Sofonisba Anguissola was the first internationally known female painter in history. She was born in Cremona, Italy in 1532 to a noble family and received an education in fine art. As a young woman she traveled to Rome where she met Michelangelo, who recognized her talent after she drew a laughing child and then successfully drew a crying child at his challenge. She later became a lady-in-waiting and tutor to Queen Isabel of Spain. Anguissola painted many portraits of royalty and aristocrats over her long career, including several self-portraits showing her artistic progression. She lived to age 92 and opened doors for many other female painters.

1. The First International Known Woman Painter
First created 15 Apr 2022. Version 1.0 - 15 May 2022. Daperro. London.
Sofonisba
Anguissola
Self Portrait. 1564. Conde
Museum. Chantilly.

2. Sophonisba Angussola was
an Renaissance painter born in
Cremona to a relatively poor
noble family.
Background
She received a well-rounded
education including fine art,
with local painters.
She was the first international
known female painter in
history and set a precedent for
other female painters to
follow.

3. An early painting, unknown
date. 9.5 cm dia. Private.
An Early Painting

4. Michelangelo Crying Child Challenge. 1554.
As a young woman, Anguissola traveled to Rome where she met Michelangelo
who immediately recognized her talent. As an introduction, Anguissola showed
Michelangelo a drawing of a laughing child, but Michelangelo challenged her to
draw a crying child instead, which is more difficult (above left), according to
Leonardo. Later she also painted the painting, on the right.

5. Caravaggio answer to Michelangelo’s Challenge
Caravaggio on learning about the Michelangelo challenge to Anguissola, he
painted ‘A Boy Bitten by a Lizard’ (above right).

6. Sonfonisba’s sister, Elena Anguissola.
Sonfonisba Anguissola was the
oldest of seven children in the
family. Six of the children were
girls.
Sonfonisba’s father encouraged all
his daughters to cultivate and
perfect their talents. Four of the
girls became painters. One of the
girl, Elena abandoned painting and
became a nun.

7. Self Portrait. c1554
Self Portrait. C1554. Oil on canvas.
Sofonisba Anguissola (1532-1625).
Italian. Kunsthistorishes Museum.
Vienna. Austria. Age 22.

8. Self Portrait. c1554
Self Portrait. 1554. Oil on canvas.
Sofonisba Anguissola (1532-1625).
Italian. Museo Poldi Pezzoli. Milan.
Age 22.

9. Anguissola’s Sisters. 1555
Artist’s Sisters Playing Chess (Lucia, Mierva, Europa). 1555. Anguissola. Nat Museum in Poznan.

10. Self Portrait. 1556
Self Portrait. 1554.
When comparing the two portraits of
1554 and 1556, I think Sofoniba
Anguissola had made significant
improvement to her painting skill
between the two years.

11. Self Portrait. 1556
Self-portrait at the Easel (Detail). 1556. Oil on canvas. 66x57 cm. Sofoniba
Anguissola (1532-1625). Italian. Lancut Castle. Poland.

12. Self Portrait. 1556
Self-portrait. c1556. Oil on canvas.
8.3x6.4 cm. Sofoniba Anguissola
(1532-1625). Italian. Museum of
Fine Art. Boston.
This is a miniature portrait. It was
popular in 16th century in Italy. The
miniatures were particularly
sought after by soldiers and sailors,
who maybe away from for long
period.

13. Portrait of a Monk. 1556

14. Dominican Monk. 1556

15. Anguissola’s Mother. 1557

16. Self Portrait. 1558

17. Grand Duke of Tuscany. 1550s.
This work is undated. It is possibly
one of Anguissola’s early paintings
in the 1550s.

18. Filipe II Segovia. 1550s.
Another late 1550s painting,
Anguissola was well established.
She was then, painted the rich and
famous.
It was under Felipe II rules that
Spain reached the height of its
influence and power.

19. Young Patrician. 1558.
A Young Patrician. 1558. Oil
on canvas. 115x92 cm. by
Anguissola. Kivi State
Picture Gallery. Ukraine.

20. Portrait of a Gentleman 1558.
This portrait was painted by
Sofonisba Anguissola in Cremona,
a year before she left for Spain.

21. Artist’s Father, Brother and Sister. 1559.

22. Camp’s Anguissola. 1559.
Anguissola was painted
by her teacher Campi in
1559. She was at 29.

23. Self Portrait. 1559.
“The Spanish queen, Elizabeth of
Valois, was a keen amateur painter
and in 1559 Anguissola was
recruited to go to Madrid as her
tutor, with the rank of lady-in-
waiting.”
Wikipedia. Sofonisba Anguissola
Maybe this explains. why Sofonisba
Anguissola was in fine costume,

24. Isabel de Valois. 1559.
It was Isabel (or Elizabeth) of Valois. She
spent her childhood in the French royal
nursery, including sharing her bedroom with
her future sister-in-law, Queen Mary of Scots.
She became the Queen of Spain.

25. Joanna of Portugal. 1560s.
Joanna was the Archduchess
of Austria by birth. In 1552,
she married John of Portugal.
Two years later, in 1554, she
gave birth of Sebastian of
Portugal, a couple of week
after her husband’s death.
In 1554, Joanna was called
back to Madrid to act as a
regent for her brother. She
never returned to Portugal.

26. Prince Farnese. c1560.
Prince Alessandro Farnese at 15,
dressed in refined courtly clothing. He
was the grandson of King Charles V of
Spain.

27. Anguissola 1560-61
Sofonisba at home. Sofonisba, Lady of the court.

28. Minerva Anguissola 1560-61
Anguissola was the eldest of six
sisters and one brother. Her sisters
were also painters, but most gave
up after marriage.

29. King Philip II. 1565/73.
This is Anguissola’s earlier portrait of Philip II
in 1549-50, when he was about 22 year old.
In the portrait on the right, Philip II was about
38 to 46 year old. It was under Philip II that
Spain reached the peak of its power.

30. Isabella & Caterina. 1570.

31. Prince as Hunter. c1573.

32. Lady in Fur. c1574.
This painting is also attributed to
Spanish painter of Alonso Sanchez
Coello (1531-1588).
The woman was also identified as
Catherine Michelle of Spain, Duchess of
Savoy by marriage to Duke Charles
Emmanuel I.

33. Infanta Catalina Micaela. c1584.
Some suggested this painting by
Anguissola was the same woman in
the last slide.

34. Young Lady. 1580.
Detail of the jewelry on the costume.

35. Maximilian II of Austria. c1580.
Maximilian II (1527-1576), was the
Holy Roman Emperor and King of
Hungary (1563-1576).
“Maximilian’s policies of religious
neutrality and peace in the Empire
afforded Roman Catholics and
Protestants a breathing space after
the struggles of the Reformation.”
Wikipedia. Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor

36. Man with his Daughter. 1580.

37. Attavanti Family. 1580s.

38. Young Woman. 1580s.

39. Young Woman. 1580s.

40. Children with Dog. 1590.

41. Holy Family. 1592.
One of the few religious painting
painted by Anguissola.

42. Isabella of Valois. 1599.
Isabell of Valois (1545-1568) was
the Queen of Spain. She was the
third spouse of Philip II of Spain.
She was the eldest daughter of
Henry II of France and Catherine de’
Medici.

43. Self Portrait. 1610.
Self portrait, Sofonisba painted
her own portrait at the age 78.

44. Anguissola at 92.
The portrait of Sofonisba at 92
painted by the young, Anthony
van Dyck. Sofonisba Anguissola
died one year afterward.
She was the first internationally
known female painter. She also
had opened doors for many
woman painters to follow.
Van Dyck recalled that
Sofonisba had taught him on
the “true principles” of painting
than anything else in his life.

45. Self Portrait Playing the Clavichord (detail). C1560. Sketch. Sofonisba Anguissloa (1532-1625). Italian.
The
End
Music – Sad Romance Tear on Piano.

46. Women Painters