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: portraiture
Sofonisba Anguissola and the Ideal Female Courtier
Italian painter Sofonisba Anguissola has received significant scholarly attention for her vast array of self-portraits. As one of the earliest professional artists to create a significant number of portraits of herself, scholars have looked to her works as a way to understand how this remarkable young noblewoman created such a successful career for herself.Continue reading “Sofonisba Anguissola and the Ideal Female Courtier”
The Learned Paintress: Angelica Kauffman’s “Self Portrait of the Painter Hesitating Between Painting and Music” by Claire Sandberg
The development of the historiated portrait allowed artist in the British Royal Academy to create self-portraits rich with allegories and classical influences that reflected the ideal image of the learned artist as described by Sir Joshua Reynolds in his Discourses on Art. Following in Reynolds’ example, British Academicienne Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807) used allegories and classicalContinue reading “The Learned Paintress: Angelica Kauffman’s “Self Portrait of the Painter Hesitating Between Painting and Music” by Claire Sandberg”
Reframing History: Sofonisba Anguissola
Sofonisba Anguissola was an Italian Renaissance painter born to minor nobility in Cremona, Italy. She was the eldest of seven; six sisters and one brother. Her father, Amilcare, insured his children received a proper education in the humanities and fine arts and he arranged for Sofonisba and her sister, Elena, to study with Bernardino Campi,Continue reading “Reframing History: Sofonisba Anguissola”
Renaissance Reframed 