Sofonisba Anguissola
The Renaissence Woman
Greetings!
My name is Chris Grose and you can contact me at:
I thought it might be helpful to include some preliminary vocabulary before you read about Anguissola's works.
Mahlstick- a light stick with a padded leather ball at one end, held against work by a painter or signwriter to support and steady the brush hand.
monogram- a motif of two or more letters, typically a person's initials, usually interwoven or otherwise combined in a decorative design, used as a logo or to identify a personal possession.
Petrarchini - denoting a sonnet of the kind used by the Italian poet Petrarch, with an octave rhyming abbaabba, and a sestet typically rhyming cdcdcd or cdecde.
physiognomy- a person's facial features or expression, especially when regarded as indicative of character or ethnic origin.
Here is the main lady of the website! Obviously her name is Sofonisba Anguissola. She mainly painted selfies, which isn't ironic at all, as well as family members. She was a pioneer for gender equality in the arts, and displayed her talent through many creative and progressive works of art. Her major works include such works as Asdrubale Bitten by Crayfish, The Chess Game, as well as Bernardo Campi Paintng Sofonisba Anguissola.
Sofonisba Anguissola: Self portrait (1560)