The death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8th has sparked a world-wide response, a mixture of grief at the loss of a beloved leader contrasted with voices drawing attention to the role the monarch had in the continuation of violence and oppression against the people colonized by the British. There is much that couldContinue reading “The Portrait of a Monarch”
Tag Archives: biography
Reframing History: Marie Bashkirtseff
Self-Portrait of Marie Bashkirtseff I recently started reading Jennifer Higgie’s “The Mirror and the Palette” which examines self-portraiture by women artists over the last 500 years. While reading the book, I came across an artist that I was completely unfamiliar with but for a brief period of time was considered one of the most famousContinue reading “Reframing History: Marie Bashkirtseff”
Reframing History: Anne Seymour Damer, the “Sappho of Sculpture”
When discussing female artists who rejected traditional gender norms, many art historians reference Rosa Bonheur, but before Bonheaur was the so-called “Sappho of Sculpture” Anne Seymour Damer (1748-1828). Damer was an English sculptor, described by English writer, art historian, and politician (and her god-father) Horace Walpole as a “female genius.” In addition to sculpting, sheContinue reading “Reframing History: Anne Seymour Damer, the “Sappho of Sculpture””
Reframing History: Anne Vallayer-Coster
Anne Vallayer-Coster was born near Paris in 1744 to a goldsmith and tapestry designer of the royal family. Like many women artists in the 18th century, she trained under her father but also gained some training from botanical specialist Madeleine Basseport and marine painter Joseph Vernet. While she had training, without proper support, she wasContinue reading “Reframing History: Anne Vallayer-Coster”
Reframing History: Edmonia Lewis
The first African American and Native American sculptor to archive international acclaim, Mary Edmonia Lewis was born in New York in 1844. Born to a mother of Mississauga Ojibwe and African-American descent, Lewis was surrounded by Indigenous artisans and sold Ojibwe items to tourists visiting Niagara Falls and the surrounding area. By the time sheContinue reading “Reframing History: Edmonia Lewis”
Reframing History: Luisa Roldán
Luisa Ignacia Roldán (1652-1706) is the earliest documented woman sculptor in Spain, recognized by the Hispanic Society museum as “one of the few women artists to have maintained a studio outside the convents in Golden Age Spain.” She was the daughter of sculptor Pedro Roldán and studied in her father’s workshop alongside her siblings. AroundContinue reading “Reframing History: Luisa Roldán”
Catherine de’ Medici’s Identities I
Elite women of sixteenth-century France took advantage of their positions to become influential art patrons and collectors. Catherine de’ Medici (1519-1589) was one such woman.
Reframing History: Lady Elizabeth Wilbraham
Lady Elizabeth Wilbraham is considered by some to be the United Kingdom’s first female architect and a major patroness of architecture during the 17th century. Born into aristocracy in 1632, Lady Wilbraham married Thomas Wilbraham, the heir to the baronetcy of Wilbraham in 1651. During their honeymoon, the couple traveled throughout Europe and Lady WilbrahamContinue reading “Reframing History: Lady Elizabeth Wilbraham”
The Father of Art History: Giorgio Vasari
Anyone who has studied Renaissance art history can’t escape one name: Giorgio Vasari. Often described as a “father” of art history, Vasari is best known for his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. This text, a foundation text of art history, is also the keystone of much of our knowledge (and misinformation!)Continue reading “The Father of Art History: Giorgio Vasari”
Reframing History: Sister Plautilla Nelli
Sister Plautilla Nelli (1524-1588) was a self-taught artist and is often considered the first known woman artist of Florence. She was a nun in the Dominican convent of St. Catherine of Siena, where she was heavily influenced by the teachings of Dominican friar and avid preacher Savonarola. Savonarola advocated for devotional paintings and encouraged womanContinue reading “Reframing History: Sister Plautilla Nelli”
Renaissance Reframed 