Women's World, edited by Irene Franck and David Brownstone, Harper Perennial, 1995. She is regarded as the first woman artist, working within the same sphere as her male counterparts, outside a court or convent. Self Portrait by Lavinia Fontana Source Image. In 1604 she painted her largest work, the Martyrdom of St. Stephen, an altarpiece for San Paolo Fuori le Mura in Rome, a basilica that was destroyed in the fire of 1823. Lavinia Fontana (August 24, 1552 – August 11, 1614) was an Italian painter. 1552-1614 Lavinia Fontana est née à Bologne le 24 août 1552. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Lavinia was an artist more complete then Sofonisba who, on the other hand, was maybe a more refined intellectual. Lavinia Fontana est l'unique enfant de Prospero Fontana et d'Antonia de' Bonardis. They didn’t know each other, either. Unlike most female artists of the period, Lavinia received encouragement at home, where her father taught her to paint. She was trained by her father Prospero Fontanawho was a teacher at the School of Bologna. Popes Gregory XIII and Clement VIII each posed for her in ceremonial regalia and the Vatican offered her commissions normally contracted to male artists. Get notified when Lavinia Fontana's biography is … Lavinia Fontana (August 24, 1552 – August 11, 1614) was a Bolognese Mannerist painter active in Bologna and Rome. The Lives of Renaissance Women, http://www.bctf.bc.ca/lessonaids/online/LA9245.html (January 15, 2002). Voir plus d'idées sur … Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, Rome 2. Biography of FONTANA, Lavinia (b. She is regarded as the first woman artist, working within the same sphere as her male counterparts, outside a court or convent. Son père, Prospero Fontana (1512-1597), était un peintre maniériste qui travailla pour le pape Jules III et à la réalisation des fresques du Palazzo Vecchio de Florence avec Giorgio Vasari. She was the first woman artist to paint female nudes, and was the main breadwinner of a family of 13. She is regarded as the number one female career artist in Western Europe as she relied on commissions for her income. This worldly renowned artist, was born in the late sixteenth century at a time where women had very little clout when it came to expressing themselves through art. Her Visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon is her most ambitious surviving narrative work. Lavinia Fontana (August 24, 1552 – August 11, 1614) was a Bolognese Mannerist painter active in Bologna and Rome. View Lavinia Fontana’s 183 artworks on artnet. The work contrasts a bevy of over-dressed aristocratic ladies with the simple demeanor of a saint performing a sacred task. biographie Lavinia était la fille du peintre maniériste Prospero Fontana , dans l'atelier duquel pourrait dessiner, à côté des enseignements de son père, à un large éventail d'expériences picturales, Emilia (de Parmigianino à Pellegrino Tibaldi), Veneto (Veronese, Jacopo Bassano), Lombardie ( Sofonisba Anguissola ) Et la Toscane. Lavinia Fontana studied not only painting. From overcoming oppression, to breaking rules, to reimagining the world or waging a rebellion, these women of history have a story to tell. US: +1 (707) 877-4321 FR: +33 977-198-888. 1552, Bologna, d. 1614, Roma) in the Web Gallery of Art, a searchable image collection and database of European art and architecture (200-1900) She was also the main breadwinner of a family of 13. Lavinia Fontana est l'unique enfant de Prospero Fontana et d'Antonia de' Bonardis. As confirmed by documents published by Some of her most famous works are large altarpieces executed for the churches of her native city. Features of Lavinia Fontana's art. A producer of over 135 sophisticated oil paintings, Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614) was one of the first female portraitists to seek commissions. Therein she is elegantly dressed in lace and jewels and studying archeological finds on shelves and a table, likely as preparation for sketching them. Lavinia Fontana (August 24, 1552 – August 11, 1614) was an Italian painter. Continuing the family business was typical at the time. The altarpiece adorned one of Rome's seven pilgrimage centers, the church of San Paolo Fuori le Mura, until the building was consumed by fir… Lavinia Fontana was born in Bologna, the daughter of the painter Prospero Fontana, who was a leading painter of the School of Bologna at the time and served as her teacher. Even within the responsibilities of being a mother of eleven children, she achieved much in style and work. In the undated "Allegory of Music" she painted a female keyboardist at the virginal accompanied by three males, two lute players and a vocalist. Son style typiquement maniériste peut être illustré par ce tableau qui emprunte au chef-d’œuvre de Pontormo de 1528tout en respectant les préceptes de compo… She was influenced by Ludovio Carracci Fontana also produced many religious paintings; among her best was Noli me tangere (1581). Unlike most female artists of the period, Lavinia received encouragement at home, where her father taught her to paint. Continuing the family business was typical at the time. Fontana’s works were admired for their vibrant colour and the detail of the clothes and jewelry that her subjects wore. This extensively illustrated book is the first comprehensive study of Fontana in the English language. Lavinia Fontana (August 24 1552-August 11 1614) was an Italian painter.. Lavinia Fontana (August 24, 1552 – August 11, 1614) was an Italian painter. Her prolific body of work encompasses numerous categories of art, including single and group portraits, church altar art, and narrative and historic scenes. Biographie. Lavinia Fontana se forme dans l'atelier de son père, où elle rencontre les artistes et les mécènes de la ville . She was trained by her father Prospero Fontana moreover to was active in Bologna moreover to Rome. Lavinia Fontana (August 24, 1552 – August 11, 1614) was an Italian painter. Her large and renowned body of work encompasses several genres, including altarpieces, history paintings, and portraits. She is best known for her successful portraiture, but also worked in the genres of mythology and religious painting. In 1581 she completed "Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalen" in the balanced dark-against-light style of Antonio Correggio. Her earliest known work, " … Such qualities are reflected in Fontana's self-portrait that now hangs in the Uffizi Gallery at Florence. See available paintings, works on paper, and prints and multiples for sale and learn about the artist. She was trained by her father Prospero Fontana and was active in Bologna and Rome. She is regarded as the first woman artist, working within the same sphere as her male counterparts, outside a court or convent. Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, Rome 2. Her family relied on her career as a painter, and her husband served as her agent and rai… She was the main breadwinner of a family of 13. Venturing beyond traditional still lifes and set poses into high drama, she painted mythic and biblical figures on a grand scale and used as models female and male nudes. LAVINIA FONTANA’S CLEOPATRA THE ALCHEMIST 1161 conversion activities.5 These cultural events were probably noted by Fontana, especially when Pope Paul V requested that she painta two portraits: one of the Persian Ambassador residing in Rome, and the other of Here is yet another fabulous lady in history, Lavinia Fontana. Beyond other women seeking careers in art, she flourished in an open-minded city that claimed painter Caterina dei Vigri as patron saint and which had welcomed women to its university since its opening in 1158. The earlier literature cited in this work should be supplemented by reference to Anne Sutherland Harris and Linda Nochlin, Women Artists, 155o-195o, New York 1976, pp. Unlike most female artists of the period, Lavinia received encouragement at home, where her father taught her to paint. Corrections? The city’s prosperous economic and social situation account for the prominent role of women in its cultural, religious, social and artistic life. She is regarded as the first woman artist, working within the same sphere as her male counterparts, outside a court or convent. Lavinia Fontana, Self-Portrait with the Spinet Accompanied by a Handmaiden (1577). Prospero Fontana fut également un professeur réputé qui enseigna à Agostino et Ludovico Carracci. Born in Bologna in 1552, Lavinia Fontana was the daughter of cosmopolitan fresco artist and teacher Prospero Fontana, who established his reputation in Rome and joined Giorgio Vasari in adorning Florence's Palazzo Vecchio. “Lavinia Fontana and Female Life Cycle Experience in Late Sixteenth Century Bologna.” In Picturing Women in Renaissance and Baroque Italy, edited by Geraldine A. Johnson and Sara F. Matthews Grieco. She was the first woman artist to paint female nudes, and was the main breadwinner of a family of 13. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. She went to school at Mannerist School. Fontana was the first woman artist to paint female nudes, and possibly the first female to use live nude female models. Continuing the family business was typical at the time. Unlike most female artists of the period, Lavinia received encouragement at home, where her father taught her to paint. She surrounded this musical group with a variety of instruments: cittern, cornetto, harp, hurdy-gurdy, recorder, viol, and viola da braccio. Lavinia Fontana’s early years are comparable to those of most women artists. For "Visit of the Queen of Sheba," which now hangs in Dublin's National Gallery, Fontana improvised a demanding narrative scene that depicts the unnamed queen's royal presentation to Solomon albeit in Renaissance costume and court. Lavinia Fontana (August 24 1552-August 11 1614) was an Italian painter.. Lavinia Fontana (August 24, 1552 – August 11, 1614) was a Bolognese Mannerist painter best known for her portraiture. In addition to the medal already discussed in the article, Fontana is the subject of Portrait of a Woman, 1595 by Paolo Veronese (Cheney, et al 2000). She is regarded as the first woman artist, working within the same sphere as her male counterparts, outside a court or convent. Lavinia Fontana est l'unique enfant de Prospero Fontana et d'Antonia de' Bonardis. Artist biography: Lavinia Fontana was born in Bologna, Italy in 1552. Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana and Artemisia Gentileschi (in rigorous chronological order) are the three woman painters celebrated and requested in their days, rediscovered and carefully studied in recent years for they to be assigned a coherent collocation in the art history. Bolognese painter Lavinia Fontana was the most significant and prolific woman artist of Renaissance Europe. Fontana proved to be quite talented and continued to excel throughout her childhood. She was trained by her father Prospero Fontana and was active in Bologna and Rome. Bolognese painter Lavinia Fontana was the most significant and prolific woman artist of Renaissance Europe. Lavinia Fontana was irreproachable as a daughter and a wife and, although constantly overworked, she was also able to give birth to eleven children. Lavinia Fontana. The painting, now housed in Florence's Uffizi Gallery, captures the rapt attention of a familiar bible figure moved by a glimpse of Christ. Desiring a work to grace the grand Escorial Palace in Madrid, Philip II of Spain commissioned Fontana to paint an altarpiece, "The Holy Family with the Sleeping Christ Child.". She was the daughter of Prospero Fontana (1512-1579), a prestigious Bolognese painter with whom she trained and worked. Lavinia Fontana studied not only painting. She was the daughter of Prospero Fontana, a leading Bolognese exponent of Mannerism. Her large and renowned body of work encompasses several genres, including altarpieces, history paintings, and portraits. In addition to the medal already discussed in the article, Fontana is the subject of Portrait of a Woman, 1595 by Paolo Veronese (Cheney, et al 2000). Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Lavinia and the Other Famous Women in Bologna. Creator: Lavinia Fontana; Date Created: 1552/1614; Physical Dimensions: w724 x h971 mm (Without frame) Artist biography: Lavinia Fontana was born in Bologna, Italy in 1552. Despite the many common aspects, the two women lived very different stories. She is regarded as the first female career artist in Western Europe as she relied on commissions for her income. She is regarded as the first woman artist, working within the same sphere as her male counterparts, outside a court or convent. Sofonisba Anguissola (1535-1625) and Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614) are two artists I didn’t know. Name: Lavinia Fontana Bith Date: 1552 Death Date: August 11, 1614 Place of Birth: Bologna, Papal States Nationality: Gender: Female Occupations: artist, painter. Bolognese painter Lavinia Fontana was the most significant and prolific woman artist of Renaissance Europe. They didn’t know each other, either. By the time she reached her thirties, Fontana was respected as a painter of devotional art. Born in Bologna in 1552, Lavinia Fontana was the daughter of cosmopolitan fresco artist and teacher Prospero Fontana, who established his reputation in Rome and joined Giorgio Vasari in adorning Florence's Palazzo Vecchio. Standing before an urn, the regal figure suggests the Renaissance era's immersion in Eastern subjects. Son père est peintre de la contre-réforme très en vogue auprès des papes. Her father, Prospero, was a painter at the local school and taught his daughter all he knew about the craft. Fontana contributed to the Italian Renaissance movement and died on August 11, 1614. Gallery Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614) | All 23 Artworks | Buy Museum Art Reproductions . Art critics surmise that Zappi also painted some of the drapery and background in Fontana's paintings. Lavinia Fontana was born in Bologna, the daughter of the painter Prospero Fontana, who was a prominent painter of the School of Bologna at the time and served as her teacher. Find an in-depth biography, exhibitions, original artworks for sale, the latest news, and sold auction prices. Biography of FONTANA, Lavinia (b. At Clement's request, she executed her most famous public work, a 20-foot altarpiece titled "The Stoning of St. Stephen Martyr," which pictures the pathos of the first Christian to die for the faith. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Tweet. Lavinia Fontana (August 24, 1552 – August 11, 1614) was an Italian painter. She was the first woman artist to paint female nudes, and possibly the first female to use live nude female models[2]. Lavinia Fontana (August 24, 1552 – August 11, 1614) was an Italian painter. She is regarded as the first woman artist, working within the same sphere as her male counterparts, outside a court or convent. In this same period, Fontana completed "The Dead Christ with Symbols of the Passion" and "The Holy Family," the latter an undated piece that creates an adult triad of the Virgin Mary and Elizabeth comparing the virtues of their toddler sons Jesus and John the Baptist, while the third figure, a colorless Joseph, looks on in the background. She also received an academic education. Fontana's work was lucrative enough to support her family. She is known as the first woman artist to paint female nudes. Updates? Lavinia Fontana. Her earliest known work, "Monkey Child", was painted in 1575 at the age of 23. Lavinia Fontana était une femme peintre, originaire de Bologne, qui a connu un grand succès de son vivant. After about 1600—when she executed Vision of St. Hyacinth, a work commissioned by the cardinal of Ascoli—Fontana’s work was introduced to Rome; she moved to Rome three years later and continued painting portraits and altarpieces. In addition to her career as an artist, she was the mother of 11 children. Continuing the family business was typical at the time. View Lavinia Fontana biographical information, artworks upcoming at auction, and sale prices from our price archives. She is considered the first ever woman artist to work within the same sphere as her male counterparts, independently and outside a royal court or convent. She was trained by her father Prospero Fontana who was a teacher at the School of Bologna. Biography. She was the main breadwinner of a family of 13. "Lavinia Fontana," http://www.nmwa.org/legacy/bios/bfontana.htm (January 15, 2002). Born in Bologna in 1552, Lavinia Fontana was the daughter of cosmopolitan fresco artist and teacher Prospero Fontana, who established his reputation in Rome and joined Giorgio Vasari in adorning Florence's Palazzo Vecchio. Lavinia Fontana, (born 1552, Bologna [Italy]—died August 11, 1614, Rome), Italian painter of the Mannerist school and one of the most important portraitists in Bologna during the late 16th century. Characteristic of Fontana's images is the incorporation of textured and embroidered fabrics and rich gold jewelry set with pearls and rubies. She enjoyed the patronage of the family of Pope Gregory XIII and painted the likenesses of many eminent people. Other articles where Martyrdom of St. Stephen is discussed: Lavinia Fontana: …painted her largest work, the Martyrdom of St. Stephen, an altarpiece for San Paolo Fuori le Mura in Rome, a basilica that was destroyed in the fire of 1823. She also received an academic education. She was the first woman artist to paint female nudes, and possibly the first female to use live nude female models.She was the main breadwinner of a family of 13. A producer of over 135 sophisticated oil paintings, Lavinia Fontana (1552- 1614) was one of the first female portraitists to seek commissions. They formed a working partnership that supported her career, allowing her to accept a growing number of commissions for baroque portraits, small paintings, and religious art. Lavinia Fontana August 24, 1552 – August 11, 1614 was a Bolognese Mannerist painter best requested for her portraiture. Lavinia FONTANA (1552-1614) is an artist born in 1552 The oldest auction result ever registered on the website for an artwork by this artist is a painting sold in 1988, at Phillips , and the most recent auction result is a painting sold in 2020. 11 1-14, 341. Lavinia was trained by her father and followed his Mannerist style. Her large and renowned body of work encompasses several genres, including altarpieces, history paintings, and portraits. She was one of the first women to execute large, publicly commissioned figure paintings. That same year, Fontana created a likeness of Venus and Cupid, She was the first woman artist to have commissions for large-scale and public works as well as portraiture. Like Artemisia Gentileschi, Lavinia Fontana (Bologna, 1552 – Roma, 1614) is the daughter of an artist, Prospero Fontana, who had a good reputation as a mannerist painter and a solid workshop in Bologna, before the advent of the Carracci. Lavinia Fontana (August 24, 1552 – August 11, 1614) was an Italian painter. The attention to detail in her portraits is reminiscent of the work of another northern Italian Renaissance painter, Sofonisba Anguissola. Born in Bologna in 1552, Lavinia Fontana was the daughter of cosmopolitan fresco artist and teacher Prospero Fontana, who established his reputation in Rome and joined Giorgio Vasari in adorning Florence's Palazzo Vecchio. The obverse pictures her in profile; the reverse depicts her as the symbolic female artist, too immersed in her work to tame her flowing hair. Biography. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Her earliest known work, "Child of the Monkey", was painted in 1575 at the age of 23. Lavinia Fontana was an Italian Female Artist born on August 24, 1552. Encyclopedia of World Biography on Lavinia Fontana A producer of over 135 sophisticated oil paintings, Lavinia Fontana (1552- 1614) was one of the first female portraitists to seek commissions. She was the daughter of Prospero Fontana, a leading Bolognese exponent of Mannerism. By the late 1570s she was known in Bologna for painting fine portraits, including Self-portrait at the Harpischord and the very formal Gozzadini Family (1584). Lavinia Fontana is known for Portrait painting, mannerism. Omissions? 1 Biography; Study Pack. Lavinia Fontana (1552 - 1614) was active/lived in Italy. Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614) Self-portrait- Lavinia at the clavichord. She came under the influence of one of her father's pupils, Ludovico Carracci, founder of Bologna's academy. All Rights Reserved. Son père est peintre de la contre-réforme très en vogue auprès des papes. Lavinia Fontana's brief biography in Malvasia's Felsina pittrice states quite explicitly that the major reason for her success as a painter in Bologna was the kind of clientele that she could command.2 First, Malvasia gives primary importance to her relationship with the Boncompagni family, who gave her