Sofonisba Anguissola
Childhood
Sofonisba Anguissola was born as the
eldest daughter of Anguissola family in the town of Cremona
Italy in 1532.
She had four younger sisters and only one brother. The girls of her time were
not educated and were expected to stay at home to help their mothers with
housework and other chores, but Sofonisba was encouraged by her father to
pursue a career in art. Although Sofonisba’s father could not send his girls to
school because it was illegal, he educated each of his girls and taught them to
grow up to be humanists. He taught and encouraged them to study many subjects
of which included painting. When Sofonisba was fourteen years old, she started
studying in the studio of Bernardino Campi with her sister Elena. After Campi
left for Milan, and Sofonisba chose to go study with Bernardo Gatti. Her
sister, Elena, did not pursue a career in art, and instead moved on to a
convent. Because woman painters were limited on what kinds of paintings they
could create, Sofonisba chose to stick with portraitures.
Professional Life
Eventually
Sofonisba broke away from painting portraits, and created her own style of
painting. With this new style, she could capture different emotions and
expression which was something that she had not done with her portraits. When
Sofonisba was twenty two years old she went to Rome to sketch a few paintings.
While she was there, she saw Michelangelo and casually trained with him. He
would give Sofonisba sketches that he created so that she could copy and he could
critique her work. She would even send copies of her own work for him to give
advice on. In 1559, Sofonisba went to Spain at the request of King Phillip II;
she was chosen painter to his court. She stayed there for a little over
fourteen years, and while Sofonisba was there, she became close friends with
the King’s young wife, Queen Isabel of Spain
(she even taught her how to paint). During the time that she stayed in Spain,
the King arranged for Sofonisba to marry Don Fabrizia de Moncada, a Sicilian nobleman.
They later moved to Sicily, but
soon after her new husband died.
Golden Years
After the
death of her husband, Sofonisba wanted to return to her birthplace in Cremona,
Italy. On her way there,
she fell in love with the captain of her ship named Orazio Lomellino. Soon
afterwards they were married and settled in the town of Genoa.
Fortunately, both of her husbands supported and encouraged Sofonisba’s painting
career. While living in Genoa, she
continued to paint for rich and noble families. Sofonisba even owned her own
studio and many artists came to visit her there and learn from her paintings.
In 1623 a young Flemish painter named Sir Anthony Van Dyke visited Sofonisba
and painted a portrait of her. He also wrote notes of his visit with her in his
“Italian Sketchbook”. Finally, in 1625, Sofonisba Anguissola died in the city
of Palermo when she was 93 years
old.
Legacy
Sofonisba Anguissola is considered
today the first successful female artist of the Renaissance and the first to
reach a worldwide standing. Many people think that she opened the door for
women artists to pursue a career in art in the future. Today, only 13 portraits
that Sofonisba painted have survived. One of her best known paintings is the
“Chess Game”, where it shows her three sisters Lucia, Minerva, and Europa
playing a game of chess.
Bibliography:
Burke, Kathleen http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian/issues95/may95/anguissola.html 10/26/04
Sofonisba Anguissola, Who Am I?
http://www.italiansrus.com/articles/whoami4.htm 10/27/04
Wagner, Christopher
http://histclo.hispeed.com/art/artist-ang.html 10/26/04