Lavinia Fontana

Lavina Fontana was an Italian painter, widely known for her detailed whimsical portraiture. Lavinia was born into an artistic family and followed in her father’s footsteps who was also a mannerist artist. At the time the majority of commissioned artists were men and female artists typically weren’t given the opportunities to do professional work, especially with patrons as prestigious as the ones that sat for her. However because of Lavinia’s background, wealth and talent she managed to succeed these social norms. She was even the first woman excepted into Rome’s Accademia di san Lucca.

Her portraits were admired for their meticulous attention to detail, vibrant colours, intricate backgrounds, and the lavish jewelry/ clothing her subjects wore immersing them into the piece. Fontana was commissioned to paint several biblical pieces especially alter pieces for several different wealthy families, churches/ monestaries and portraits of public figures and nobleman. Eventually, she even moved to Rome to be more available to paint those types of works and lived there with her husband and 11 children! Talk about dedication!

Some of her most well-known paintings include Noli me tangere (1581), her Self – Portrait and Portrait of Gerolamo Mercuriale (1589) to name a few. Arguably one of her most famous works was Minerva Dressing (1613) which illustrates the goddess Minerva the Roman goddess of wisdom, art, and strategy. I think that Fontana saw herself in Minerva which is why she felt compelled to paint her. This also was her last painting of roughly 135 before she died in 1614.

Even if you’re not a fan of her work you can’t deny that Fontana revolutionized the industry for women creatives paving the way as one of the first professional female portrait painters in Italy. Truly a 16th-century girl boss.