ideas through court conversation. His characters include women who contribute intelligently to the various topics. The Courtier discusses a variety of subjects considered relevant in the early sixteenth century including an array of dialogues on women. These dialogues contain the praise of women from the past and present. He states that, “If in every age you will compare women’s worth with that of men, you will find that they have never been and are not now at all inferior to men in worth.”23 Like Boccaccio before him, Castiglione begins by citing women of ancient times and then speaks of women who ruled admirably in the Middle Ages including

Theodolinda, queen of and Theodora, the Greek empress. He continues his praise of women by incorporating contemporary examples. Castiglione even notes that some women have surpassed their male counterparts. As though echoing the words of both Boccaccio and Christine de Pizan written centuries earlier, he writes, “…my lord

Gaspar shall not find me an admirable man, but I will find you a wife or daughter or sister of equal and sometimes greater merit.”24

These texts address different issues regarding women, their education, and position in society. The fact that some women were willing to rise and interject themselves into the public debate demonstrates that these ladies were willing to submit

23 Baldassare Castiglione, The Book of the Courtier, translated by Leonard Eckstein Opdycke (New York: Charles Scribner’s Son, 1903), 199. 24 Ibid., 188.

11 themselves to community censure in order to expand their roles in society and increase their recognition. Isotta continued her work though she was called “promiscuous”.

Properzia de’ Rossi (1490-1530), the first known woman to rise as a sculptor of marble25 and seek public commissions as a professional artist, an action previously restricted to men.26 She continued to sculpt, despite jealous male competitors dissuading her and speaking ill of her to patrons, in order to “win fame”. 27

As the status of art and women’s roles and restrictions were reconsidered with

Humanist ideals and ancient precedents in mind, a greater recognition of the worth of artists and women spread. Due to the women who were recorded for their fame as artists in antiquity and writings of both men and women that address the worth and status of women in society, including those in the visual arts, female artists of the Renaissance were able to achieve the heightened position of “artist” outside the confines of the convent without jeopardizing their reputation.

25 Fredrika H. Jacobs, Defining the Renaissance Virtuosa (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 3. 26 Chadwick, Women, Art, and Society, 92. 27 Giorgio Vasari, “Properzia de Rossi,” 124-125.

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Chapter 3

LEGENDARY LADIES

Becoming a Professional Female Artist Outside the Convent

Since art was a noble pursuit, as stated by Castiglione, and an intellectual endeavor that every courtier, including women, should know, women were able to receive an education and practice the arts. The precedent of successful and professional female artists, as mentioned by Boccaccio, made it possible for women to emerge as artists without damaging any social aspirations.

Women who did hazard an entry into male-dominated fields relied heavily on past precedents and often did so at their father’s encouragement. Two successful Renaissance artists, Sofonisba Anguissola (1532-1625) and Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614), had fathers who desired a higher social standing for their families, but lacked in monies. Sofonisba was her family’s first-born child. Her parents did not conceive a male heir until she was nineteen years old.28 Sofonisba’s education in the arts was normal for a lady of her social rank, as seen in the writings of Castiglione. Lavinia’s education and practice of painting were also customary since painting was her father’s vocation. The difference is in the way these women emerged as professional artists.

It is likely that Sofonisba’s father promoted her abilities as an artist due to the fact

28 Ilya Sandra Perlingieri, Sofonisba Anguissola: The First Great Woman Artist of the Renaissance (New York: Rizzoli, 1992), 29.

13 that at the time he lacked a male heir and did not have enough funds to provide a dowry for his six daughters.29 Sofonisba and her sister Elena broke feminine tradition when their father, Amilcare Anguissola, sent them away to study with the artist Bernardino Campi in

1546.30 Normally a lady was tutored at home and merely dabbled in painting.31 Amilcare went so far as to contact the renowned artist who, after seeing her work, encouraged the young Sofonisba and provided her with brief and informal instruction.32

She was even presented to Michelangelo in person, one of the most sought-after introductions in the European world in the Renaissance.33

Lavinia was originally trained by her father, Prospero Fontana, in order to aid him in his paintings, but later he pushed her to become a professional artist for financial reasons as well.34 Prospero lost his most prestigious patron, Julius III, in 1555 and was unable to complete some work due to illness. Vasari confirms that Prospero was under financial difficulty in 1563.35 This is likely due to the fact that the same year he provided a substantial dowry for his first daughter, Emilia, and was unable to obtain substantial work.36

29 Caroline P. Murphy, Lavinia Fontana: A Painter and her Patrons in Sixteenth-century (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003), 15. 30 Perlingieri, Sofonisba Anguissola, 41. 31 Ibid., 35. 32 Sylvia Ferino-Pagden and Maria Kusche, Sofonisba Anguissola: A Renaissance Woman (Washington D.C.: The National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1995), 12. 33 Perlingieri, Sofonisba Anguissola, 75. 34 Murphy, Lavinia Fontana, 19. 35 Ibid. 36 Ibid.

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Although Lavinia and Sofonisba may have commenced their artistic careers due to their father’s encouragement, they seized the opportunity to pursue individual fame.

The acceptance of these women as professionally active artists outside the convent allowed them to promote themselves and their work without hindering their social aspirations. In fact, the intelligence and talent of these women made it possible for them to attain renown for their artwork and fame for themselves, thereby increasing their social standing.

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The Female Artists’ Pursuit of Fame

To be a successful artist in the Italian Renaissance required intelligence and creativity. If a female artist sought to be ranked alongside professional male artists and obtain lasting fame and recognition, she needed to show her “genius” and be recorded for history.

Female artists first received recognition as novelties. Novelty was an important aspect of art to the Renaissance collector as displayed by Carlo de' Medici’s writing, in which he states that Pisanello's medals should be valued "more for their novelty than for their usefulness."37 The search for novelty was vital to the success and fame of some female artists. Initially, Sofonisba Anguissola’s father successfully promoted her artwork as a novelty and marvel.38 Critics, poets, and others desired owning a woman’s self- portrait precisely because they contained a “double marvel”.39 In Annibale Caro’s request for Sofonisba’s self-portrait he indicates the novelty present in a talented female artist by stating, “There is nothing I desire more than an image of the artist herself, so that in a single work I can exhibit two marvels, one the work, the other the artist.”40 However, consideration as a novelty was not enough for women like Sofonisba and Lavinia. They

37 Ames-Lewis, The Intellectual Life, 274. 38 Sylvia Ferino-Pagden, “Sofonisba Anguissola: The First Woman Painter”, in Sofonisba Anguissola: A Renaissance Woman, ed. Brett Topping (Washington, D.C.: The National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1995), 12. 39 Jacobs, Defining the Renaissance Virtuosa, 124. 40 Ibid., 124.

16 sought distinction as excellent artists. Their desire for fame can be seen in their individual style and, most importantly, their paintings.

Individual style was considered a desirable and important aspect of art in the

Renaissance, a necessity if an artist wanted to achieve distinction. Although apprentices were taught techniques, they were still expected to cultivate their individual style.

Cennino Cennini advises painters “to find a good style which is right for you” in his

Craftsman’s Handbook.41 Leonardo Da Vinci gives similar advice in his Treatise on

Painting: “I say to painters that no one should ever imitate the style of another because he will be called a nephew and not a child of nature with regard to art."42 In 1481 Cristoforo

Landino developed a vocabulary to differentiate between artistic styles and qualities of art.43 Castiglione writes in his popular book, The Courtier, “Leonardo da Vinci,

Mantegna, , Michelangelo, and Giorgio da Castelfranco, are very excellent, yet they are all unlike in their work; so that no one of them seems to lack anything in his own manner, since each is known as perfect in his style.”44 Female artists, like men, eagerly adopted and honed their own individual styles in order to achieve distinction. Lavinia

Fontana did not paint in the same style of her father; instead, she opted to develop her own style to create celebrated works.45 Sofonisba Anguissola’s fame was contingent upon

41 Burk, Renaissance Culture and Society, 24. 42 Ames-Lewis, The Intellectual Life, 179. 43 Ibid., 274. 44 Castiglione, The Book of the Courtier, 50. 45 Claudio Strinati, “On the Origins of Women Painters” in Italian , 16-17.

17 her unique style and innovative approach to portraiture.46

The novelty of a woman who could be identified by her individual style and who excelled in art made her self-portrait more desirable because it contained the “double marvel” as mentioned above.47 It appears that the female artists of the Renaissance used the demand for their self-portraits as a way to promote their art, fashion their identity, and obtain everlasting fame.

During the Renaissance, self- portraits were seen as a way to convey the artist’s identity and notion of himself to his viewers.48 Self-portraits were a way for artists to make commentary regarding their skills, intellect, and place in society. As Desiderius

Erasmus once stated, “Men are not born, but fashioned.” Even Machiavelli’s work The

Prince, a popular Florentine book in 1532, is based on the idea that a person, or ruler in this case, can shape his public image however he wished. As Humanist ideas spread, including concepts of self-fashioning, crafting one’s behavior, and dissimulation,49 self- portraits became more popular among artists.

The manners in which the Renaissance artist portrayed themselves are useful indicators not only of their self-perceptions, but also of their aspirations.50 Self-portraits

46 Ibid. 47 Paola Tinagli, Women in Italian : Gender, Representation, Identity (New York: Manchester University Press, 1997), 114. 48 Woods-Marsden, Renaissance Self-Portraiture, 25. 49 Mary D. Garrard, "Here's Looking at Me: Sofonisba Anguissola and the Problem of Woman Artist," Renaissance Quarterly, 47, no. 3 (1994) 562. 50 Ames-Lewis, The Intellectual Life, 209.

18 also served as a way for artists to make themselves immortal. The concept of preserving oneself for eternity was introduced by Dante and seems to have interested many

Renaissance people, including artists.51Autobiographies and diaries became more common in the Italian Renaissance52 while individual self-portraits became more customary for artists. Originally, artists inserted themselves into commissioned paintings when they could53 but later took to creating individual self-portraits. As Vasari later states, portraiture is not just about recording the features of a person, but “preserving for others the vision and memory of an individual of outstanding virtue and talents, and in evoking the sitter’s achievements and noble deeds.”54

This concept can easily be seen in a variety of male self-portraits. Carlo Dolci, a painter, portrayed himself in a double portrait possibly to illustrate his multi-faceted personality. He presents his intellectual self with a sober, reflective, expression holding up a small drawing of himself in the act of painting. Other painters portrayed themselves with items that were symbols of piety. For example, Jacopo Palma il Giovane portrayed himself painting the resurrection of Christ.55

The implied motive for a woman to paint herself is that she is claiming that she,

51 J. Lucas-Duberton, Daily Life in Florence in the Time of the Medici, trans. A. Lytton Sells (New York: Macmillan Company, 1961), 141. 52 McLaughlin, “Biography and Autobiography in the Italian Renaissance,” in Mapping Lives: The Uses of Biography, eds. Peter France and William St Clair (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 37. 53 Woods-Marsden, Renaissance Self-Portraiture, 44. 54 K.A. McIver, "Lavinia Fontana's Self-Portrait Making Music," Women's Art Journal, 19, no. 1 (1998): 3-8, 5. 55 Woods-Marsden, Renaissance Self-Portraiture, 238.

19 like her male contemporaries, is worth representing.56 Castiglione notes in The Courtier, that a woman should avoid vanity and practice discrete modestia (discreet modesty).57

However, the self-portraits of artists like Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana, and

Marietta Robusti (1560-1590) appear to go beyond “discreet modesty,” and instead emphasize their talents, intelligence, while maintain their position as gentlewomen.

Self-Portrait Holding a Medallion (Fig. 1), painted by Sofonisba sometime in the early 1550’s, promotes her abilities and reveals her ambition for fame. Sofonisba shows herself with her hair pulled tightly back and clad in austere clothing, devoid of ornamentation. Her simple, yet tasteful, attire underlines her nobility and education.58 She holds a shield with entwined letters in the center and the phrase around the edge. The meaning of the letters is debated, though many believe them to represent the name of her father, Amilcare. If this is the case, she may be showing her noble linage. The phrase along the edge of the shield reads, “SOPHONISBA ANGUISSOLA VIR(GO) IPSIUS

MANU EX (S)PECULO DEPICTAM CREMONAE” or “Painted from a mirror with her own hand by the Cremonese virgin Sofonisba Anguissola.”59

The reference to the use of a mirror not only suggests a truthful depiction and a reflection upon one’s identify, but a reference to the praised artist Marcia. Marcia was a

56 Felicity Edholm, “Beyond the Mirror: Women’s Self-Portraits,” in Imagining Women: Cultural Representations and Gender, edited by Frances Bonner et al. (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1992), 162. 57 Woods-Marsden, Renaissance Self-Portraiture, 189. 58 Tinagli, Women in Italian Renaissance Art, 114. 59 Woods-Marsden, Renaissance Self-Portraiture, 203.

20 celebrated painter mentioned by both Pliny and Boccaccio, and who supposedly used a mirror to create her self-image.60 The educated Sofonisba would have known the writings of Boccaccio and the women he mentioned and it is likely that she chose the reference for the educated and elite that viewed her self-portraits. She, like Marcia, had chosen to avoid “the usual feminine occupation” and devote her life to art.61 The allusion to Marcia also suggests that she, too, will obtain renown. This painting was most likely created as self-promotion to show her intelligence, painting expertise, and significance in the hopes of obtaining a court appointment.62

60 Woods-Marsden, Renaissance Self-Portraiture, 203. 61 Ibid., 204. 62 Ibid., 193.

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Figure 1. Sofonisba Anguissola, Self-Portrait with Medallion, ca. 1550s, Oil on parchment, 3 ¼ x 2 ½ " (8.26 x 6.35 cm), Boston Museum of Fine Arts, inv. no. 60.155

22

Around 1550 Sofonisba also painted Bernardino Campi Painting Sofonisba

Anguissola (Fig. 2). In the painting Sofonisba depicts her instructor, Campi, painting her portrait. It appears that in this piece Sofonisba is trying to convey a few important messages: her artistic training, her self-perception, and her anticipated fame.

Bernardino Campi Painting Sofonisba Anguissola implies that Campi created

Sofonisba the artist through his tutelage. As the renowned artist Benvenuto Cellini noted,

“A man should let others know he draws his lineage from persons of worth and most ancient origin.”63 Since artists were rarely born of noble lineage, many chose to create an artistic linage through their apprenticeships.64 This is one of the reasons that artists sought a place with renowned masters and why master artists offered good money for a talented apprentice. Not only could good apprentices ensure quality work, but they could also perpetuate the reputation of the master who trained them.65 It is possible to trace whole chains of artists, each the pupil of the one before. Lorenzo Ghiberti trained Fra’ Filippo

Lippi who in turn trained Andrea del Verrocchio who trained both Botticelli and

Leonardo da Vinci. In some instances apprentices even took the name of their master to illustrate this artistic lineage, like Jacopo Sansovino who trained under Andrea Sansovino and Domenico Campagnola who trained under Giulio Campagnola.66 It is likely for this reason that Sofonisba, who was not born into an artistic family, chose to illustrate her

63 Benvenuto Cellini, Autobiography, Trans. George Bull (New York: Grolier, 1973), 6. 64 Ames-Lewis, The Intellectual Life, 16. 65 Fredrika Jacobs, "Woman's Capacity to Create: The Unusual Case of Sofonisba Anguissola," Renaissance Quarterly, 47, no. 1 (1994) 84. 66 Burk, Renaissance Culture and Society, 52.

23 artistic lineage. By portraying her artistic lineage, she is securing herself a place in an art historical chain of artists and claiming a right to that place.

Sofonisba may also be defending her right to a place in art history by displaying her mastery of and suggesting that she has surpassed her master. She does this by rendering Campi with sensitivity and while depicting his portrayal of her as flat and less realistic. While this alone may seem as just a mode to identify that one figure is living and the other is simply a painted canvas, other clues indicate the former supposition.

For example, the image of Sofonisba gazes directly at the viewer, rather than away or at the depicted Campi, suggesting her presence both in the painting and as creator of the painting. Sofonisba also places her image carefully. Her image is centered and her face is emphasized by Campi’s arm that makes a “W” shape with Sofonisba’s painted arm which lies along the same central axis as her face and is emphasized by the direct placement of her painted hand below his. 67 She has also placed her head above that of her tutor and made the image of herself bigger than that of her tutor. This central alignment and larger-than-life depiction make her image more imposing than that of

Campi, signifying her belief that she would be an even greater success than her mentor.

Although the painting shows Campi painting Sofonisba, she has painted them both, suggesting that she not only surpassed her mentor, but that his future renown would be due to her being his student. After all, at age fifteen she had been counted among the

67 Garrard, "Here's Looking at Me,” 562.

24 most significant painters by Marco Gerolamo Vida, Humanist and friend of Amilcare

Anguissola.68

It is also possible that her inclusion of a mahlstick, an instrument used to steady an artist’s hand while painting, in Campi’s hand could be viewed as a slight towards her tutor. Paolo Pini claimed in his 1548 Dialogo that the use of a mahlstick was shameful and not practiced by the ancients.69 And while not everyone agreed with Pini, it is interesting to note that in the medal created to commemorate the work of painter Lavinia

Fontana, Lavinia is shown working freehand with her mahlstick cast aside. Sofonisba only portrays herself once using the mahlstick, and that is in her Self-Portrait at the Easel

(Fig. 3), dated to around 1556. Because she is depicting herself painting the Madonna and

Child in Self-Portrait at the Easel, the mahlstick may be a sign of piety. Since the mahlstick often connoted timidity and preoccupation with the subject70 it is possible that she uses it to show her tentativeness in the ability to portray her divine subjects justly. It emphasizes that her reverence for her subjects makes her take extra care in their rendering.

68 Sylvia Ferino-Pagden and Maria Kusche, Sofonisba Anguissola,12. 69 Garrard, “Here’s Looking At Me,” 562. 70 Ibid.

25

Figure 2. Sofonisba Anguissola, Bernardino Campi Painting Sofonisba 11 5 Anguissola, ca. 1559, Oil on Canvas, 43 /16 x 43 /16" (111x 110 cm). Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena.

26

Self-Portrait at the Easel is another painting that serves more than one function.

First, she demonstrates her piety and promotes her ability to paint the subject. Second, and most importantly, she is suggesting her similarity to the legendary Thamyris mentioned by Boccaccio in his Concerning Famous Women. 71 According to Boccaccio,

Thamyris, also known as Timarete or Thamar, painted a famous work depicting the goddess Diana of Ephesus72 and

…had such marvelous talent that she scorned the duties of women and practiced her father’s art” and “acquired such great glory in painting that the Ephesians…kept for a long time a painting…done by Thamyris on a panel and guarded it as a precious thing. It lasted for a long time and gave such great testimony to her skill that it seemed marvelous up to modern times.73

Sofonisba, by portraying herself as a painter of the Madonna, may be associating herself with Thamyris who, as stated above, painted the goddess Diana. The illustration of Thamyris in some editions of Boccaccio’s book shows her painting the Madonna instead. By associating herself with the renowned Thamyris, Sonfonisba could be claiming that she is a talented artist who will follow in the footsteps of her predecessor and that her work will be a lasting testament to her significance and skills.

71 Ferino-Pagden and Kusche, Sofonisba Anguissola: A Renaissance Woman, 24. 72 Ibid. 73 Boccaccio, Concerning Famous Women, 122.

27

Figure 3. Sofonisba Anguissola, Self-Portrait at the Easel, ca. 1556, Oil on canvas, 26 x 22 ½ " (66 x 57.15 cm), Muzeum Zamek, Lancut.

28

Self-Portrait at the Easel comes after

Sofonisba’s 1554 self-portrait in which she presents herself with a small book (fig. 4) and indicates her artistic and historical importance.

In this work, Sofonisba seems to be emphasizing her role as both model and artist by making it clear that she is representing herself.74 According to Woods-Marsden, this is the first self-portrait to include a book regardless of gender.75 If this is the first known self-portrait of the Renaissance to include a Figure 4. Sofonisba Anguissola, Self- Portrait, 1554, Oil on panel, 6 ¾ x 4 book, then it also indicates the artist’s creativity, ¾ " (CM), Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, inv. no. 285. and therefore, genius. 76

By presenting herself with a book the artist may be indicating her intelligence. In portraiture the book was used traditionally to portray Humanist erudition.77 Therefore the book in Sofonisba’s painting could function as an indication of her education. But it seems most likely that, since her name and year is written on the open page of the book,

74 Garrard, “Here’s Looking at Me,” 558. 75 Wood-Marsden, Renaissance Self-Portraiture, 202. 76 Jacobs, "Woman's Capacity to Create,” 95. 77 Woods-Marsden, Renaissance Self-Portraiture, 202.

29 she is alluding to the Renaissance popularity of writing autobiographies and diaries78 and suggesting that, like the authors of those books, she is recording herself and life for history.

Lavinia Fontana also illustrates her self-perception and motivations in her self- portraits. Her portrait, Self Portrait at the Keyboard with Maidservant, probably painted in 1575 for her betrothed, depicts her seated at the keyboard being tended by a maidservant (Fig. 5). Since Sofonisba was already a famous artist known throughout

Spain and Italy whose works were known and distributed, it is likely that Lavinia was aware of Sofonisba’s 1561 self-portrait that depicts the artist at the keyboard being tended by a maidservant (Fig. 6). Lavinia’s reference to Sofonisba would indicate that she, like Sofonisba before her, would find great success as an artist.

The inscription, “Lavinia virgo Prosperi Fontanae/Filia ex speculo imaginem/oris sui expresi anno 1577” (“Lavinia maiden daughter of Prospero Fontana has represented the likeness of her face from the mirror in the year 1577”) may also be a reference to

Sofonisba’s Self Portrait with a Medallion and the artist Marcia mentioned by Boccaccio.

As previously mentioned, Marcia was a celebrated painter mentioned by both Pliny and

Boccaccio, and who supposedly used a mirror to create her self-image.79 If so, this is intended to underline that Lavinia, like her predecessors, is going to live an unusual life for a woman by dedicating herself to the creation of artwork.

78 McLaughlin, “Biography and Autobiography in the Italian Renaissance,” 37. 79 Woods-Marsden, Renaissance Self-Portraiture, 203.

30

The maidservant in both Sofonisba’s and Lavinia’s paintings serves as an indication of wealth and suggest that they are proper ladies. In both portraits the women are displaying one of Castiglione’s essential requirements for noblewomen mentioned in his Book of the Courtier, musical skills. In Lavinia’s painting wealth and status are also implied by her rich garments.

Unlike Sofonisba, who opts for a plain, dark background, Lavinia illustrates the rest of the scene, including her easel in the background. The easel not only displays her artistic abilities, but may also suggest to her future husband and in-laws, her ability to earn a good income on her art. This may be evidenced by a wooden chest placed next to the easel that could possibly represent the future bride’s trousseau, or the container in which she would transport her fortune to her new home. The position of the chest next to the empty easel might indicate that her painting skills are what she is bringing to her marriage and that those skills would bring her husband a fortune in lieu of a dowry.80

Lavinia’s betrothed, Gian Paolo Zappi of Imola, agreed to forgo the dowry required by canon law, move into her father’s house, and accept Lavinia as a careerist wife since he was convinced that she would make a fortune through her production of paintings. 81

80 Murphy, Lavinia Fontana, 43. 81 Murphy, “The Economics” in Italian Women Artists: from Renaissance to , ed. Carole Collier Frick et al. (: Skira, 2007), 27.

31

Figure 5. Lavinia Fontana, Self-Portrait at the Keyboard with Maidservant, 1577, Oil on canvas, 10.63 x 9.44” (27 x 24 cm), Accademia di San Luca, Rome.

32

Figure 6. Sofonisba Anguissola, Self-Portrait at the Keyboard with Maidservant, ca. 1550s, Oil on canvas, 32.68 x 25.59” (83 x 65 cm), Althorp House, Northampton

33

Lavinia’s 1579 self-portrait was created in response to a request from Alfonso Ciacón.

She probably provided it because he promised her eternal fame. In his letter to the artist,

Ciacón stated that her painting would,

…accompany that of Sofonisba which shall thus be seen and looked at and recognized by everyone as it shall be made into a print among those five hundred illustrious men and women which shall be engraved in copper at the expense of his Grace the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. I turn to you not to deprive me of this pleasure and contentment, and yourself of that glory that still you do not have and to be known by all as I plan to celebrate you and propagate you for centuries and lineage of eternity.82

Since her self-portrait was to receive a place of honor and be copied for wide distribution, she made sure to carefully craft her image to show her talent, intellect, and worthiness of praise (Fig. 7). Lavinia’s self-portrait introduces her as a wealthy, respectable, pious, and talented lady of Humanist erudition, who is both intellectual and creative.

In this painting Lavinia portrays herself seated in a studiolo surrounded by small copies of sculptures from antiquity. Her hand is poised with a pen over a blank sheet of paper as if she is about to write a letter. By placing herself among classical antiquities and in the act of writing, she is depicting her understanding of, and inspiration from, the classical world and implying that she is more than just an artist and gentle woman, she is

82 Murphy, Lavinia Fontana, 219.

34 also a scholar and antiquarian.83 She was, after all, educated at the university and a doctor of letters.84 The sheet of paper on her desk and the pen in her poised hand may imply her excellent way with words, as described by her father-in law when he states that her first letter to her future in-laws was “more of a judicious man and not a woman”.85 The fact that the paper before her is blank suggests that she is in the act of imaginative thinking, the initial stage of creation that, to Renaissance artists, relied solely on intellect.86 The enigmatic quality of this blank paper and her pen poised to compose can only be seen as a reference to her heightened intelligence.87 Her dress suggests that she is wealthy, while the cross around her neck displays her piety. The painting is also done in a circular format, called a tondo, which required greater skill, promoting Lavinia’s worth, rarity, and right to a place among the most renowned artists and personages.88

In the letter Lavinia wrote to accompany her painting she displays humility at the compliment of being placed in such an illustrious group. She states her unworthiness of having her portrait placed next to that of Sofonisba, or of being included at all in his collection of celebrated individuals, even though this seems to contradict her self-portrait which affirms her intellect and artistic talents. Lavinia, who was able to secure loyal

83 Murphy, Lavinia Fontana, 74. 84 McIver, “Lavinia Fontana’s Self-Portrait Making Music,” 3. 85 Murphy, Lavinia Fontana, 217. 86 Woods-Marsden, Renaissance Self-Portraiture, 220. 87 Ibid., 221. 88 Murphy, Lavinia Fontana, 76.

35 clients due to her diplomatic skills, personality, and self-promotion,89 created the letter to assure her patron that she was modest like the ideal noblewoman described by

Castiglione. Of course the letter does more than endeavor to convince the reader of the writer’s modesty, it also serves to remind Alfonso of his promise, particularly that her portrait be placed next to that of Sofonisba. She writes,

…as with your intention to give my portrait such an honored place, one I attribute to the excess of your lovingness, the other, makes me think that you judiciously wish that the virtue and worth of Signora Sofonisba will be so much more resplendent.90

Although her accompanying letter states that she is unworthy to have her portrait placed next to that of Sofonisba and that her work will only show the superiority of

Sofonisba, her painting suggests that she believes she has a talent to rival that of

Sofonisba. For Lavinia, Sofonisba was more than an artist to respect, she was a rival to overcome, a recurrent theme in Renaissance Italy. Dante states in Purgatorio, the second part of The Divine Comedy, “In painting Cimabue thought that he should hold the field, now Giotto has the cry, so that the other’s fame is growing dim”.91 This concept of outdoing your predecessors is echoed by Vasari as he states that Giotto surpassed

Cimabue, Donatello was surpassed by Michelangelo, and so on.92

89 Murphy, Lavinia Fontana, 45. 90 Ibid., 220. 91 Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, trans. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (New York: Barns and Noble, 2008), 339. 92 McIver, "Lavinia Fontana's Self-Portrait Making Music,” 6.

36

Figure 6. Lavinia Fontana, Self-Portrait in the Studiolo, 1579, Oil on copper, 6.18" (15.7 cm) diameter, Uffizi, Florence.

37

Marietta Robusti’s self-portrait painted in 1580 was also likely created to preserve her identity for eternity. Marietta shows herself holding music from a madrigal by

Philippe Verdelot. Her cheeks seem to be blushing, perhaps due to the lyrics of the song,

“Madonna per voi ardo” (My lady, I burn with love for you) (Fig. 8). In this painting it appears that Marietta is concerned with conveying herself as musically knowledgeable, as indicated by the sheet of music in her hands suggesting that she is trained in reading notes and educated as a proper lady according to the requirements set forth by Castiglione. Her blushing cheeks display to the viewer her modesty, another important trait of a gentlewoman according to Castiglione. She is, after all, mentioned by Vasari in his Lives, an inclusion that suggests that she was a popular and known artist, which would not be surprising considering she trained under her famous father, Tintoretto.93

93 Carlo Ridolfi, The Life of Tintoretto and of His Children Domenico and Marietta, trans. Catherine Enggass and Robert Enggass (University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1984), 99.

38

Figure 7. Marietta Robusti, Self-Portrait, 1580, Oil on canvas, 36.73 x 36.02” (93.3 x 91.5 cm), Uffizi, Florence.

39

Other female artists are mentioned by Vasari, including Properzia de’ Rossi, but no known self-portraits are available for analysis. However, since self-portraits were such an important creation in the Renaissance, especially for female artists who could produce such works as a “double marvel”94 and attract collectors and notice in elite circles, it is probably only a matter of time before more works surface allowing further study of the aspirations and self-perception of these women. From the works that do survive, it seems clear that these women carefully crafted their self-portraits to reflect not only their appearance, but their self-assessment and ambitions.

Creating self-portraits was not the only manner in which a female artist in the

Renaissance sought to achieve fame. Sofonisba painted a narrative painting titled The

Chess Game in 1555 (Fig. 9). The painting depicts her three sisters smiling while playing a game of chess, with their maid, or nurse, watching steadily from the far right. The background consists of a distant landscape of water, rocks, and mountains. This painting conveys the artist’s “genius” by displaying her innovation, an innate trait of narrative painting according to Vasari, and ability to accurately imitate nature.95 According to

Perlingieri, this is the first sixteenth-century portrait to display its subjects in such an animated and informal way, making it inventive.96 By portraying her sisters with such active emotion, a practice not applied by her contemporaries, Sofonisba distinguished herself as a talented painter able to accurately capture life.

94 Tinagli, Women in Italian Renaissance Art, 114. 95 Jacobs, “Woman’s Capacity to Create,” 94-95. 96 Perlingieri, Sofonisba Anguissola, 88.

40

Figure 8. Sofonisba Anguissola, The Chess Game, ca. 1555, Oil on canvas, 28.38 x 38.13” (72.07 x 96.85 cm), Muzeum Narodowe, Poznan.

41

Leaving a Legacy

The desire of these female Renaissance artists for legendary status is evidenced by the distribution of their work and artistic influence. As previously mentioned, creating an artistic lineage by training other aspiring artists was a way for a renowned artist to perpetuate her name and reputation. If an artist receives credit for influencing the work of, or training, another great artist then their name will be repeated into another generation and their talent and work will be remembered. It is probably for this reason that Lavinia ran her own workshop and trained some noble girls in painting. She is the first recorded professional female artist outside of the convent to do so in the

Renaissance.97 Although she did not have a formal school, and her female pupils did not become professional artists, at least two male artists indicated that she influenced them artistically.98

Sofonisba’s new precedent for self-portraiture by women and establishment of new conventions for Italian genre painting spread throughout Europe and had a lasting influence. 99 Sofonisba’s sketches were widely distributed and both these, and her paintings, were well known, copied, and influential. ’s painting Boy Being

Bitten by a Lizard done in 1597 derived its inspiration from Sofonisba’s sketch, Boy

97 Woods-Marsden, Renaissance Self-Portraiture, 141. 98 Murphy, Lavinia Fontana, 197. 99 Chadwick, Women, Art, and Society, 77.

42

Bitten by a Crayfish, created around 1558.100 The sketch, originally given to

Michelangelo in response to his challenge to create something more innovative, portrayed

Sofonisba’s brother Asdrubale in the act of crying.

Anthony Van Dyck sought out and spoke to Sofonisba when she was ninety-six years old. He consulted her about her work since she had been the leading painter in

Genoa from the 1580s through the 1590s.101 Van Dyck, one of the leading portraitist in

Genoa after Sofonisba, is attributed with revolutionizing portraiture as done previously by Sofonisba, and was probably influenced by the famed female artist. Art historians note a change in his style after his visit with the aged female painter.102 Nor was Van Dyck the only foreign artist to hold Sofonisba’s work in high regard. In 1618 Rubens painted a copy of her Portrait of Queen Isabel (1563-65), possibly because he or a patron admired it.103

100 Perlingieri, Sofonisba Anguissola, 74. 101 Perlingieri, Sofonisba Anguissola, 209. 102 Ibid. 103 Ibid., 197.

43

Chapter 4

CONCLUSION

If, as presumed, these women were interested in fame and a higher status, they succeeded in achieving both. As shown in surviving writings, artifacts, and art, these women were celebrated for their work both during their lives and after their deaths.

Lavinia was integrated quickly into the artistic Bolognese community and received some of the most prestigious commissions.104 In a time when it was considered indecent for a gentlewoman to earn her income, Lavinia not only earned as much as the highest paid males painting portraits in the seventeenth century, she provided the main source of income for her family, including her aging parents.105 Properzia also achieved financial parity with her male counterparts in Bologna. The Fabbricca for San Petronio, the most important church of Bologna, paid Properzia de’ Rossi sums commensurate with those offered to male artists for her sculptural work.106

Sofonisba and Lavinia both received papal commissions, one of the highest achievements for a Renaissance artist. Lavinia was honored with a papal commission and summons to Rome.107 Sofonisba received a commission for a portrait of Queen Isabel

104 Murphy, Lavinia Fontana, 13. 105 Murphy, “The Economics,” in Italian Women Artists, 27. 106 Ibid., 23. 107 Chadwick, Women, Art, and Society, 94.

44 from Pope Pius IV.108 In exchange for the painting, the Pope sent gifts and a letter, dated

15 October 1561, that assured Sofonisba that he would hold her painting “among our dearest possessions.”109

Her contemporary, Giovan Paolo Lomazzo, wrote that all the European princes were amazed by Sofonisba’s portraits.110 Other writers including Filippo Baldinucci,

Gian Battista Zaist, and Raffello Sopriani, ranked Sofonisba alongside Titian.111 Irene di

Spilimbergo’s work was also regarded as equal to that of Titian.112 Marietta Robusti was invited to the Spanish court like Sofonisba, but her father, Tintoretto, declined the invitation.113 Marietta Robusti, along with Sofonisba and Lavinia, was credited with

“invention,” one of the greatest compliments an artist could receive.114

Vasari provided particularly high praise for Sofonisba, claiming that her subjects were “executed so well, that they appear to be breathing and absolutely alive” similar to the statements he made about Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.115

Lavinia Fontana also received high praise from her contemporaries. The

Bolognese poet Giulio Cesare Croce (1550-1609) stated that, “In painting there are those

108 Perlingieri, Sofonisba Anguissola, 121-122. 109 Vasari, “Sofonisba Anguissola,” in Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, trans. Gaston De Vere, vol. 8 (New York: AMS Press, 1976) 47. 110 Tinagli, Women in Italian Renaissance Art, 15. 111 Jacobs, “Woman’s Capacity to Create,” 74. 112 Ibid., 76. 113 Ibid. 114 Ibid., 98. 115 Vasari, “Sofonisba Anguissola,” 45-46.

45 who know the great wonder of nature, Lavinia Fontana, noble painter, unique in the world like a phoenix.”116 As previously mentioned, the Bolognese medalist, Felice

Antonio Casoni, struck a portrait medal in her honor shortly before her death in 1611.

The face displays her portrait and a description that identifies her as a painter. The reverse side contains a female figure surrounded by a square and compasses illustrating the mathematical prowess and inspired genius considered a trait of Renaissance artists.117

Sofonisba’s husband also provided her with a lasting monument to celebrate her fame and special status. After her death in 1625, he erected a marble tomb in San Giorgio dei Genovesi in . The epitaph carved onto the stone reads:

To Sofonisba, my wife, whose parents are the noble Anguissola, for beauty and extraordinary gifts of nature, who is recorded among the illustrious women of the world, outstanding in portraying the images of man, so excellent that there was no equal in her age. Orazio Lomellino, in sorrow for the loss of his great love, in 1632, dedicated this little tribute to such a great woman.

Female artists in the Renaissance, in search of their own recognition, left an even greater legacy than they might have imagined. They contributed to the advancement of both art and women’s status and opened up painting as a socially acceptable profession for women.118 Properzia demonstrated that the sculpting of marble was not an accomplishment limited to men. Sofonisba not only inspired female artists like Barbara

116 McIver, “Lavinia Fontana’s Self-Portrait Making Music,” 7. 117 Chadwick, Women, Art, and Society, 96. 118 Perlingieri, Sofonisba Anguissola, 77.

46

Longhi (1552-1638), (1578-1630), and Lavinia Fontana,119 but her success made some male Italian artists willing to take on female pupils. For example, Titian agreed to instruct Irene di Spilimbergo (1538-1559), the granddaughter of his friend. 120

These women demonstrated that an intelligent and talented woman had the capacity to achieve recognition and prominence in the arts. If it were not for their concern in promoting themselves and obtaining distinction, their work and legacy might have been lost to history. Instead, they were able to imprint themselves in history and, in doing so, provide a foundation for the success of future women in the arts.

119 Perlingieri, Sofonisba Anguissola,185. 120 Ibid., 86.

47

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