Sofonisba Anguissola
In 717, the Byzantine warlord Galvano Sordo used an ingenious artificial fire to liberate Constantinople from Saracen siege. His brothers-in-arms and the people of Constantinople exclaimed that the snake alone had brought victory. This saying became very popular, and Galvano himself was nicknamed Anguissola. The Emperor eventually bestowed the Anguissola surname upon all his descendants. Fleeing a pestilence in Constantinople, these descendants settled in Italy and intermarried with noble families like the Komnenoi and the Gonzagas. They built autonomous estates in Piacenza, Cremona, Vicenza, and other regions of Italy. Sofonisba Anguissola was born into this poor but ancient Italian noble family in Cremona, Lombardy, in 1532. Her father Amilcare named her after the tragic Carthaginian figure Sophonisba. He also named his only son Asdrubale after the warlord Hasdrubal Barca. Amilcare encouraged all his daughters to cultivate their talents, inspired by Baldassare Castiglione's book The Book of the Courtier.
Sofonisba Anguissola was fourteen when her father sent her and her sister Elena to study with Bernardino Campi. When Campi moved to Milan in 1550, she continued her studies with painter Bernardino Gatti. She probably studied under Gatti for about three years between 1551 and 1553. In 1554, at age twenty-two, she traveled to Rome where she spent time sketching various scenes and people. While in Rome, another painter introduced her to Michelangelo. She initially showed him a drawing of a laughing girl. The painter challenged her to draw a weeping boy instead. Anguissola drew Child Bitten by a Lobster and sent it back to Michelangelo. He immediately recognized her talent and gave her sketches from his notebooks to draw in her own style. For at least two years, she received substantial guidance from Michelangelo on these results. One of her most important early works depicted her art teacher painting a portrait of her.
Painted when Anguissola was 23 years old, The Game of Chess is an intimate representation of an everyday family scene. It depicts her sisters Lucia, Minerva, and Europa playing chess together. This work combines elaborate formal clothing with very informal facial expressions, which was unusual for Italian art at this time. The painting explored a new kind of genre painting that places her sisters in a domestic setting rather than the formal or allegorical settings popular then. It has been regarded as a conversation piece showing a group engaging in lively conversation or some activity. Her self-portraits also offer evidence of what she thought her place was as a woman artist. In her self-portrait of 1556, she presents herself as the artist, separating herself from the role as the object to be painted. Additional pieces show how she rebels against the notion that women are objects. Her self-portrait of 1561 shows her playing an instrument, taking on a different role.
In the winter of 1559, 1560, Sofonisba arrived in Madrid to serve as court painter and lady-in-waiting to Queen Elisabeth of Valois. The queen was Philip II's third wife and was only 14 years old when Anguissola joined her. She soon gained Elisabeth's admiration and confidence. During her 14-year residence, she guided the artistic development of Queen Elisabeth. She influenced the art made by the queen's two daughters, Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catherine Michaela. Anguissola painted portraits of the King's sister Margaret of Parma for Pope Pius IV in 1561. After Queen Elisabeth died in childbirth in 1568, she painted the likeness of Anne of Austria, Philip's fourth wife. While she continued painting portraits at the court, the Althorp Self-Portrait is the only securely attributed work surviving from this period. For the royal family, she produced detailed scenes of their lives that now hang in the Prado Museum. With gifts and a dowry of 12,000 scudi she earned along with her salary, she amassed an admirable return from her craft.
In 1571, when she was approaching age 40, Anguissola entered an arranged marriage to Fabrizio Moncada Pignatelli. Philip II paid a dowry of 12,000 scudi for her marriage to the son of the Prince of Paternò. The couple left Spain with the King's permission and lived in Paternò near Catania from 1573 to 1579. She received a royal pension of 100 ducats that enabled her to continue working and tutoring would-be painters. Her husband died in 1579 under mysterious circumstances. Two years later, while traveling to Cremona by sea, she fell in love with the ship's captain Orazio Lomellino. They married in Pisa on the 24th of December 1584 and lived in Genoa until 1620. She had no children but maintained cordial relationships with her nieces and stepson Giulio. Lomellino's fortune plus a generous pension allowed her to paint freely and live comfortably. By now quite famous, she received many colleagues who came to visit and discuss arts with her.
The influence of Campi is evident in Anguissola's early works like the Self-Portrait held in Florence. Her work was akin to the worldly tradition of Cremona, influenced greatly by art from Parma and Mantua. From Gatti she seems to have absorbed elements reminiscent of Correggio. This new direction is reflected in Lucia, Minerva and Europa Anguissola Playing Chess. In this painting portraiture merges into a quasi-genre scene derived from Brescian models. The main body of her earlier work consists of self-portraits and portraits of her family. These are considered by many to be her finest works. Approximately fifty works have been attributed to Anguissola. Her paintings can be seen at galleries in Baltimore, Bergamo, Berlin, Graz, Madrid, Milan, Milwaukee, Naples, Poznań, Siena, Southampton, and Vienna. Her portrait of Queen Elisabeth of Valois with a zibellino was widely copied by artists such as Peter Paul Rubens. Caravaggio allegedly took inspiration from Anguissola's work for his Boy Bitten by a Lizard.
On the 12th of July 1624, Anguissola was visited by the young Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck. He recorded sketches from his visit to her in his sketchbook. Van Dyck believed her to be 96 years old though she was actually about 92. He noted that although her eyesight was weakened, she was still mentally alert. Excerpts of the advice she gave him about painting survive from this visit. He claimed their conversation taught him more about true principles than anything else in his life. In 1625, she died at age 93 in Palermo. Her husband buried her with honor in Palermo at the Church of San Giorgio dei Genovesi. Seven years later on the anniversary of what would have been her 100th birthday, he placed an inscription on her tomb. Sofonisba Anguissola's great success opened the way for larger numbers of women to pursue serious careers as artists. Lavinia Fontana expressed in a letter written in 1579 that she and another woman had set their hearts on learning how to paint after seeing one of Anguissola's portraits. On the 4th of August 2017 a crater on Mercury was named after her.
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Common questions
When was Sofonisba Anguissola born and where?
Sofonisba Anguissola was born in 1532 in Cremona, Lombardy. She belonged to a poor but ancient Italian noble family that had settled in Italy after fleeing pestilence in Constantinople.
Who taught Sofonisba Anguissola during her early training years?
Her father sent her and her sister Elena to study with Bernardino Campi when she was fourteen. After Campi moved to Milan in 1550, she continued her studies with painter Bernardino Gatti for about three years between 1551 and 1553.
What happened when Sofonisba Anguissola met Michelangelo in Rome?
She traveled to Rome at age twenty-two in 1554 and showed him a drawing of a laughing girl before he challenged her to draw a weeping boy instead. He recognized her talent immediately and gave her sketches from his notebooks to draw in her own style for at least two years.
How did Sofonisba Anguissola serve as court painter to Queen Elisabeth of Valois?
She arrived in Madrid in the winter of 1559 or 1560 to serve as court painter and lady-in-waiting to Queen Elisabeth of Valois who was only 14 years old. During her 14-year residence she guided the artistic development of the queen and influenced the art made by the queen's two daughters Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catherine Michaela.
When did Sofonisba Anguissola die and how old was she?
Sofonisba Anguissola died in 1625 at age 93 in Palermo. Her husband buried her with honor in Palermo at the Church of San Giorgio dei Genovesi seven years after their marriage ended following his death in 1579.