Lavinia Fontana

The purpose of this essay is to identify and analyze one of Lavinia Fontana's mysterious paintings, traditionally entitled Cleopatra but here considered to be an inventive portrayal of an ancient scientist, Cleopatra the Alchemist (ca. third century BCE). There are four parts to this study. The first is an iconographical analysis of the painting by Lavinia Fontana's Cleopatra the Alchemist (1605) at the Galleria Spada in Rome. The second section deals with the origin of the Egyptian Cleopatra the Alchemist as an Egyptian scientist and of her inventions, which include the alembic and the ouroboros motif. The third section consists of an emblematic comparison between the imagery in the painting and alchemical references. The last brief section considers problematic copies of the painting.

Bibliography on early modern women artists, mainly in Italy and the Netherlands; a sporadic compilation of 45+ pages. Updated 29 April 2020. BUT see now my Bibliography_Premodern Women Artists (posted on 14 May 2020), which has expanded geographically and chronologically, to include medieval women, and female artists and patrons working in China, Japan and Islamic cultures.
AS OF 29 MAY 2020 THE BIBLIOGRAPHY IS NOW A GOOGLE DOC OF 130+ PAGES. IT IS OPEN ACCESS AND COMMENTS ARE WELCOME.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qciG2ndN2dOfg4KDgL9LwCOl8HUZP5liSKtwRcJ_Ah4/edit?usp=sharing

Between roughly 1615 and 1622, Cristofano Bronzini
(1580–1633) wrote Della dignità et della nobiltà delle donne, a
defense of women that was partially published during his
lifetime with the patronage of Medici women. This article
brings to light the unpublished sections of Bronzini’s
manuscript containing descriptions of some thirty-three early
modern women artists, ranging from Properzia de’ Rossi to
the female court artists of the Ming Dynasty. At the focus
of this study is Bronzini’s profile of Artemisia Gentileschi,
offering a narrative account of the discovery of her artistic
talent at age twelve and detailing her earliest vocational
training in Rome up until the time of her marriage to
Pierantonio Stiattesi of Florence.
Artemisia’s profile in the Bronzini manuscript stands out
not only because it is the earliest biographical account ever
written about her, but also because it is rife with statements
that have no bearing upon the real facts of her life. It is
argued here that Artemisia herself supplied Bronzini with
this fictitious account and that she deliberately distorted the
facts of her youth in order to fashion herself according to
her own aspirations as well as her society’s morality codes,
its female stereotypes, and its mytho-heroic archetype of the
artist. In this account of Artemisia’s youth in Rome, the name
of Agostino Tassi and Artemisia’s relationship with him are
completely suppressed, while Artemisia’s own father, Orazio
Gentileschi, is portrayed in a negative light as her primary
antagonist. Moreover, the biography purports that Artemisia
taught herself to paint by studying Caravaggio’s canvases,
effectively asserting her place among the master’s earliest and
most devoted followers.

WONDER WOMEN: SOFONISBA ANGUISSOLA, LAVINIA FONTANA AND ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI
A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE SELF-PORTRAIT PAINTING BY FEMALE ARTISTS

by Rosa Lena Reed Robinson

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Master of Arts in Art History at
Studio Art Centers International
Florence, Italy

2017


This  thesis is focused on the self-portrait painting practice by three female artists from the Renaissance and the Baroque periods: Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana, and Artemisia Gentileschi. Chapter I introduces the self-portrait as it developed specific to the Renaissance and in relation to a Greco-Roman classical ideal. The chapter focuses on Renaissance concepts of art and the very role of the artist. Chapter II studies the numerous self-portraits of Sofonisba Anguissola, the first great Renaissance female artist to have an international career. The artist’s self-portraits both became a foundation for those of later female artists and self-consciously expressed the new elite status achieved by this Lombard artist of noble lineage who worked as court portraitist for the Spanish monarchy. Chapter III examines the self-portraits and innovative identity self-portraiture of Lavinia Fontana of Bologna. It is demonstrated how her two early self-portraits built on the precedent established by Sofonisba, and yet, are of somewhat greater iconographic complexity. While in her maturity the artist developed self-portraiture into the identity self-portrait through the subject of Judith and Holofernes. Within her treatments of the theme in some examples she put herself into the figure of Judith and in others into Judith’s maid Abra. Lavinia Fontana’s final masterpiece, the improbable painting Minerva Dressing done at the end of her extensive career was likewise arguably an identity self-portrait. Minerva Dressing constitutes the first female fully nude figure painted by a female artist. Chapter IV focuses on Artemisia Gentileschi. This thesis designates the artist’s Pommersfelden Susanna and the Elders as both Artemisia’s first exact self-portrait and the first female full-length nude self-portrait painted by a female artist. The work is also an identity self-portrait. This chapter continues with a discussion of both versions of Artemisia’s infamous Judith and Holofernes (Capodimonte/Uffizi). Both works are arguably exact self-portrait paintings and identity self-portraits. Artemisia’s Allegory of Painting in London, often referred to as a self-portrait in scholarship, is suggested a perhaps better understood as an ideal identity self-portrait rather than a literal self-representation. The Allegory of Painting is considered together with other attributed self-portraits and portraits of the artist. A major theme in Chapter IV is the transition from literal self-representation to allegorical and ideal portrayal of the self. This thesis suggests that, as the artist’s career advanced, Artemisia Gentileschi did continue to paint both the exact and the ideal self-portrait. Finally, in the Conclusion, the legacy of the self-portraits of the Wonder Women, to adopt a phrase from Giorgio Vasari, is considered in reference to future female artists such as Elisabetta Sirani, Angelica Kauffmann, Elisabeth Vigée Le-Brun and Paula Modersohn-Becker.

Lavinia Fontana was a late Italian Renaissance painter of exceptional and formidable skill, particularly when it came to her depictions of fabric and ornamentation. The nobility of Bologna flocked to have her paint them bedecked in their silk, jewels, and lace. She solidified her place in Bolognese society through her considerable skill in painting, and became somewhat coveted as both a friend and a creator. In this paper, I focus on Fontana’s depiction of noblewomen and their place in society as conveyed through dress. By the means of her astute renderings of garments completed with painstaking detail, we are able to clearly see many elements of late Renaissance dress as applied to noblewomen in Northern Italy.
I base my studies on a close reading of the garments depicted by Fontana in both her self-portraits and commissions. I compare these with the work of contemporary scholars in analyzing her artwork, as well as with publications that ran in 16th Century Bologna. In particular, I analyze the fashions portrayed by Fontana to those pictured in Cesare Vecellio’s De Gli Habiti Antichi, et Moderni Di Diverse Parti Del Mondo. Through these close comparisons, one is able to see particular fashion trends, such as the abundance of pearls and silk, and the meaning behind the overelaborate representation of such materials. It is evident that portraits assisted Fontana’s patrons in solidifying their place in late Renaissance Bologna as being the most fashionable – and morally devout – women in the city.
This examination is furthered by a review of social etiquette and governmental oversight during this time period, including an investigation of traditional customs surrounding ceremonial moments in women’s lives, such marriage, birth, and mourning. Sumptuary laws in place in Northern Italy greatly affected what women could and could not wear. Furthermore, without a royal court, the nobility of Bologna clamored to fill the vacuous social space left; the surest way to solidify their place as fashionable members of the first class was through portraiture. Fontana was careful to observe these laws and unofficial codes, thus the women she depicts are immortals with morals.
Fontana’s pictures walked a fine line of extravagance within moral boundaries. Renaissance dress was important to the painter; her subjects’ social standing depended on her accurate depiction of their overconsumption within legal confines. This enhances our understanding of the garments worn in Bologna during the late 16th Century, as well as our understanding of the personality of Lavinia Fontana. Fontana painted her noble patrons as they wished to see themselves. She aggrandized them through their dress, but their morality was always of the utmost priority to her. In her portrayals, all of the noblewomen adhere to strict sumptuary laws, seemingly forever being enacted and repealed in late Renaissance Italy. She further glorified particular patrons, such as Eleanor de’ Medici and Isabella Ruini, through allegorical myths that furthered their beauty and their morals simultaneously.
Acting in the role of a woman painter was not an ordinary thing to do for someone in this era. Lavinia Fontana balanced her life through her temperate dress and enthusiastic religiosity. She expected nothing less from the proper women who sat for her. Through her innocuously rebellious career her star was catapulted, and Fontana herself became a noblewoman by association.

All'interno di una mappa interattiva interdisciplinare pensata per gli approfondimenti didattici degli istituti di istruzione superiore di II grado, questa scheda storica affronta in modo lineare e sintetico l'importanza, in età Moderna, della figura artistica e sociale della pittrice bolognese Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614). Il lavoro prende spunto dall'analisi dei simboli iconografici che costruiscono e descrivono l'identità di donna, promessa sposa e pittrice di Lavinia presenti nel suo primo "Autoritratto al clavicembalo con domestica", datato 1577.
Obiettivo dell'articolo è offrire lo spunto per dibattere in classe sul riconoscimento del valore professionale e sull'affermazione in società della figura di artista al femminile, tramite il caso di Lavinia Fontana.  Personaggio le cui doti personali, condizioni sociali  e coniugali le permisero di affermarsi pubblicamente, nonostante la fissità dei ruoli, la predominazione maschile nei ruoli istituzionali e ufficiali ed i severi dogmi imposti dalla Controriforma della chiesa cattolica nel XVI secolo.
Tramite l'analisi delle fonti iconografiche e biografiche  sulla pittrice, e le comparazioni con quelle di altre figure di letterate, umaniste, religiose e artiste vissute fra XV e XVII secolo,  la scheda evidenzia come la loro autorità intellettuale fu riconosciuta così come la loro memoria storica.

Embracing an interactive and multidisciplinary map thought for didactic deepening fit for a High School level, this historical paper focuses shortly on Lavinia Fontana (1552 – 1614)’s artistic and social figure and her relevance as a modern Bolognese painter.
This sheet start with an iconological description of some symbol and object contained in her first artwork knew as "Self-portrait at the harpsichord with a maid" painted in 1577 and showing her identity of woman, betrothed and artist.
The goal of this paper is offering a starting point for a debate in the classroom on the recognition of the professional value and the affirmation in the society of the female artist figure, as e. g. the case of Lavinia Fontana. Latter case it has been so exceptionally full of personal endowment, as moreover favorable social and conjugal conditions, such that allowed her a complete official claim despite the fixity of social roles and the male predominance in institutional and official roles and finally the severe dogmas imposed by the Counter-Reformation of the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century.
Crossing the iconographical and biographical sources regarding the painter Fontana, as several other female humanistic and religious figures belonged to the Early Renaissance period till the Baroque age, the paper points out how their intellectual power was recognized as their historical memory.

24/03/2022 - Comunichiamo che è disponibile il seguente libro:
A. Ugolini - Repertorio della Pittura a Bologna 1460/1580 - ed. EBS Print - Lesmo 2022 - 719 pagine - ISBN 9791259685049.
Si tratta di un testo cartaceo proposto su numerose librerie online.
Sono presenti in Allegato alcune pagine iniziali in PDF.
La sintesi promozionale in controcopertina ricorda che sono elencati oltre 3000 dipinti dotati ciascuno di un riferimento bibliografico; le riproduzioni di vario tipo sono più di 400; le attribuzioni nuove o poco note sono oltre 100.
Le novità riguardano: C. Baglione - G. Borghese - D. Calvart - Agostino Carracci - G.B. Cavalletto - S. Cavalletto - B. Cesi - G.A. Chiodarolo - L. Fontana - P. Fontana - Giacomo Francia - Giulio Francia - Innocenzo da Imola - L. Magnanini detto Fiorino - G. Marchesi - Michele di Matteo - G.A. Paganino - B. Passerotti - F. Pinariccio - A. Pirri - C. Procaccini - E. Procaccini - G.B. Ramenghi - P. de Kempeneer - L. Sabatini - O. Samacchini - D. Tibaldi - T. Vincidor - Maestro della Maddalena Assunta - Maestro della Madonna Parrish - Maestro detto Pseudo Passerotti - Maestro di San Giacinto - Maestro di Castel Bolognese - Maestro detto Amico Friulano del Dosso - Maestro del Sant'Eustachio Figdor.
L'autore si ripropone di menzionare, in una seconda edizione, quei lettori che abbiano segnalato aggiornamenti, in particolare per dipinti omessi o inediti.

Abstract. The purpose of the monograph section. On the basis of anthropocentric approach to the analysis of visual self-presentations of Italian women artists of the Renaissance and Baroque period fill in the gaps that exist in domestic art history regarding the works of Plautilla Nelli, Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana, Marietta Robusti, Artemisia Gentileschi, Arcangela Paladini, Giovanna Garzoni, Elisabetta Sirani and the sculptor Properzia de’ Rossi.

Theoretical basis. The principles and methods of philosophical and anthropological research in combination with biographical, historical, comparative, iconographic and figurative and stylistic methods were used in writing the monograph.

The scientific novelty lies in the author's method of analyzing works of visual art from the point of view of anthropocentric approach, as well as in considering the creativity of women artists of Renaissance and Baroque period in Italy as their self-objectifications, which give rise to a new cultural reality.

Conclusions. Creativity by Italian women artists Plautilla Nelli, Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana, Marietta Robusti, Artemisia Gentileschi, Arcangela Paladini, Giovanna Garzoni, Elisabetta Sirani and the sculptor Properzia de’ Rossi in diachronic view can be expanded. During 16th–17th centuries, several talented female painters and one female sculptor worked in Italian fine arts. Against the background of the cultural realities of the time, this phenomenon can be considered an indicator of paradigmatic changes in the public consciousness in relation to the social significance of talented women.

Keywords: Women artists, Renaissance, Baroque, Italy, early modern period, Italian culture, Plautilla Nelli, Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana, Marietta Robusti, Artemisia Gentileschi, Arcangela Paladini, Giovanna Garzoni, Elisabetta Sirani, Properzia de’ Rossi, female, artist, painter, sculptor, woman, painting, sculpture, museum, art gallery, exhibition, self-objectification of the artist, visual self-presentation in the works of painting, anthropocentric approach, cultural studies, discourse.

For citation:
Goncharova Olena. Women Artists of the Renaissance and Baroque period in Italy: Cultural studies discourse. Integration of traditional and innovation processes of development of modern science: collective monograph. Riga, Latvia; “Baltija Publishing”, 2020. pp. 230-280.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30525/978-9934-26-021-6-13
http://www.baltijapublishing.lv/omp/index.php/bp/catalog/view/86/2238/4826-1

Olena M. Goncharova,
Doctor of Science in Cultural Studies, Professor,
Professor of Museum Studies and Examination of Historical and Cultural Values Department,
Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts.
Ukraine, Kyiv, 01601, E. Konovalets Str., 36.
ORCID. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8649-9361
Researcher ID: F-6473-2015
Scopus ID 57217102458   
o.m_goncharova@yahoo.com

The collection, appeared in Ravenna, was known via a request of a raffle (1806) to the Napoleonic government in Milan to sell some paintings. The collector, the Jacobin Giovanni Battista Pio, sold a part of his collection in Milan. The paper relates the birth, development and dispersion of the collection and moreover locates some paintings present collocations.
La collezione settecentesca ravennate era nota finora grazie ad una richiesta di una tombola per la vendita dei dipinti (1806) in alternativa alla quale il proprietario - il giacobino Giovanni Battista Pio - proponeva la vendita al governo napoleonico. I dipinti vennero in parte acquistati e trasferiti a Milano. La ricerca ripercorre la storia della famiglia Pio, la nascita, consistenza e dispersione della raccolta, individuando per alcuni dipinti l'attuale collocazione.

Lavinia Fontana’s (1552-1614) Galatea and Cherubs riding the Stormy Waves on a Sea Monster (aka Galatea) of 1590 is an intriguing mythological painting. Being painted on copper, it is a fine example of Lavinia’s exploration of new artistic techniques and materials as well as testimony to her bold artistic interpretations. Lavinia’s Galatea was part of a private collection in Bologna (Diletta Badeschi). This work fascinates the viewer with its erotic audacity and complex iconographical conceits. Recent scholarship by Daniele Benati, Fausto Gozzi, and Enrico Maria Dal Pozzolo assist in unraveling the meaning of this painting. In this essay there are additional interpretative suggestions.

Abstract. The purpose of the monograph section. On the basis of anthropocentric approach to the analysis of visual self-presentations of Italian women artists of the Renaissance and Baroque period fill in the gaps that exist in domestic art history regarding the works of Plautilla Nelli, Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana, Marietta Robusti, Artemisia Gentileschi, Arcangela Paladini, Giovanna Garzoni, Elisabetta Sirani and the sculptor Properzia de’ Rossi.

Theoretical basis. The principles and methods of philosophical and anthropological research in combination with biographical, historical, comparative, iconographic and figurative and stylistic methods were used in writing the monograph.

The scientific novelty lies in the author's method of analyzing works of visual art from the point of view of anthropocentric approach, as well as in considering the creativity of women artists of Renaissance and Baroque period in Italy as their self-objectifications, which give rise to a new cultural reality.

Conclusions. Creativity by Italian women artists Plautilla Nelli, Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana, Marietta Robusti, Artemisia Gentileschi, Arcangela Paladini, Giovanna Garzoni, Elisabetta Sirani and the sculptor Properzia de’ Rossi in diachronic view can be expanded. During 16th–17th centuries, several talented female painters and one female sculptor worked in Italian fine arts. Against the background of the cultural realities of the time, this phenomenon can be considered an indicator of paradigmatic changes in the public consciousness in relation to the social significance of talented women.

Keywords: Women artists, Renaissance, Baroque, Italy, early modern period, Italian culture, Plautilla Nelli, Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana, Marietta Robusti, Artemisia Gentileschi, Arcangela Paladini, Giovanna Garzoni, Elisabetta Sirani, Properzia de’ Rossi, female, artist, painter, sculptor, woman, painting, sculpture, museum, art gallery, exhibition, self-objectification of the artist, visual self-presentation in the works of painting, anthropocentric approach, cultural studies, discourse.

For citation:
Goncharova Olena.  Women artists of the Renaissance and Baroque period in Italy: Cultural studies discourse. Integration of traditional and innovation processes of development of modern science: collective monograph. Riga, Latvia; “Baltija Publishing”, 2020. pp. 230-280.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30525/978-9934-26-021-6-13 http://www.baltijapublishing.lv/omp/index.php/bp/catalog/view/86/2238/4826-1

Olena M. Goncharova,
Doctor of Science in Cultural Studies, Professor,
Professor of Museum Studies and Examination of Historical and Cultural Values Department,
Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts.
Ukraine, Kyiv, 01601, E. Konovalets Str., 36.
ORCID. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8649-9361
Researcher ID: F-6473-2015
Scopus ID 57217102458   
o.m_goncharova@yahoo.com

The present communication is the second part of PICTRIX project rel. 2.0; it groups the catalogues of “major” Bolognese painters, from ASPERTINI to FONTANA PROSPERO, in alphabetical order. Some lists aim to be more innovative. For GIAN BATTISTA CAVALLETTO, there are some new proposals; maybe the most interesting kernel includes two Nativities, from Vizcaya Museum in Miami and from Castelvecchio in Verona, whose similarity is intriguing. For LAVINIA FONTANA, mature works are ignored, but the date limit is set to 1581, in order to mention paintings created in this year, together with others, including a couple until now related to Peter de Witte. For PROSPERO FONTANA, the catalogue is very complex, but some additions were necessary (Pinacoteca Vaticana, signora Gualino, Collegio San Luigi in Bologna). LORENZO COSTA’s catalogue could seem too short, but works attributed to Bernardino Orsi or to Maestro della Maddalena Assunta will appear in other moments of PICTRIX research. ASPERTINI and CALVAERT catalogues receive limited innovations. As far as BAGLIONE is concerned, a number of grotesques is not included; this theme will reappear, to focus Paganino, Marchetti or some other artist.

Le catalogue Heures italiennes a démontré l’actualité et l’importance de la méthode du connoisseurship. La contribution se concentre sur quelques peintures émiliennes du xvie siècle conservées dans la région des Hauts-de-France. La Présentation au temple de Lavinia Fontana (Compiègne, musée Antoine Vivenel) est peut-être celle qui était dans la sacristie de Santi Naborre e Felice à Bologne, et on attribue à la même peintre une Sainte Famille au musée du Louvre.
Le Mariage mystique de sainte Catherine classée comme une copie d’après Biagio Pupini (La Fère, musée Jeanne d’Aboville) peut être considérée comme une oeuvre autographe. Un autre Mariage mystique de sainte Catherine (Laon, musée d’Art et d’Archéologie) constitue un nouveau point de référence pour la reconstitution de la jeunesse de Lorenzo Sabatini.
On attribue enfin un troisième tableau de même sujet (La Fère, musée Jeanne d’Aboville) à Giovan Battista Ramenghi.

Il catalogo Heures italiennes ha dimostrato l’attualità e l’importanza del metodo della connoisseurship. L’intervento si occupa di alcuni dipinti emiliani del xvi secolo presenti in mostra e nella regione degli Huates-de-France. La Presentazione al tempio di Lavinia Fontana (Compiègne, musée Antoine Vivenel) è forse quella un tempo nella sacrestia dei Santi Naborre e Felice a Bologna, e alla stessa pittrice si attribuisce una Sacra Famiglia al Louvre. Il Matrimonio mistico di santa Caterina classificato come copia da Biagio Pupini (La Fère, musée Jeanne d’Aboville) può essere un’opera autografa. Un altro Matrimonio mistico di santa Caterina (Laon, musée d’Art et d’Archéologie) rappresenta un nuovo punto di riferimento per la ricostruzione della fase giovanile di Lorenzo Sabatini. Un terzo quadro con lo stesso soggetto (La Fère, musée Jeanne d’Aboville) può infine essere ricondotto a Giovan Battista Ramenghi.

Exhibition Review

Two Women Painters from the Late Renaissance
BY ANNEMARIE JORDAN GSCHWEND

A Tale of Two Women Painters. Sofonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fontana (Museo del Prado, Madrid,  October – February ). Catalogue: Leticia Ruiz Gómez (Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, ),  pp. incl.  col. + b. & w. ills, €..

A partir de mediados del siglo XVI, la figura de la mujer pintora aparece en la escena artística italiana. Casi todas son hijas de artistas, con la excepción del caso peculiar de Sofonisba Anguissola, que se inspiraron en las pintoras flamencas, las cuales ya habían abierto este camino.
Además de las virtudes domésticas, ahora las mujeres debían adquirir un bagaje cultural que también incluía saber pintar. Todas estas facultades nunca dejaron de despertar asombro en la sociedad de la época, que requería, en voz alta, su presentación como mujeres a través del autorretrato. De hecho para ser aceptadas en los ambientes cultos de la época, era necesaria la creación de una imagen que tuviese ciertas características que permitieran ser apreciadas por el público.
Este ensayo propone un recorrido a través de mujeres artistas como Catherina Van Hemessen, Lavinia Fontana, Sofonisba Anguissola, Artemisia Gentileschi, Elisabetta Sirani y Clara Peeters para analizar el papel del autorretrato en los siglo XVI y XVII. Estas pintoras descubren y eligen diferentes formas de representarse y a pesar de vivir en un mundo dominado por los hombres, consiguen obtener un reconocimiento social.

11/12/2020 please consider that erroneous keyword Micheli is present instead of correct one "Danieli" - The present communication is the sixth part of PICTRIX project rel. 2.0; it groups the catalogues of “major” Bolognese painters, from MARCHESI to PASSEROTTI. A small addendum for Fontana Lavinia & Prospero, Francia Giulio & Giacomo, and Francucci is present. MARCHESI has been the object of studies by researchers including the present writer, and does not require now important innovations. MICHELE DI MATTEO appears only for works datable inside PICTRIX boundary, namely after 1460, including Dead Christ paintings in two Florentine locations hitherto pre-dated or overlooked. For PAGANINO the boundary is the year 1580, respected with the help of Cirillo and Godi’s analysis; however some new proposals are included. For PASSEROTTI, the new format with caption “before 1564” aims to isolate early works, preceding San Giacomo pala.

This article aims to clarify the provenance of two Bolognese paintings today preserved in the Galleria Sabauda in Turin: ‘Geometria’ (which
perhaps represents the ‘Perfect Marriage Union’) by Lorenzo Sabatini and ‘Cleopatra’ of Guido Reni’s workshop. They were part of the collection of Prince Eugene of Savoy, and were both exhibited in the Belvedere Gallery in Vienna. Thanks to the unpublished autobiography of the painter Giuseppe Carlo Pedretti (1766), we now know that the paintings were sold to Eugene by the merchant Antonio Cavazza, with an attribution to Guido Reni himself and to Pellegrino Tibaldi.

The present communication is the third part of PICTRIX project rel. 2.0, an unpublished research about painting in Bologna between 1460 and 1580, including other contemporary works. It groups some reproductions of paintings listed in PICTRIX Parte 2, "major" Bolognese painters, from ASPERTINI to FONTANA PROSPERO. Here are a few notes, dedicated to lesser known paintings and attributions. For ASPERTINI, some new impulse can come from details, like right side candelabra in San Frediano, or Hermae in Minerbio. For BAGLIONE, Cirillo and Godi's attribution of Palazzo Borri frieze is little familiar. For CALVAERT, ICCD photograph proposed by Andrea De Marchi is not on view. For Cavalletto, both Thyssen and Vizcaya items seem very interesting. and require comments. For LAVINIA FONTANA, Los Angeles Mystic Marriage, of 1581, is very similar to others, whose destiny is very different: one was exhibited in Maastricht, the other seems to be a war booty. For PROSPERO FONTANA, suggestions from Daniele Benati were vital.

TITOLO: LOS ANGUISSOLA Y ESPAÑA

El objetivo de mi intervención en este seminario será describir a los estudiosos en la materia el ámbito histórico en el que se movieron los diferentes personajes de la familia Anguissola y cómo se articularon las relaciones entre aquellos que residieron en los territorios de la Lombardía y la corte española. A este respecto, el tema es uno de los menos conocidos, dado que la historiografía del arte se ha detenido en el papel de Sofonisba como pintora y dama de la reina Isabel de Valois, obviando el contexto político, social y cultural en el que se tejieron sus relaciones. Se describirá cómo se ha articulado la historia de la familia Anguissola y las diferentes ramas de la dinastía, así como el modo en el que se relacionaron, a través de matrimonios, alianzas políticas y otros aspectos, con los linajes más relevantes de diferentes cortes en la península italiana. Uno de los objetivos, en este sentido, tal y como analizaremos, será describir el posicionamiento de los Anguissola como una saga de la alta nobleza. La documentación manuscrita conservada en diferentes archivos ha posibilitado la reconstrucción del árbol genealógico de la familia, que se describirá con diferentes ejemplos, y cómo diferentes miembros entroncaron con representantes de las cortes italianas y españolas. Se pondrá evidencia, con material de archivo, cómo la llegada de la pintora de Cremona a la corte española no fue casual y, tampoco, estuvo sola en este contexto, dado que diferentes hombres y mujeres, estrechamente relacionadas con ella y su entorno familiar, vehicularon su llegada a la corte de Felipe II.

The first section of this essay deals with an iconographical analysis of Lavinia Fontana's (1552-1614) Prudence or Personification of Wisdom of 1590, while the second part provides an iconological interpretation, demonstrating Fontana's application of emblematic significations. This painting is presently on display at the Galerie Maison d'Art in Monte Carlo. At this time there is lack of knowledge about the patronage of this commission, except from the art gallery's records showing that it acquired the painting from a private collection in New York. 1

Some examples taken from the paintings executed at Bologna from the end of the sixteenth
century to the end of the seventeenth illustrate the different meanings that can be attributed to
the bed in different narrative contexts. The bed can become a major theatrical scene on which
Orazio Samacchini rewrites a famous episode from the Aeneid, giving special emphasis to its
sensitive and intimate character. The female figures in the paintings of Denis Calvaert live tragic
adventures, but with varying outcomes. The moral rectitude of Lucretia or the recklessness of
Semele impose appropriate settings and for each one, the artist choses the bed that is most
suitable. The bed that Lorenzo Sabatini includes in his painting has purely symbolic significance
which the painter uses in order to enrich his allegorical representation. The absence of a court
and a centre of private power at Bologna during the early modern period means that it was not a
centre for the production of furniture for a sovereign’s residence. So, the paradigm of luxury
furniture is to be looked for in the mannerist painting of Florence or Rome or in Flemish
engravings, articles that were more accessible to artists than the real royal objects. This is clearly
demonstrated in a painting by Lavinia Fontana, which is a proper ‘portrait’ of a bed. The
spectacle it offers of real affluence distinguishes this painting from the others examined here.

At the end of “Major Bolognese Painters”, the present text provides final additions and a cancellation. The updated database contains 2114 paintings, by Amico Aspertini, Cesare Baglione, Denis Calvart, Giovanni Battista Cavalletto, Lorenzo Costa, Lavinia Fontana, Prospero Fontana, Francesco Francia, Giacomo Francia, Giulio Francia, Innocenzo Francucci da Imola, Girolamo da Treviso, Maestro della Maddalena Assunta (probably Michele Costa), Maestro delle Ore Barbazza (probably Bartolomeo Ramenghi), Maestro Parrish, Girolamo Marchesi, Marco Zoppo, Michele di Matteo, Giovanni Francesco Bezzi alias Nosadella, Giovanni Antonio Paganino, Bartolomeo Passerotti, Antonio Pirri, Ercole Procaccini senior, Bartolomeo Ramenghi alias Bagnacavallo senior, Giovanni Battista Ramenghi alias Bagnacavallo junior, Antonio Rimpatta alias Antonio di Cristoforo, Jacopo Ripanda alias Jacopo di Cristoforo, Lorenzo Sabatini, Orazio Samacchini, Pellegrino Tibaldi. Every painter has appeared in some PICTRIX issue, with an index and some reproductions. Next issues will refer to “minor painters” known with a real name, and others classified as “masters”, with the help of a namepiece.

Il libro indaga l’attività di mediazione nel commercio artistico svolta dal pittore e restauratore emiliano Carlo Cesare Giovannini (Parma 1695 - Bologna 1758) con la corte di Sassonia, tra il 1750 e il 1756. La base su cui il testo si sviluppa sono i carteggi del pittore con i dignitari della corte di Augusto III, conservati nella Biblioteca Comunale dell’Archiginnasio di Bologna e nell'Hauptstaatsarchiv di Dresda, allegati al testo come appendice documentaria: manoscritti che delineano i caratteri di una figura finora poco conosciuta nei suoi giudizi critici straordinariamente aggiornati, nei suoi viaggi d’affari tra lo Stato Pontificio e la Germania e nei suoi rapporti con l’ambiente culturale ed antiquario italiano.