Women Painters in Early Modern Italy
Women Painters in Early Modern Italy was an online art appreciation course I designed and published in 2023. After a few months of inactivity and with new projects on the horizon, I've decided to adapt part of the course material and share it here.
The main aim of the course was to survey the careers of six notable early modern Italian women painters—artists who achieved fame during their lifetimes but whose work was later overlooked or forgotten in traditional art history narratives.
By filling a gap in the male-dominated narrative of art history, the course examined how the featured artists brought a gendered perspective to established painting genres and offered original contributions to the stylistic developments of their time. In addition, the course presented a review of the recent wealth of publications and exhibitions, and a reflection on the increasing interest of the art market.
Although the content was organized chronologically, I had selected a range of artworks to highlight specific themes such as fate and critical reception, upbringing and education, patronage and public reception, still life and history painting, self-portraiture, and portraiture.
The short essays that I’ll be publishing after this introduction, explore how each artist contributed to the discussion of one or more of the aforementioned themes.
Featured Artists
Sofonisba Anguissola (Cremona, ca. 1532–Palermo, 1625)
Lavinia Fontana (Bologna, 1552–Rome, 1614)
Fede Galizia (Milan or Trento, ca. 1578–Milan, ca. 1630)
Artemisia Gentileschi (Rome, 1593–Naples, 1654 or later)
Giovanna Garzoni (Ascoli Piceno, 1600–Rome, 1670)
Elisabetta Sirani (Bologna, 1638–1665)
Sofonisba Anguissola, like most Italian pittrici, specialised in portraiture but the close analysis of some portraits and self-portraits led to the identification of original features.
The investigation into Lavinia Fontana’s considerable accomplishments allowed for the exploration of other genres besides portraiture, while Fede Galizia’s recently rediscovered artworks were a means of demonstrating the necessary partnership between scholarship and art market.
Artemisia Gentileschi’s paintings served to illustrate the debate about the presence of a gendered twist and evaluate recent publications and exhibitions.
Giovanna Garzoni’s bequest offered the opportunity to discuss the role of the Academies just like Elisabetta Sirani’s graphic production to initiate a discussion on the role played by early writers and collectors.
As I’m proud of what I created and believe it has value—especially for individuals and communities involved in open education or non-profit work—it is my hope that the upcoming essays will inform, inspire, or serve as a resource for others.
In fact, everyone is also welcome to build on this work or use it as a foundation to develop (or co-develop) future content.
The following short essays were written using the notes I jotted down while planning and designing the course’s units, but Women Painters in Early Modern Italy included also learning activities, assignments, and assessment quizzes.
If you feel you could benefit from some brainstorming while planning your own lessons, please feel free to reach out.
The information provided was not my scientific studies or discoveries but came from multiple sources.
For the students who wished to explore further I had curated lists of online resources and recommended readings. I will add the most relevant at the end of each article. If you know of any other resources, please share them in the comment section below.
