Sofonisba Anguissola Self portrait 1554 |
The Italian Mannerist painter Sofonisba Anguissola lived to be 93 years old and during that time she filled many canvases with images of living people who still seem to smile and breathe and to go on with their confident cheerful domestic occupations, despite the fact that almost five centuries separate them from people who are smiling and breathing (and looking at Italian Mannerist paintings) now.
Sofonisba Anguissola Game of Chess, the Artist's Sisters 1555 |
Sofonisba Anguissola The Artist's Father, Sister & Brother 1558 |
Sofonisba Anguissola Elizabeth of Valois 1565 |
Elizabeth of Valois (immediately above) developed an interest in the art of painting as a genteel form of recreation when she could find time away from her ceremonial duties as queen-consort of the King of Spain. Sofonisba Anguissola traveled to Spain in the 1560s as Elizabeth's tutor, painted many of the court ladies there, and permitted the King to arrange a marriage for her with a Spanish aristocrat, before her eventual return to Italy.
Sofonisba Anguissola Joanna of Portugal 1560 |
Sofonisba Anguissola Portrait of a Young Noblewoman in Red Velvet 1560 |
Sofonisba Anguissola Bust of a Woman 1550s |
Sofonisba Anguissola Portrait of a Woman 1550s |
Engraving after a painting by Sofonisba Anguissola Two Women before 1580 |
Sofonisba Anguissola Self-portrait with Bernardino Campi 1550s |