|
Date: |
|
Description: | Sofonisba Anguissola's privileged background was unusual among sixteenth-century Italian women artists. She is noted for her many self portraits and for placing sitters in informal domestic settings and often holding personal attributes. She showed an interest in the psychology of her sitters - an influence of Moroni. Almost always the gaze of the sitter meets that of the spectator. The inscription here may be the result of adopting Spanish influences. The Spanish use of 'imprese' was revived during the 1560s in Italy due to the support of Spain among the aristocracy in Bergamo. At this time Anguissola was herself in Spain - she had been invited to the court of Madrid by the Duke of Alba in 1559. There she was chosen by Philip II to be an attendant to the Infanta Isabella (1566-1633) and Lady in Waiting to the Queen, Elizabeth of Valois (1545-1568). The inscriptions can be translated as 'Baptista Siculus (i.e. of Sicily), Incomparable Cithara Player.' | Subjects: | portrait | Source: | Vads | Creator: | Artist: Anguissola, Sofonisba (Italian painter, ca. 1532-1625) Æ Attributed to Previously attributed to Italian (Brescian) School Previously attributed to Moroni, Giovanni Battista (Italian painter, ca.1525-1578) | Identifier: | http://www.vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=8418... | Go to resource |
|
|